Home gyms are convenient options for people who want to exercise, but don't like visiting public gyms. When setting up your home gym include these five key items and elements to make sure you have everything you need for fun and effective workouts.
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Personal Space
The first thing you'll need is something most people tend to overlook - space! You should find a place that's tall enough for you to fully lift your arms and spacious enough for you to take at least a step or two in any direction. This can be your living room, basement, garage, yard, or any spare room you might find. Move some things around if you have to. Your home gym should be both convenient and comfortable. A pleasant, unobstructed workout area will make exercising much more enjoyable, ensuring that you work out harder and more often to see better results.
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Adjustable Weights
Resistance training is essential for toning muscles and getting stronger, but different body parts and exercises might require different amounts of weight. Adjustable weights allow you to easily change your resistance level without buying too much unnecessary equipment. Machines with adjustable weight stacks, plate loaded dumbbells and barbells, and even loadable sandbags can provide the versatility you need to find the right challenge for every workout. See what a piece of equipment can do before purchasing it, and test the lightest and heaviest settings to see if it fits your current strength level.
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Resistance Bands
Resistance bands provide the literal and figurative flexibility that your home gym needs. These strong rubber bands come in different strengths and sizes and can be attached nearly anywhere in your home to work any part of your body from almost every angle. The bands provide gentle resistance at first that slowly increases the further you pull. This can be a safe and unintimidating option for beginners, those with joint issues, or anybody who wants some added versatility and tension in their workout. Best of all, these bands are light, inexpensive, and can easily be taken to any park or hotel for easy and convenient home-gym-away-from-home workouts.
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Cardio Equipment (that you actually like)
Most people dislike cardiovascular exercise because they don't like running on treadmills or biking in place. If you don't like it, then don't do it. There are plenty of ways to increase your heart rate and burn calories that you might actually enjoy. Jumping rope, boxing, shooting hoops, carrying odd objects around your backyard, doing ladder drills, or just running and biking outside like a normal person might be more enjoyable than forcing yourself to use clunky objects you don't like.
Plyometric jumping exercises, agility drills, calisthenics videos - all of these are additional options you can consider that require little to no equipment and can provide a fun and effective at-home cardio workout.
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Toys and Accessories
Most people buy a home gym first and then try to figure out what to do with it. Instead, start with what you currently have and make additions you need or like along the way. Don't buy a bench if you don't really need it, and don't buy a rowing machine if you don't like pulling things for extended periods of time. The accessories you purchase should complement and support your current goals and efforts, and not empty your wallet while filling you with guilt about not doing things you don't want to.
On the other hand, if there is a piece of equipment that's effective and fun to use, definitely consider getting it. If you really like doing crunches on a stability ball and hate doing them on the floor, spend the few extra dollars if it means you'll actually make progress training your abdominals. Do you think swinging kettlebells and throwing medicine balls looks fun? Then don't deprive yourself.
Exercising essentially boils down to making sure you use all the different muscles of your body while increasing your heart rate, and you're much more likely to do that using something fun rather than something you hate. If it looks fun and it fits your fitness goals, consider adding it to your home gym arsenal.
A wisely fashioned home gym can be the difference between lackluster results from dreadful exercises and fruitful efforts stemming from fun and invigorating workouts. Thoughtful decision making and a focus on what you really enjoy can help you easily achieve your fitness goals while enjoying yourself along the way.