Exercising at home can be a great alternative for those who don’t want to spend the time or money to go to the gym. As long as you have the necessary equipment for working out at home, you can perform plenty of different exercises and work your body out just as effectively from the comfort of your own home.
I enjoy working out at the gym, and I’ve always gone to a gym since I started lifting. However, when the COVID pandemic began in 2020, like everyone else, I was stuck at home for months. During this time, I turned to home workouts to maintain my body, and this actually proved to be very effective. For those who think you can’t properly exercise at home, you just need a bit of creativity, as well as the right equipment.
Fortunately, when it comes to equipment, you’ll only need a few items to get started. No, you won’t have access to all the fancy machines and equipment that a gym offers, but as long as you have these basic items, you’ll be able to come up with a comprehensive routine to train just about any muscle. If you’re interested in purchasing any of these products, I’ve included links below.
Exercise Mat
To start, exercise mats are a must-have. Even if you have no intention of doing yoga, mats come very much in handy when you stretch or do any exercises that require you to sit or lie down. They’re much more comfortable than laying on a cold, hardwood floor, and much cleaner than sprawling out on the living room carpet.
I’ve tried doing floor workouts when I didn’t have access to a mat, and honestly, I’ve had to end sessions midway through purely due to how much discomfort and pain I was in. Furthermore, even if I didn’t sweat from the workout, I’d need to immediately wash my body and clothes because of all the dust and dirt I’d picked up from the ground. To me, exercise mats are one of those things you don’t fully appreciate until you don’t have it, so this is a necessity for working out at home.
What’s great about the mats I’ve linked below is that the 10mm thickness provides significant cushioning. Typical yoga mats are very thin, and in my experience, provide little to no padding between you and the ground. There are benefits of a thin mat for yoga, but ab workouts are already difficult enough without the pain from pressing your tailbone on the floor. Additionally, the mat comes with a sling that allows you to easily transport it and store it away in a closet or on a hanging rack.
Resistance Bands
Resistance bands are very versatile pieces of exercise equipment, as you can use them to train all different muscles. Essentially large rubber bands, resistance bands have inherent resistance when you try to pull them apart, making them ideal for building strength. They can be used as weights themselves, or leveraged to increase the load when performing calisthenics.
They’re also a great tool for stretching before and after your workout. You don’t want to try and stretch with too much resistance, but using a light resistance band in your stretches is great for getting your muscles loose and flexible.
With these resistance bands, they come in five levels ranging from about 10 pounds to 50 pounds of resistance, so you have the option to choose which ones best suit your exercise needs.
On the other hand, if you’re not sure what resistances you’ll need, and you don’t want to be left with the decision of picking, you can also get a three-pack of light, medium, and heavy resistance bands. This should adequately cover the range of resistances you’ll need for your stretches and strength training.
Shop three-pack resistance bands
Hand Weights
Hand weights are a fundamental part of any workout routine. Especially if you’re working out at home, you likely won’t have access to many of the machines that a typical gym would have, so many of your strength-training exercises will incorporate weights in some manner.
While they can be used to work any muscle, these weights are particularly useful for isolation exercises that target smaller, weaker muscles. While these weights might be a bit light for working out your legs and chest, they’re perfect for building up muscles like your forearms, biceps, and shoulders.
The weights I’ve linked below range from 3 pounds to 15 pounds. There are certainly heavier free weights you can purchase as you progress, but these are great if you exercise casually or are just starting out.
Resistance Cords
Similar to resistance bands, resistance cords can be integrated in a variety of ways into your workout. They pretty much work the same as resistance bands, but cords come with handles that may give you a better grip for certain exercises. In addition, unlike a band’s loop design, cords may also allow you to perform some motions more easily, such as raises and curls.
That being said, though they can overlap, bands and cords still serve their own purposes. One isn’t necessarily better than the other, it might just depend on your personal preference. However, one thing that’s for sure is that having both resistance bands and cords will maximize the range of exercises you’ll be able to perform. Considering that both are pretty affordable, it’s worth giving both a try.
Foam Roller
This is something that I often see people either rely super heavily on, or severely underestimate the importance of. I used to fall in the latter category, but I’ve come to recognize its place in my routine.
While foam rollers won’t provide any strength training to your muscles, they’re still very beneficial for your workout. Before you begin exercising, using a foam roller is a great way to warm your muscles up. It lets more blood flow to your muscles, which increases the load they can handle and reduces the chance of injury, whether you’re doing cardio, yoga, or strength training.
That’s not all though. They also play a vital role after your workout, especially if the workout was resistance-heavy and your muscles feel utterly drained. Rolling out your muscles on a foam roller can significantly reduce post-workout tightness, as well as prevent soreness the next day.
I used to completely disregard foam rollers, but nowadays, I gain these pre- and post-workout benefits from using them for even just a few minutes at a time. Despite them being seemingly negligible pieces of equipment, I’d highly recommend having one.
