Every year millions of dollars are spent on the latest and greatest fitness equipment, guaranteed to get you in shape. Then a few months later the equipment becomes an expensive clothes hanger or it is put in the back of some closet somewhere to collect dust. Everyone has great intentions, they set that New Year’s Resolution and start off in a blaze of glory to achieve their goals only to burn themselves out and lose motivation. Turn on the television and you can find hundreds of infomercials touting different products to get you in shape. Is it really necessary to buy all of these different gadgets just to get in shape? I don’t think so.

Go into any fitness facility and you will most likely see at least 50 different machines, each one targeting a different muscle group. On top of that there will be hundreds of dumbbells, weight bars, and weight plates. There will be benches and squat racks and every piece of cardio equipment you could imagine. Looking at all of this equipment would make someone think it is necessary to get in shape. Now think of what your reaction would be if you walked into a gym that had a few dumbbells, bars with weights, a few benches, stability balls, and a few bands. There would be a lot of empty space in the gym. I’m pretty confident that people wouldn’t be as likely to sign up to join the second gym. That is part of the reason fitness facilities have all of the different equipment, it is one big visual trick to get you to join. You don’t need lots of different equipment to reach your fitness goal, whatever it may be. I guarantee for a few hundred dollars you could set up the perfect gym in the comfort of your own home.

I will admit that I generally don’t encourage most people to start working out from home. I feel that most people do not have the motivation and accountability to ignore all of the potential distractions that can arise when working out at home. As mentioned above, people already have lots of equipment that they don’t use. What’s going to change by getting a different piece of equipment? I think that you need to generate the habit of consistently working out in order to effectively workout at home. Once you have developed the motivation you will better be able to ignore the phone call, or tell your children that it is your time right now. A great way to stay accountable is to have a workout partner who either comes to your home or you go to theirs. I will discuss motivation techniques at a later time. As you improve your motivation and accountability it is actually much easier and more convenient to workout at home, saving yourself a lot of much needed time. Right now I want to keep you from wasting hundreds and thousands of dollars on unnecessary equipment and set you up with the perfect home gym.

I think that there is a misconception for men more than women that you need lots of different equipment to make sure you get big and strong. I guarantee that it doesn’t take very much equipment to reach anyone’s goal. The first issue I want to address is space. In order to have an effective home gym it’s important to ideally have at least a ten by ten foot space that is either already open or you can clear when you workout. Once you have found your designated workout area it’s time to go shopping.

For people who are on an extremely tight budget you can get away with just buying a few dumbbells. I would recommend 5’s, 10’s, and 15’s for women and depending on the level of strength men could start with 10’s, 15’s, and 20’s. With your body weight and the additional dumbbells a great workout is possible. The dumbbell is always the first pieces of equipment I would recommend since it has so many different possibilities. For people who have a higher budget, instead of buying a lot of different sets of dumbbells I would recommend saving space and getting an adjustable pair of dumbbells. There are two brands that I know of. One is made by Bowflex and the other is made by Power Block. Out of the two I would definitely recommend the Power Blocks. The Bowflex dumbbells don’t offer the range of weights that the Power Blocks do. I personally own the Personal Trainer Set because it has such a wide range of weight possibilities. The set starts at 2.5 pounds and goes up to 50 pounds by 2.5 pound increments. This is especially effective for women who can have a harder time making five pound increases in weight. For men who need heavier weights the Power Blocks can be expanded all the way up to 130 pounds per dumbbell, which is about as high as most gym sets go up to. I would definitely make the purchase of a good set of dumbbells your first priority since they offer so many different possibilities.

The next piece of equipment that every person should have is a good stability ball. They are also known as Swiss Balls, physio balls, among many other names. Stability balls have become a must have piece of equipment every since the idea of functional training was developed. They provide a lot of different possibilities. Stability balls have mainly been used to focus on training the core. Apart from doing stability ball specific core exercises, your traditional core exercises, like a crunch are made much more difficult by using a stability ball. The balls also have a lot of other possible uses. Stability balls make an excellent unstable bench for doing dumbbell presses or any other exercise you would do lying on a bench. You can also perform seated exercises on the ball like a seated shoulder press. All of these exercises work the stabilizing muscles in your body to keep you from falling off the ball, increasing the difficulty.

There are people that will question the safety of using a stability ball in place of a standard bench. I agree to an extent. First of all, make sure you have a base level of fitness before performing difficult exercises or exercises that require a lot of stability strength that you have yet to develop. If you feel like you are going to fall off the ball, either select a lighter weight or choose a different exercise. Progress to using the stability ball as your fitness level improves. The other issue people have with stability balls is the likelihood of them being punctured or popping which would result in injury. Again I agree with this concern. However, if you purchase a decent quality ball it will be burst resistant, almost completely eliminating the risk of injury. I recommend the Gymnic Stability Ball Plus because of its ability to maintain its shape and burst resistant qualities. Not only does a stability ball challenge you more than a standard bench it is also significantly cheaper. When purchasing a stability ball online use the available sizing chart to determine the appropriate size. If purchasing from a store you want your hip to be even with your knee or slightly above when sitting on the ball.

The last major piece of equipment that I would recommend, especially when traveling, is a resistance band. Any exercise that is performed with dumbbells or a bar can be performed with a band. A band can also be slightly better than some dumbbell exercises because you work the muscle standing up, which is more applicable to daily activity. A band can also be thrown in your luggage, taking up minimal space and weight, when going on vacation. This allows you to ensure you can get a good workout when you are away from home. I feel that it is important to have at least two different bands of different resistance levels. This will ensure you have the proper resistance for different exercises. I recommend the JC All-Purpose Exercise bands. These are intended for use by fitness professionals because of their high quality. Most resistance bands purchased at sporting good stores are just two handles connected by rubber that tend to lose their tension quickly or break easily. The JC band has a cloth loop in the middle between the two handles which increases the potential uses. You can hook the loop on a door knob or thread the handles through the loop to attach the band to a pole or a stationary object. For women I would recommend getting the orange and yellow band, while the men should start with the yellow and blue band. Being a giant elastic band the farther you step from where the band is attached the harder it gets. So, there is a far amount of variance in terms of resistance for each band.

For the most part your home gym could be complete. Taking these three pieces of equipment with some knowledge and creativity can provide a phenomenal workout. A combination of standing, seated, and lying exercises can be performed to work every muscle in your body various different ways. This is the only equipment I use 90 percent of the time when training myself or training my clients. The other moderately beneficial pieces of equipment could be a mat, if you have an aversion to performing exercises on the ground. I recommend saving the money for something else and using a carpeted floor to provide some cushion. The only other equipment that you could get to start your gym would be an adjustable bench. Again I would recommend saving your money, since the stability ball, or a chair could provide all of the same potential uses a bench would. So, in my opinion your home gym is complete.

People may be wondering about the lack of cardio equipment. My opinion is that spending a few thousand dollars on a decent piece of equipment is fairly foolish, when a pair of running shoes and some decent clothes provide the same benefit. Spend time in the great outdoors, enjoy the fresh air. A great pair of shoes will cost about $100 while some different clothes for varying climates will cost another $100 or so, which is significantly less than a treadmill would cost. A normal bike also is a great piece of cardio equipment that can be dug out of the garage. I typically run outside one to two days a week and bike one to two days. I live in Chicago so I have to deal with some pretty unfavorable weather and I still manage to get my cardio in. Be a little adventurous, it is much more fun than the monotony of running on a treadmill.

Now that you have the equipment necessary to get a fantastic workout you need to develop the motivation, accountability, and consistency to achieve all of your fitness goals. I would recommend trying to develop a routine that will help encourage you to exercise on a daily basis, whether it’s exercising first thing in the morning, right when you get home from work, or after you eat dinner. Developing a set routine will create the consistency necessary to achieve your goals.

Remember that no matter how much equipment you purchase, it doesn’t do any good if it never gets used. Realize that you are capable of achieving great things and take the necessary steps to reach your true potential. Never settle for second best or accept mediocrity. The people who are ultimately successful are the people who accept life’s many challenges and thrive on the desire to succeed. Start today by doing something to start yourself down the path to greatness. If you take a small step everyday, no matter how small, sooner or later you will have accomplished seemingly impossible feats. To take something from my favorite company, Adidas, Impossible is Nothing. Good luck.

Trackback URI |