Exercising at home is a way better alternative than having to deal with jammed gyms and sharing the equipment with a plethora of other people. But when it comes to turning your living space into your own personal gym, you’ll only need two things- a little bit of enthusiasm and the right home gym equipment.

But when we’re talking about essential equipment for your home gym, getting a gymnastic air track or an indoor bike is often not enough to meet specific fitness goals. This is why we made a list of a couple of home gym essentials that will step up your workout routine without draining your wallet.

Weights

Lifting weights isn’t only beneficial for bulking up and gaining muscle mass. In fact, it has been shown that working out with weights can help you lose weight, boost your metabolism, improve your posture, bone density and your night’s sleep. So, don’t hesitate to provide yourself with home gym weights to improve your body, inside and out.

However, have in mind that home gym weights aren’t one size fits all solution for everyone, but there are different types of weights that make a huge difference. For instance, many people tend to struggle when lifting unstable types of weights, (such as sandbags that tend to “shift” the sand inside with every movement), but feel less challenged when lifting the same weight of stable types (such as dumbbells that feature evenly distributed weight at both ends.)

Dumbbells

Talking about different types of weights, your choice should also depend on your fitness goals. For instance, it’s recommended to equip yourself with dumbbell home workout weights if you’re aiming to activate all the muscles across your body, enhance your strength, lean mass and boost your bone density. 

Kettlebells 

Kettlebell weights for home gym setups can be very beneficial for those who’re aiming for more intense cardio workouts and body toning. They’re also recommended if you’re aiming to boost your strength-endurance and power-endurance abilities and combine cardio and strength training.

Barbells

Barbells are also among the most recommended home weights equipment, and there’s a bunch of reasons behind it. First of all, barbells are a very affordable option since they can be used to utilize multiple group muscles. More specifically, barbells allow you to perform squats, deadlifts, bench presses and overhead presses without having to switch between four different types of exercise machines. 

Except for that, barbells are great for strengthening your neuromuscular connection, gaining strength and boosting your balance and coordination abilities.

Pull Up Bar

Except for equipping yourself with a home gym weight set, you can also benefits from a convenient pull-up bar. Pull up bars are considered excellent for boosting your upper body strength- strengthening your back, arms and shoulder muscles and improving your grip strength.

But if you’re on the market, searching for the perfect pull up bar for your home’s exercising space, you’ll come across two types of these bars. The first type- the telescopic door should be attached to a door either with holders on each side of the doorframe or by extending it until it’s firmly secured in between the doorframe. 

The second type are self-supportive pull-up bars and they don’t require any affixing. Instead, they need to be propped against the back of a doorframe and use your body as leverage.

Workout Bench

Even though workout benches are mostly intended for training with weights, most of them are completely adjustable to meet your fitness goals. In other words, you can always set your workout bench in different positions- horizontally, inclined, folded etc. so you can perform a specific exercise.

Regardless of the position you set your workout bench in, they’re perfect for increasing your strength, especially in your upper body. Workout benches are also considered great for improving your muscular endurance and preparing your body for advanced exercises, so make sure you don’t skip them when shopping for equipment for your home gym. 

Jumping Rope

Jumping ropes are the most affordable and yet the most versatile piece of equipment everybody needs. Not only are they great for cardio training for weight loss, but they’re also considered as one of the most effective exercises for boosting your endurance.

The versatility of the ordinary jumping rope doesn’t end here, since they’re also perfect to finish and top up your training session or keep your body in the movement for the days when you aren’t able to get full training. Jumping ropes are suitable for both, beginners and advanced exercisers, so don’t hesitate to provide yourself with one for your home gym.

Resistance Bands

Finally, resistance bands are also among the most affordable and the most versatile exercising essentials that can be beneficial for losing excess weight, building muscle mass and bulking up and increasing your muscles’ strength.

Resistance bands come in different resistance levels – from very light to extremely heavy so you can always challenge yourself more and more. They’re also suitable for training all the parts of your body.

Now that you know what exactly you need, don’t hesitate to hit your favourite sports store and provide yourself with these must-have pieces of equipment for your home gym. Your body will be thankful.