When it comes to purchasing the best budget home gym equipment, it can be hard to know where to start.
We all know how important being active is for physical and mental wellbeing, but not everyone has the time or money to join a gym. (Not to mention how intimidating they can be for beginners!)
Wouldn’t it be amazing instead if you could create a home gym to work out in privacy whenever you had some spare time?
We’ve put together a list of the best budget home gym equipment to get your sweat on at home.
But don’t worry if you haven’t got a room in your home to devote solely to fitness.
We love small space living and these inexpensive finds have been specially chosen to work even in the tiniest and coziest of spaces.
All of these picks combined come to less than $150, and individually, they’re cheaper than that.
Plus, once you buy them, you’ve got them for life – unlike those costly gym memberships!
If you have always wanted to try out a fitness tracker but were put off by the high cost, this budget Fitbit alternative does everything you could need – and more!
Want to shop all our Health picks in one place? Check out our dedicated shopping page, full of all our best finds from the interwebs!
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Where to focus your home gym efforts
Completing that first session feels great, but seeing results is what will keep you going in the long term.
To do that at home you need to focus on four key areas:
- Core
- Resistance
- Cardio
- Recovery
Let’s look at each in turn, we’ll start with our core.
Why is exercising your core good?
Core training improves your posture as it supports your spine and aids your balance.
Core muscles are connected to your legs, and affect the way you stand, squat, and sit.
It’s not just about abdominals, but also training your back, your glutes, and the area that connects to your spine.
Even if you don’t dream of a six-pack, a strong core will help you perform daily movements with greater ease and a reduced risk of injury.
If you ever experience lower-back pain, a strong core might also provide some relief. – Although consult your doctor before embarking on any exercise regime to check it’s right for you.
Here are some examples of budget home gym equipment to strengthen your core:
Ab Roller Wheel
Abdominal wheel rollouts are good for a number of muscle groups.
While traditional crunches and sits ups work just your abdominal muscles and obliques, each repetition of rollout exercises works nearly 20 muscles!
They target hip flexors, abdominals, obliques, and many others throughout your body.
This roller is our recommendation to get the biggest bang for your buck. The handles are good quality, which makes a big difference if you’re supporting your weight with them.
The wheel’s core is made from durable stainless steel, so it can be used for a variety of intensive workouts. Plus, it comes with its own knee mat.
Swiss Exercise Ball
Working out with an exercise ball is another beneficial way to help improve muscle tone, balance, and flexibility.
You can also use an exercise ball to warm up and stretch your muscles before you begin a workout, which helps to reduce the risk of injury.
This one is made from hard-wearing anti-burst material so you can use it with confidence.
It includes a foot pump so you can inflate it to your desired tension, and it comes in a range of colors and sizes.
Be sure to pick the right size exercise ball for your height, using this handy guide:
| Your Height | Ball Diameter |
| Between 4’6″ and 5’4″ | 55 centimeters |
| Between 5’5″ and 5′ 11″ | 65 centimeters |
| Over 6′ | 75 centimeters |
Next up we’ll tackle resistance and weight training
Resistance and weight training at home
Over the last decade, research has shown that there are lots of benefits to doing resistance training (weight training to you and me).
However, the number of people who have taken up this recommendation is still relatively low.
Resistance training doesn’t have to mean pumping iron in a sweaty weight room, with machines that look like they belong in an action movie montage.
It can be simple exercises that challenge your body. Let’s look at some budget resistance equipment for your home.
Resistance Bands
These resistance bands are the definition of budget full-body workout equipment for small apartments.
Taking up virtually no space, resistance bands are cost-effective and adaptable to your fitness level (both now and as it increases over time).
Bands come in a variety of resistance levels, including light, medium, and heavy.
You can further adjust the intensity of your workouts by giving the band more or less slack whilst using it.
You can also use multiple bands simultaneously to increase the challenge, so they’re suitable for beginners and experts alike.
Ranging from light to extra heavy, these portable bands are made from latex and are the perfect companion for trips and vacations.
If you have any allergies related to latex, here is a latex-free alternative.
They can be used for a comprehensive workout that challenges virtually every major muscle group in your body.
Kettle Bell
Kettlebells are small and a great time saver when you need workouts that are fast and intense.
The benefits of kettlebell training are wide-ranging and outshine both dumbbells and the fancy weight machines found inside gyms and health clubs.
An all-around fitness superstar, it could potentially replace almost every piece of exercise equipment you own.
Plus it saves time by combining both strength and cardio in one workout (more detail on the benefits of cardio later)
What weight kettle bell to choose? 10lbs like the one above is a good start if you’re new to working out. You can go up to 35lbs if you’re already athletic.
Pull-up Bars
Pull-ups and chin-ups are a great workout for burning fat and toning muscles.
They’re also one of the most difficult exercises.
It’s no coincidence that they’re shown in nearly every movie training montage! Being able to ‘pull-up’ your own bodyweight is a brilliant goal to work towards. Plus they take up little space, mounting onto your door frames.
If you’ve been put off pull-up bars in the past due to the potential damage they could do to your doorway, fear not.
This one uses leverage to hold it against the doorway. It installs in just seconds and there are no screws to worry about. It can also be used for assisted push-ups, dips, crunches, and more.
Dumbbells
You might see a number of recommendations to get adjustable dumbbells – where you increase their weight as you get stronger.
However, we don’t think that’s necessary: Not only are they significantly more expensive (sometimes over 10x the price of regular dumbbells).
But with non-adjustable dumbbells, you can keep progressing simply by increasing the number of repetitions and sets.
Grab the ones below, and start with 8lbs and try for 12 repetitions for 4 sets of your chosen exercise.
Once you can comfortably complete that, step it up to 20 reps on each set. When that becomes easy, you know it’s time to upgrade to a heavier weight.
Got the essentials? Here are three affordable extras that helped take my fitness to the next level
Want to shop all our Health picks in one place? Check out our dedicated shopping page, full of all our best finds from the interwebs!
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