Are you looking to set up a home gym but don’t have a lot of room or cash? Want to buy equipment that gives you the best exercise bang for your buck? In this article I’ll show you an inexpensive complete home gym that can get you into shape for minimal money and maximal value.
When I say “home,” I mean you likely have limited space in which to exercise in your house or apartment, especially if you are setting up your first home gym. So I’ll focus on equipment that doesn’t permanently attach to the walls and that takes up minimal space. In fact, I’ll focus on portable equipment that can easily be put into the trunk of your car so that you can take your gym with you wherever you go, so that you can still get in your workouts even if you are on travel.
Also, many people don’t have the time necessary to train at a typical commericial gym. They often require a long commute, are only open during certain hours, are often crowded, don’t always have the right equipment, and you often have to deal with the person before you not wiping their funk off the equipment after they finish.
Your home gym never closes, you can play your own music as loud as you like, and you can even wear and do whatever you want in your home gym.
When I say a “complete” gym, I mean a set of equipment that can give you a complete workout, and this includes the ability to perform strength, agility, and conditioning exercises. Balance is key for long term health and fitness, so it is important to focus on training in these three fitness areas for total body health.
And when I say “inexpensive,” I mean reasonably-priced fitness equipment that gives you the option for many exercises, yet is also well-made, so that your investment will be maximized over the life of the equipment. You may be looking to set up your first home gym or you may want to supplement your sports training done outside the home. But in any case, with the economy the way it is these days, getting the best value is assumed to be high on your priority list.
Your training will evolve over time, and so you’ll likely add more equipment as your training needs evolve. But the equipment in your inexpensive, complete home gym, shown below, will likely become your favorite pieces of exercise equipment. Note that for each piece of equipment I’ll also include some canonical exercises to serve as a starting point for your fitness journey.
Pull-up Bar
Great for blasting the back and the abs, the pull-up bar is essential for the complete home gym. For the inexpensive home gym, go for one of the pull-up bars that fit over the doorframe. These don’t permanently attach to your wall, don’t hurt the paint, and can quickly be taken down when you are done with your workout. Also, these doorframe pull-up bars can be thrown in the trunk and taken with you on travel so you can keep up with your pull-ups and leg raises while on the road.
Here’s a good pull-up bar that fits over the doorframe:
Pull-up Bar Exercises
- Normal-grip pull-up or chin-up
- Weighted pull-up or chin-up
- One-arm hang
- Knee raises
- Leg raises
Kettlebells or Dumbbells
Kettlebells are very popular these days, though folks say you can do most almost any kettlebell exercise also with a dumbbell. Personally I find kettlebells better for balistic exercises like swings, snatches, cleans, and jerks, and the kettlebell horns make them perfect for goblet squats, but dumbbells are still a cornerstone of a complete home gym.
Onnit makes a quality line of kettlebells, in a variety of weights:
For the ultimate kettlebell, check out the chimp kettlebell (1 pood = 36 pounds) from Onnit:
Here’s a decent line of basic dumbbells:
Kettlebell or Dumbbell Exercises
- Swing
- Press
- Goblet Squat
- Bent Row
- Curl
Parallettes
I’m in love with parallettes—I’ve been really impressed with my strength gains since using them, mostly from just practicing beginning static holds so far. I’ll also be making another post soon to give more details on how to use parallettes.
While you can find instructions on the web on how to make your own parallettes, by gluing together pieces of PVC pipe, the first time I did a handstand on my Vita Vibe parallettes, I was glad I didn’t go the cheap PVC route, since my metal parallettes are rock solid and I felt in no danger of them collapsing:
Parallette Exercises
- Tuck Sit
- L Sit
- Tuck Planche
- Pushup
- Handstand Pushup
Jump Rope
To be honest, I never really gave the jump rope any respect until I started using it as a part of my Muay Thai training. Now I say you can’t have a complete home gym without having at least one jump rope. The jump rope is great especially for working on agility and conditioning. I’d avoid the jump ropes made out of leather, and I’d especially avoid those beaded clunkers you used in elementary school.
Here’s a good basic (and very inexpensive) jump rope:
Jump Rope Exercises
- Basic Skip, two feet landing at the same time
- Run In Place
- One Leg
- Double Unders
- Criss-Cross
Resistance Bands
Don’t let the image on the packaging fool you–resistance bands are not just for rehab situations. I’ve included <a href=“http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0010VQNYU/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0010VQNYU&linkCode=as2&tag=becomingheroic-20"">resistance bands here because they are so inexpensive and portable, allowing you to supplement your bodyweight training with more resistance no matter where you go on travel. Also, unlike with free weights, the tension felt by the muscle is relatively constant throughout the range of motion.
The number of exercises you can do with resistance bands is only limited by your imagination. And don’t forget, you can combine bands together to increase the resistance.
Exercise Mat
To protect your floors when swinging your kettlebells and for use when stretching, a quality exercise mat is key. Though some people like to use yoga mats, I find typical yoga mats to be too small to be useful, and I don’t like the used car tire smell from some of them. I’ve found gymnastics mats to be the best for all-around exercise use, but for a complete inexpensive home gym, I’d go for something like this Everlast folding exercise mat:
Mat Exercises
- Stretching
- Yoga
- Burpees
- Pistols
- Lunges
Get your own complete inexpensive home gym
I hope you found these suggestions helpful. Here are the links so you can start rocking your own home gym:
- Kettlebells and Dumbbells
- Parallettes
- Pull-Up Bar
- Jump Rope
- <a href=“http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0010VQNYU/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0010VQNYU&linkCode=as2&tag=becomingheroic-20"">Resistance Bands
- Exercise Mat
While you can always add more equipment over time, like power racks, weight benches, barbells, medicine balls, heavy bags, treadmills, climbing ropes, battle ropes, and weight vests, the above pieces of gear I highlighted in this article give you all the basics you need to get into outstanding shape.
Once you’ve assembled your home gym, however, be sure to take that next step and use it!
Best of luck and let me know how your fitness journey goes.