7 Essential Items to Outfit Your Home Gym

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7 Essential Items to Outfit Your Home Gym

Don’t have time to get to a gym?  We understand!  If you have the space - and it doesn’t take much - a home gym can be a worthwhile investment.  Here is a list of items that you can purchase to make a mini gym in your own home or garage.
So, what tools do you need to accomplish this? To get started on a great home gym, you should invest in the following 7 items:

Dumbbells

The exercises you can do with dumbbells are seemingly endless so they justify their purchase immediately. A nice set of dumbbells moves you miles closer to never having to use a commercial gym again.  For what it would cost for 2-3 pairs of individual fixed weight dumbbells, you can have a set of adjustables.
Prices on a set of adjustable dumbbells range from $129 to $600. Far less than you would spend on many other options.

Weight Bench

While not as important as many might think, a bench is still a critical component of your home gym. Whether stationary or adjustable, a bench opens up a treasure trove of lifts.  You don’t even have to be laying on it or sitting on it. Think Bulgarian split squats or seated dips.
Getting your body safely in the correct position for some exercises is a key function of a solid bench.  Having a stable adjustable bench facilitates a wide array of movements not possible without one.
Product Recommendation: Adjustable Foldable Exercise Bench

Kettlebell

A lot of people will tell you kettlebells are not essential. Many kettlebell movements can be done similarly with a dumbbell. Certain kettlebell movements are unique, however, and some movements just work better or are more challenging with a kettlebell.
They are a worthwhile investment for the variety they can add to your workout routines.
Product Recommendation: Kettlebell Weight Set

Pull Up Bar

Pull up bars aren’t just for pull ups! There are a number of basic gymnastic exercises you can practice if you have a pull up bar installed at home.
While you can get pull up bar systems built for doorways, ideally you would have an archway or part of a wall where you could mount a bar.  Better yet, purchase a multi-function tower that can add additional exercises such as dips.
Product Recommendation #1: Wall Mounted Pull Up Bar
Product Recommendation #2: Pull Up Bar Workout Station

Jump Rope

Jumping rope is hands down one of the best ways to get a cardiovascular workout. It increases your heart rate quickly, and also works your arms, shoulders, legs, and core. And a rope packs up super small, which makes it great for those with limited storage space or anyone who travels a lot.
Product Recommendation:DEGOL Jump Rope

Medicine Ball

A great tool for plyometric exercises as well as core strength movements, a medicine ball is an essential purchase. Whether you are throwing it, carrying it, or doing abdominal exercises with it, a medicinal ball provides you with many, many options.

Photo: Courtesy of www.power-systems.com
If you are not sure about weight, err on the lighter side as many medicine ball exercises emphasize speed and power.
Product Recommendation: Medicine Ball

Plyometric Box

Plyometric exercises are easy to build into your home workouts, and require nothing but your bodyweight and a bit of free floor space. Some of the best and most effective plyometric training techniques, however, incorporate not only your bodyweight, but gravity as well. And the best way to bring gravity into your workouts is to use a plyometric box (or plyo box for short). 

Photo: Courtesy of www.shortmotivation.com
You may want to build your own wooden box if you have the ability, or hire a friend. In a pinch, you can also just go down to the hardware store and purchase an irrigation box.
Product Recommendation: Plyometric Box (Wooden)


With these items, you can generate hundreds of exercises.  If you can’t afford all of them at once, start slow and build one piece at a time.  Limited on funds?  Try searching Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace to find equipment that others no longer want.

For those of you who are under a time crunch, if investing in a home gym has you actually working out on a regular basis…it’s a better investment than spending monthly dues on a gym you never attend!

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