I figured now is a perfect time to put together an at home workout equipment list for those of you who want to expand your home exercise options. While you can certainly get a great workout without owning equipment, these pieces will spice up your routine and dramatically increase the number of exercises you can do at home.
1. Exercise Bands
Exercise bands are a great piece of home workout equipment, while most you have one laying around, it makes sense to invest in new ones, with multiple resistance levels. Be sure to get bands with handles for increased comfort and exercise options. You can see a complete home workout (with photos showing proper form on each exercise) using only exercise bands, here.
2. Mini Bands
Mini Bands
Exercise bands’ little brother, mini bands are a very efficient and cost effective way to bring resistance to a lot of lower body exercises. Place the band just above your knees to increase muscle fiber recruitment on squats and place the bands around the ankles to increase glute activation.
3. Medicine Ball
I love using medicine balls in my workouts- they are versatile and take up only a small amount of space. You can use them for pushup variations, squats, and to add resistance to crunches to name a few. I wrote a med ball only fat blasting circuit, give it a try!
4. Pair of 10 pound or 25 pound Dumbbells
Depending on your fitness level or goals, choose either a 10 lb. pair or 25 lb. pair for maximum versatility. There are virtually endless options with a pair of dumbbells, get creative!
5. Jump Rope
A smart space-saving piece of home workout equipment- the jump rope is a great warmup or works well as part of a circuit. If you live in an apartment, it’s best to jump rope outdoors.
TRX Pushups
6. TRX/Gymnastic Rings
Suspension trainers like the TRX or gymnastic rings are the more expensive items on the list but deliver when it comes to the variety of exercises you can do and by taking up a very small amount of space. You can hang them over a sturdy door and work the whole body. Notable exercises are the inverted row, a TRX hamstrings leg curl, and TRX pushups, pictured here.
7. Foam Roller
Investing in a foam roller is a smart choice, quarantine or not. Regular foam rolling will increase blood flow to the muscles, helping recovery. It will also relieve tension in tight muscles, allowing for greater mobility.
8. Swiss Ball
Swiss Ball
The Swiss ball is an excellent choice for at home equipment because it is quiet and especially good for people with back issues. You can train the abdominals effectively by doing crunches on the Swiss ball or performing one of my favorites at the studio, a Swiss ball pass. Simply lay flat and pass the ball from your hands to between your feet, breathing out and contracting the abs each time the ball comes to the middle.
9. High Density Foam Ball
I am obsessed with this ball. This high density foam ball has the perfect hardness level to break up tough knots in the upper back or legs. I use it on myself and clients all the time. I find it much better than using a lacrosse ball, which is too hard and can be unnecessarily painful. Just like the foam roller, this will improve recovery and nip potential injuries in the bud.
10. Exercise Mat
A soft exercise mat turns any floor into a comfortable training surface for all floor exercises. If you are doing any amount of home workouts, it is a smart and sound investment.
Carpet Sliders
11. Carpet Sliders
While placing hand towels under your shoes can turn a hardwood floor into a slick surface for exercises like mountain climbers, carpet sliders are a great simple piece of equipment. They are essentially a piece of plastic that turns carpets and even rubber flooring into a low friction surface which increases the amount and style of exercises you can do. An inexpensive and space efficient addition to any home workout space.
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