Most fitness enthusiast loves the idea of walking into a basement, a garage or a separate room to hone their physical abilities. A place where you don’t have to feel embarrassed about not being able to complete your reps or hitting that big lift with nobody else there. This is why a home gym becomes a major addition to any home. Read Here: 5 Best Home Gyms

Why Should You Build a Home Gym?

1) No Judgmental Eyes

Setting up your own gym means creating a physical training environment that’s both private and comfortable. You can take your time to learn proper stances, how to best use equipment and decide the pace and routine that you want— all without judgmental eyes.

2) Convenience

Having your own gym provides you the ultimate convenience. You don’t have to pack your bag, get in your car or on that bus, drive or commute for minutes just to reach the gym center. No, you only walk to your home gym, warm-up and get ready to burn. In addition, for those with kids or a busy schedule at work, heading to the gym is a major hassle.

It is hard to get motivated when you have kids waiting for you at home or too tired to drag yourself to the gym. However, with a home gym, you can just wait for your kids to fall asleep or rest for a bit, then enjoy working out in your happy place.

3) Freedom and Flexibility

With a home gym, you get to make your fitness choice based on what you need and not what is available. No need to feel the frustration of going on a gym and find that the one piece of workout equipment you need is not available. You have the flexibility, varying your routines to meet your goals and schedule. Don’t have the time to spend hours at the gym? Do four 30-minute sessions spread throughout the day at your home gym. Plus, a home gym will be open 24/7, so if you want to work out at 2 AM, no problem! Read Here: Top 10 Best Treadmills Under $1000

4) Time and Cost Savings

With a home gym, you can eliminate the wasted times of traveling, the long lines in using a piece of equipment, as well as the prep time of dressing for the workout, showering and getting dressed to leave.

In addition, commercial gyms have membership fees. Other than the fees, you also have to add your travel costs as well as the inconvenient sharing of facilities with others. Adding up the costs of going to the gym, you’ll see that buying your own equipment is much better.

These are just some of the best reasons why you should invest in a home gym instead of going to your local gym every now and then. The problem now is that while a home gym is convenient and beneficial in many ways, for most people, this wonderful idea of a home gym may seem to be out of their budget. Read Here: Top 5 Best Elliptical Under $1000

Wrong!

A home gym can cost about as much as you want to spend. Know that just about every home gym starts with a few basic types of equipment, growing slowly from there. And In the meantime, you don’t need those large racks if you don’t have the money, instead, you can invest in a few gym essentials that will still give you results. To prove our point, here are 12 multipurpose fitness equipment you need for your budget home gym.

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12 Cheap Home Gym Essentials To Get You Started

Dumbbells

Dumbbell - Yes4All Adjustable Dumbbells

There is a reason why dumbbells are favorite gym equipment— they work, effectively. Dumbbells are super easy to incorporate into just about any exercise and when properly used, they help in building total-body strength. The price of dumbbell differs based on style, brand, and weight, so make sure to shop around and do some tests before purchasing.

We recommend that you start with at least 3 – 5 sets of dumbbells that vary in weight from 5 – 30 pounds. You can expect to spend $1 – $4 per pound, consequently, a single 5-pound dumbbell can cost you $5 – $20.

Kettlebells

Kettlebell - Weight training

When dumbbells are not enough, kettlebells are the next thing to buy. This piece of fitness tool features a bell-shaped lower half with a handle on top. Such design provides the uneven distribution of weight with the bell weighing more than the handle. Thus, when you press, lift and swing it, your body adjusts constantly to the changing gravity pull.

Kettlebells allow you to increase the weight that you lift during workouts such as lunges and squats, but also provide cardio workout when used in swinging workouts. Kettlebell also varies by weight, but are a bit cheaper than dumbbells. You can expect to spend at least $1 – $3 per pound. We recommend that you start with the mid-range kettlebells, weighing 12 – 30 pounds.

Medicine Balls

TRX Medicine Ball - Medicine ball

We don’t suggest that you spend a huge amount of your budget on a full set of medicine balls as they can be quite expensive. However, we do suggest that you get at least 1 – 2 medicine balls. These weighted balls have the size of basketball or soccer ball, ranging in weight from 2 – 30 pounds. They are easy to hold and makes a great addition to abs and core workout.

Also, medicine balls are great for building upper-body strength. Throwing a weighted ball against the wall, your arms do the same mechanics of jumping and that explosive movements increase strength. You can start with medicine balls of at least 4 – 8 pounds costing $20 – $45 per ball.

Resistance Bands

Resistance band - Exercise

When on a tight budget, resistance bands are the best. They are flexible, lightweight and super easy to store. As its name implies, a resistance band increases the resistance of just about any exercise, whether it is a seated row, a biceps curl or a lateral slide.

Also, resistance bands are great if you are in rehab or a starting out of a weight training program. You can do a full workout with just these bands. You can grab medium, light and heavy resistance bands for only $30 and below.

Jump Rope

jump rope

If you have not picked up a jump rope since your grade school, then you are in for a surprise. This piece of fitness equipment costs less than $20 but delivers a killer cardio exercise that you can do just about anywhere. Just don’t get enthusiastic and finish a 30-minute routine right away as the jumping rope is tough. Make sure to use interval training, switching back and forth between a minute of rest and a minute of jumping.

Stability Balls

Exercise ball - Exercise

This piece of workout equipment became popular in the 1990s and continues to do so. The large and inflated balls range in sizes from 75 – 45 centimeters in diameter, designed to support the weight of the average adult. Although known for abs-forming, stability balls allow you to achieve a total body workout.

You can place the ball between a wall and your back to make the wall sits harder or balance your shins on a ball as you do pushups. You can even use it as a bench, lying on it and using your feet for stability and do everything from triceps extensions to dumbbell chest presses. A stability ball can range from $18 – $70. Just make sure to look for mid-range, high-quality and appropriately sized ball.

BOSU Ball

Exercise ball - BOSU

Short for “both sides up”, a BOSU ball is a half-stability ball that delivers burning workout on your core and tests your balance and strength. For cardio, you can use it as a step with the ball side up on the floor. For stability and strength, flip it over, using the flat side to perform squats, lunges and even pushups. Unfortunately, BOSU Ball can set you back at least $100, so make sure to do some search online to get the best deal.

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The Step / Flat Bench

workout bench

A workout bench is a multipurpose home gym essential that won’t require you the budget for a squat rack. It can be used for standard exercises like the dumbbell chest press or even use it as an alternative for a plyometric box for doing jumping exercises or step-ups. In addition, the Step, a classic step aerobic fitness equipment, is another great option, allowing you to use it as a low plyometric box, a bench or a tool for your step aerobics.

Either piece of fitness equipment can only range from $45 – $90. You can buy both, but if you want to save more, you need to decide which one is best for you. If you prefer doing exercise videos then The Step is the one for you. However, if you tend to focus on strength training, then a bench will be suitable. Read Here: 5 Best Home Gyms

Yoga Mat

Yoga mat - Exercise

Although you may say that a yoga mat is not a workout tool, it is still an important item to buy. For only $40 or below you can pick a high-quality yoga mat to provide the right cushioning when performing stretches, yoga or abs workouts. Also, they are quite useful if you wish to workout outside and enjoy the fresh air while doing your lunges, planks, pushups or sit-ups without worrying about dirt and stones.

Suspension Trainer

Exercise - Suspension training

The lats are probably one of the hardest muscle groups to work on a home gym. It is easy to exercise your chest with pushups, your legs with squats and lunges, your arms and shoulder with triceps and biceps, but your back? While you can do rows with dumbbells and kettlebells, it is tough to mimic the movement of a lat pull down or a pull-up at home without the right equipment. While a pull-up bar is a great idea, it does not always fit the budget.

So, you can try the suspension trainer. These pieces of workout equipment can be hung from a door, wall or ceiling and are highly adjustable, allowing you to perform unassisted or assisted pull-ups with the added instability. Not only do they work your back, but they also provide a full-body workout as you push, pull and press through a series of movements. A set of suspensions straps can set you back for about $90 or below.

Cone Set

cone sets

Remember those cones set up during your grade school PE class? Well, they make a great piece of workout in any home gym. With nothing but 6 or 5 cones, you can set thousands of different drills every day! Set cones in a square and practice sliding laterally, backpedaling and running forward as you move around the square.

Line 5 cones in equal distances and perform “suicides”— run to the closest cone, back to start, then to the next cone and back, until you have run back and for the between each cone. The possibilities are just endless. And since you can buy a whole set for only $10 or below, they are a must-have for your home gym.

Foam Roller

RumbleRoller - Foam roller

For your post-workout kinks, the portable and lightweight foam roller is a must-have. Great for self-massaging, foam rollers are also suitable for balance training moves and stretching workouts. Don’t believe us? Try doing a lunge with one foot on a roller. When looking for foam rollers, choose one that is made of EVA foam in order to prevent warping which you find under $30.

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Conclusion

Home gyms do not need to break the bank. With just a couple of pieces of basic equipment like the ones listed above, you can get an awesome workout for less than $500. Instead of investing in expensive equipment all at once, what you need is motivation.

Remember, all the workout equipment you bought won’t do you any good if you do not know how to use it or do not have the time to use it. So, make sure to boost your motivation first we the pieces of workout equipment mentioned above. And when you have enough motivation and the goal to do more, then you can slowly build you’re a workout place that mimics your local gym.

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