Buying workout equipment doesn’t have to be expensive. (Unless you want a treadmill or something.) I’m a huge believer in bodyweight exercises, but gadgets are fun and effective, too, if you’d like to have a few. Here are some that don’t take up a lot of space and don’t cost too much, but give you a lot of variety in your at-home workouts.
Resistance Bands
These are my favorite for traveling, and you can do a full-body strength workout with these. I have taught hour-long classes using only these bands–the variety of exercises you can do is huge! Most come with an instruction guide that demonstrates a few exercises, and you can find a lot more online. They come in several resistance levels.
Exercise Ball
This is another incredibly versatile tool. It takes up a bit more space and is hard to “put away”, so you want to make sure you have a place for it after it’s blown up. (If you have to blow it and up and deflate it all the time…you won’t.) I like to sit on mine at the desk, and I use it for loads of exercises that go way beyond just crunches.
Kettlebells
For something heavy, I’d get one of these before I’d bother with dumbbells. (I’ve never owned my own dumbbells, but I’ve had a kettlebell for the last four years.) The key is learning how to use it properly; if you do, it offers an incredible full-body workout. I would highly recommend seeking instruction from a trained kettlebell instructor.
Yoga Mats
It’s almost essential for yoga–if you’ve ever tried doing yoga on carpet (too slippery) or a plain floor (too hard), you know what I mean. And if you’re new to yoga and thinking, “Oh, I won’t bother with that until I see how I like it” I can tell you you’re going to like it a lot less if you’re slipping all over the place or if your knees hurt. Get the mat. It can double as a mat for any type of floor exercise you want to do.
Jump Rope
Cardio, quickness, and coordination are all challenged with a jump rope, and it’s fun! The ones via the link start at about $8 and are adjustable to any length; it’s really important that you’ve got the right size rope for your height, otherwise jumping becomes unnecessarily difficult and frustrating.
Step
I had in my head that these were close to $100, but the one via that link is (currently) about $40 and it comes with four risers! If you like to do box jumps, cardio drills, step classes you can follow online or with a DVD–or even just to add variety to your pushups and lunges–this can be a good purchase, too.
What gear and gadgets do you use at home?