Are you looking at purchasing exercise equipment for your home gym and don’t know where to get started?
While equipment isn’t always required for your workouts, you can use it to increase the intensity of the exercises and add variety to your routine. Here is a list of some of my favorite equipment for small, in-home gyms.
Tube with door attachment – have a variety of tubes with different intensities to accommodate the level of strength for each body part. Compact and portable. You can put it in a drawer when you are done using it or take it with you while travelling. It can target all areas of the body including chest, back, shoulders, arms, abs, legs and glutes.
Dumbbells – don’t take up a lot of space, allow for a lot of variety for programming and intensity, and you can perform a full body workout. Since the weight of dumbbells is measurable, you can set benchmarks and goals for strength training success.
Exercise mat – offer comfort and cushion while doing floor and kneeling exercises. They are light, portable and can be rolled up and stored almost anywhere.
Suspension trainer – takes up little space, can easily be put away in a drawer or closet when not in use, or packed in a suitcase for travel. With focus on the core, a suspension trainer offers a full body workout which will improve cardio, strength, flexibility, and stability. They also assist with balance and coordination.
Stability ball – allows you to engage your core as well as smaller, stabilizing muscles while the primary focus is on other major muscles in an exercise. The ball can replace an exercise bench for many exercises and is easy to move around.
Loop bands – small, light and portable. They can challenge each area of the body, including chest, back, glutes, legs, arms and shoulders.
Yoga strap – compact and portable. Its purpose is to help to improve flexibility and extend range of motion.
Hula hoop – inexpensive and portable. The hula hoop challenges your core, improves balance, increases heart rate and helps burn calories.
Aerobic step – easy to move around and can be used to improve overall fitness, including strength, cardio and flexibility.
Balance trainer – easy to move around. It is used to challenge your balance as well as assist in other types of training, including rehab, strength, flexibility and cardio.
Glider disc – small, light and portable. Glider discs can be easily stored and/or packed into a suitcase for travel. They are an excellent tool to challenge all major muscles groups, especially the core.
As you can see, each piece of equipment offers its own unique benefits. Find the one(s) that best suits your wants and needs.
To reach your goals faster and reduce risk of injury, I recommend working with a qualified personal trainer. A qualified personal trainer will design a program specific to your wants and needs, observe form, make changes as needed to have you reaching your goals in a safe and effective manner, and make you accountable to your exercise goals.
For information on online personal training services or to schedule a free, 30-minutes consultation, email kim@livingwell-hfc.com.