Basics for a Home Gym

Even though I work at a gym, I absolutely encourage everyone to own their own exercise equipment and build a habit of exercising at home. There will be times you won’t be able to make it to the gym (no childcare, gym closed due to pandemic, moved to a new city). Most people cannot get all of their workouts in with a personal trainer every day, because they have stuff like jobs, families, and social lives. Here are a few of my home gym basics, followed by things that you don’t need.

1. Medium-weight dumbbells. To determine your medium-weight dumbbells, grab a pair from a sporting goods store. Try a biceps curl for 10 reps. The first 5 reps should be feeling easy breezy, 5-8 reps might be feeling moderately hard, and the last few reps should be burning. If you can get through all ten reps like it’s nothing, pick heavier and try again. For new exercisers, this might be between 5-10 pounds. Intermediate lifters might be 10-20 pounds. Advanced might be 20+ pounds. Here is a link for dumbbells I have purchased on Amazon (just make sure you’re ordering a pair of them, not just a single dumbbell): https://a.co/d/hnBzPNJ

2. A heavy kettlebell. Like, 1.5x heavier than your dumbbells. If you pick 10 pound dumbbells, get a 25 pound kettlebell. I’ve found these pretty inexpensive at Aldi, but they were full of heavy beans rather than one solid piece of iron. They also have them pre-owned at used sports stores. Or, here it is on Amazon: https://a.co/d/8vLkNOs

3. A step with risers. It is so versatile and makes a great option for cardio, and you can use it as a bench for bench presses, push-ups, planks, and more. Again, check a used sports store first. But here’s an Amazon link: https://a.co/d/cy5acjf

4. Fabric resistance bands. They come in a pack of 3 (light, medium, and heavy resistance) and include an infographic for how to use them. You can’t beat Amazon’s price on this one: https://a.co/d/dQ5Bk1x

5. Technology. A smart tv or an iPad so you can watch workout videos on YouTube, a Bluetooth speaker or air pods to blast trashy ‘90s music, an iPhone with a timer, etc. You might even have one device that does all those things.

6. A squishy mat/yoga mat. I’m too old to lay on hard floor. Plus it protects your knees and hands for moves down on all fours, stretching, etc.

It doesn’t have to be pretty to get the job done!

What you don’t need?

1. Giant machines that take up a lot of space. There are so many good workouts that don’t require machines like an elliptical, bike, treadmill, etc. If you’ve already got one of those, use it! But don’t fork over the money or give it the space in your house until you know for sure it’s something you want to have.

2. A designated space. Basement corner, laundry room, garage, front yard, the grassy area next to your kid’s baseball field, parking lot at the hockey rink… just bring your equipment and get the work in where you can, when you can. You don’t need a whole room designated to fitness.

3. To spend a lot of money. I purchased a lot of my equipment at Play It Again Sports. They have tons of exercise equipment at Goodwill. Six months after New Year’s resolutions, the equipment people bought and used once will hit the yard sales.

4. An aesthetically Pinterest-worthy room. My home gym is in my laundry room which is in my basement where we also store camping equipment, my kids’ sports equipment, and a litter box. It’s you that determines whether or not and how well you move your body, not the space you’re in. You are the magic, not the decor.