Best gear for your home gym

Ekta Sharma
Best gear for your home gym

 

So you’ve decided to invest in some fitness gear for your home gym! You’ve obviously already weighed up the benefits of having your own home gym, but just to remind you again these include:

  1. Save time – no travel to and from gym
  2. Convenience – workout whenever you feel like it, even if you can only spare 15 minutes
  3. No excuses – things like “too hot, too cold, raining, don’t have a babysitter, don’t have time” no longer present valid excuses when the gear is in your own home
  4. Privacy – focus on your workout and not worry about what others are doing or thinking
  5. Control your environment – you choose the temperature, the tv channel and the music
  6. Cost effective – in the long term owning your own home gym is much more affordable than a long term gym membership

So what do you get?

Well the answer here depends on exactly what you’re looking to get out of your sessions. What is your fitness goal? How much space do you have available to train and for storage? How many people will be using the gear? How often will you be using it? There are a million different pieces of equipment and ways to build a package or combination to suit you. Let’s talk about the different gear available and weight up the pros and cons of each piece. Then you can decide which one is the best fit for you.

We generally recommend having at least one piece of equipment from each category to give you the most options and variety in your sessions. 

Cardio equipment 

Cardio equipment is obviously designed to build cardiovascular endurance and to burn calories while you exercise. The cardio equipment has quite a large footprint, so most people will just choose one or two of these, and you will need a fairly large space available to house these both during use, and when they’re not being used. Most people will choose just one, favourite piece of cardio equipment, and pair that with a selection of other options.

 

Equipment

Pros

Cons

Treadmill

· Great for runners and walkers

· Adjustable speed and incline

· Easy to do intervals or hill training

· Can be “high impact” on joints

· Largest footprint – hard to move

· Only lower body

Cross Trainer

· Mimics walking/running but with no impact

· Adjustable speed and resistance

· Can use upper body as well as lower

· Large footprint – hard to move

 

Stationary bike

· Great for cyclists

· No impact on joints

· Smaller footprint, easier to move

· Only lower body

· Keeps you in a sitting position

Rower

· Great for rowers

· Includes upper and lower body

· Keeps you in a sitting position

· Large footprint

 

Free weights/ resistance equipment

Free weights can be a fantastic multi-purpose piece of equipment. Resistance training is highly effective for building lean tissue/ muscle, boosting metabolism and toning. Not to mention building bone density and a variety of other health benefits. Free weights are more functional than resistance machines because you engage more core and stabiliser muscles, like you would in real-life situations, rather than just isolating one muscle group at a time. Another benefit of free weights is that they are smaller in size so easier to store when not in use. Using free weights requires more skill than using machines, so you need to be careful. If you use weights too heavy for you, your risk of injury is greater, especially if you exercise without a spotter. Proper form is essential in making a free weight workout effective. You must avoid using momentum, and always work within a safe range of motion.

Equipment

Pros

Cons

Dumbbells

· Small size

· Can be used for MANY different exercises

· Great for functional strength and lean muscle building

· Great for bone density

· Allows you to train unilaterally (one side at a time)

· Need to choose specific weights that are the right size for you or get a whole set eg) 3kg, 5kg, 7kg, 10kg

Kettlebells

· Small size

· Can be used for MANY different exercises

· Great for functional strength and lean muscle building

· Great for bone density

· Allows you to train unilaterally (one side at a time)

· More challenging that dumbbells

· Some swinging/momentum movements need special training

 

Resistance bands

· Able to be used for a wide variety of exercises

· Lightweight and portable

· Great for light weight strength training

· Great to gently rehab after injuries

· Does not rely on gravity or have a “sticking point” like dumbbells

· Some limitations on exercises can be used for

· Need to choose the right resistance level or get a few different bands

Incline/Decline bench

· Gives you an adjustable, stable place to use your dumbbells for a variety of exercises eg) chest press, flies, 1-arm bench row, etc

· Has a relatively large footprint

Aerobic step

· Can be used for a variety of exercises with free weights or body weight

· Can be used as cardio or resistance equipment

· Lighter and more portable than bench

· Less stable than bench

 

Boxing Gear

Boxing for fitness is a fantastic, high intensity cardio workout that can be a great way to burn calories. It is fun and requires good hand/eye coordination – good for your body and brain. Keeping in mind, just like at exercise, boxing carries injury risks, and if correct technique is not used the injury risk is much higher. Ensure you have the proper technique training before you engage in any boxing for fitness.

Equipment

Pros

Cons

Boxing gloves

· Available in a variety of sizes

· Can be used with a variety of pads

· Small and portable

· Need a partner or a bag to punch

Focus pads

 

· Perfect for use with a partner wearing gloves

· Small and portable

· Need training to know how to catch punches

· Need a partner

Kickshield

 

· Perfect for use with a partner

· Need training to know how to absorb kicks

· Need a partner

Punch stand

 

· Great way to box without a partner

· Large and heavy

 

 

Heart Rate Monitors

A heart rate monitor is a great way to keep track of your intensity within each session to ensure you’re working at the right level for your goal. It also allows you to keep track of your workouts across the week, to monitor your progression and keep you accountable.

Equipment

Pros

Cons

MZ-1 band

· Tracks HR, intensity and calories

· Transmits info to your smartphone

· Machine washable bands

· No built in memory, must carry your phone with you

· Replaceable batteries

MZ-3 band

· Tracks HR, intensity and calories

· Built in memory so you don’t need your phone with you

· Rechargeable

· Water resistant 10m

· Machine washable bands

 

  

Balls and balance

Weighted balls can be a great alternative option to use in place of dumbbells, but can also allow you to perform movements that are not possible with a dumbbell. You get the benefit of the instability, balance and functional movements. Gripping a ball with your hand, arms, knees or legs engages a variety of different muscle. Sitting/lying on a fit ball or standing on a Bosu are fantastic options for improving balance and engaging core muscles. You can adjust the intensity in a variety of ways to make movements as hard or easy as you like.

Equipment

Pros

Cons

Medicine ball

· Small size

· Can be used for MANY different exercises

· Great for functional strength and lean muscle building

· Great for bone density

· Will bounce on a firm surface

· Need to choose specific weight that is the right size or get a few different ones

Slam ball

· Small size

· Can be used for MANY different exercises

· Great for functional strength and lean muscle building

· Great for bone density

· Stops dead on ground

· Need to choose specific weight that is the right size or get a few different ones

Fit ball

· Can be deflated for storage

· Can be used for MANY different exercises

· Great for functional strength and lean muscle building

· Great for core and balance training

· Large size when inflated

Bosu

· Can be deflated for storage

· Can be used for MANY different exercises

· Great for functional strength and lean muscle building

· Great for core and balance training

· Medium size for storage

 

Other fun bits and pieces

There are so many different pieces of equipment you can use to perform thousands of different exercises, these are some of our favourite, most functional, fun and versatile pieces.

Equipment

Pros

Cons

Exercise/ yoga mat

· Great for a soft, comfortable place for stretching, laying, hands, knees.

· Small, lightweight, easy to store

· N/A

Suspension Trainer

· Able to be used for a wide variety of exercises

· Uses body weight for resistance, adjust intensity by positioning body and straps

· Great for functional stability and strength training

· Lightweight and portable

· Can be attached to almost anything – doorway, tree, roof beam etc.

· Need to ensure anchor point is stable

Battle rope

· Excellent high intensity cardio

· Great for full body functional movements

· Packs away fairly small

· Some limitations on exercise options

· Need a fairly large floor space when using

· Moderately heavy to store

Skipping rope

· Great for cardio

· Great for hand/foot eye coordination

· Small, lightweight, portable

· Some limitations on exercise options

Hurdles

· Great for footwork, coordination

· Great cardio, fun, interesting

· Fold up and pack away easily

· Need a fairly large floor space for use

Agility ladder

· Great for footwork, coordination

· Great cardio, fun, interesting

· Fold up and pack away easily

· Need a fairly large floor space for use

 

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