Many people think that a home gym is too expensive to create, so they don’t bother. But this isn’t the case; a home gym doesn’t need to be overly expensive. You can build a home fitness space on a budget. A personal workout area and home gym have several benefits. With multiple lockdowns, the home gym has taken on a whole new meaning. To help you craft your own workout space, here are some budget gym equipment ideas to get you started.
In this article:
- Why You Should Build a Home Gym
- How to Choose Gym Equipment for Your Home Gym
- 5 Budget Home Gym Equipment Ideas
Why You Should Build a Home Gym
When it comes to home fitness, you have a few different options. You could create a garage gym, convert a spare bedroom into a workout space, or even take your training outdoors in the garden. In the last year, home fitness has become the norm for many people. Even with gyms re-opening and running as normal, working out at home is a convenient and easy way to get more movement into your life.
With more people working from home, you can squeeze in a workout on your lunch break or hit the gym straight after work with no commute or expensive membership fees. You can see why building a home gym is so popular when you can exercise without leaving the house. Other benefits of a home gym include:
- Always stick to your fitness routine
- Save time
- Skip the queue
- Complete freedom to work out
- Exercise with the whole family
How to Choose Gym Equipment for Your Home Gym
Fitness trends come and go, but some of the most popular gym equipment options tend to be timeless. Choosing the best equipment for your home gym starts by determining what sort of exercise you want to perform and your ideal goals.
If you’re looking to increase strength and muscle mass, it makes sense to invest in free weights like dumbbells and barbells. On the other hand, if you want a space to do yoga and HIIT workouts, you can focus on creating a space large enough to do this.
To choose gym equipment, naturally, you have a budget to follow. This can restrict what you can purchase. But, in general, you can find something within your budget to help you achieve your goals. A home gym isn’t just a space with lots of high-tech and expensive fitness machines. It can be a nook in your living room with a few gym mats and kettlebells.
5 Budget Home Gym Equipment Ideas
Creating a home gym is about tearing down any hurdles that stand between you and fitness. Family commitments, work, and general day-to-day living can make it tough to get to the gym as much as you want. You can create a home fitness space on a budget that allows you to perform effective workouts and hit your goals. Here are five budget home gym equipment ideas to narrow down your choice.
1. Barbell and Bumper Plates
The important thing to know is that you don’t need a ton of equipment to get started with your home gym. You can invest in a couple of select pieces and grow your gym over time. You can perform a surprising amount of exercises with a barbell and some bumper plates. This is why it’s a great piece of equipment to start. If you want to lose weight, you can focus on high reps. For building muscle, you can slowly increase the weight with low to mid reps.
2. Squat Rack
A squat rack is another super versatile piece of equipment. When you’re on a budget, usually, you only have the money to buy a couple of pieces of equipment. So, it’s important that you opt for pieces that have plenty of versatility. You can use a squat rack for squatting, benching, pull-ups, and more.
3. Skipping Rope
A skipping rope is a cheap, small, and portable piece of gym equipment. If you want to get some cardio in and need something that you can do at home, a skipping rope is ideal. Skipping can burn calories, improve heart health, and strengthen bones.
4. Resistance Bands
Resistance bands are cost-effective, portable, and small. They take up very little room and can have a big impact on your workout. The bands create resistance that can help to burn calories, increase strength, build muscle, and burn fat.
5. Kettlebells
It’s a good idea to start with a squat rack, barbells, and weight plates. This is because you can do a lot of different types of exercises with this equipment. Next, you can start investing in other free weights like kettlebells. These free weights are very versatile, don’t take up much room, and are ideal for building muscle, strength, and endurance.
You can start training at home without breaking the bank. Although there are many expensive types of gym equipment out there, you don’t need to spend thousands to create an effective workout space. By setting out your budget, evaluating your space available, and figuring out your fitness goals, you can narrow down your search and buy gym equipment on a budget.