If you’re on a tight budget and can’t afford the membership fees at your local gym, there’s no need to worry. With just a few bucks and a little ingenuity, you can make your own home gym. As long as you got the basic equipment needed, you can start doing biceps curls, squats, sit-ups and basically anything you can imagine from the comforts of your own home.
Month after month your gym equipment keeps on giving and giving, as you work your way towards a better shape.
Remember; It doesn’t have to cost a fortune, and below we’ve listed some of the best examples of low-budget equipment that will work really well ina home gym setup.
Quick tip: Warm-up sessions are important, because they increase the blood flow to the muscles and help you improve your strength and performance during your workout. If your space is limited and running outdoors isn’t an option, check out these compact treadmills or try these 17 exercises for indoor warm ups.
First off, we need to understand which muscle groups are the most important ones, that you need to train on a regular basis in order to get in proper shape:
- Chest
- Shoulders
- Triceps
- Back
- Biceps
- Abs
- Hamstrings
- Quadriceps
- Glutes
- Calves
While some exercises can in fact be done with no equipment at all, some require at least basic equipment to give you a decent workout. Below are our recommendations of the best low-budget equipment for a home gym:
Dumbbells: The essential all-in-one equipment
The Yes4All Adjustable Dumbbells Set will set you up with all the different weights you’ll need when doing almost any exercise at home.
You need a decent pair of dumbbells. Period. This will be your biggest investment, but they’re well worth it.
If you get a pair of adjustable dumbbells, you can use them for almost any muscle group you can think of: chest, shoulders, triceps, back, biceps, abs, hamstrings, quadriceps, glutes, and calves.
Dumbbells are, in other words, an essential part of any home gym, and for a low-budget gym the dumbbells mentioned above will work really well.
Exercise mat: A comfortable and protective layer
The affordable ProsourceFit Puzzle Exercise Mat is a great choice, if you want to set up a low-budget home gym inside your house or garage.
You need a protective layer for your floor, that’ll keep you comfortable at the same time.
Exercise mats can either be bought as a mat you roll up and put away when you’re not using it, or as a puzzle mat that you can lay out on top of your floor.
The puzzle mat is a great choice for those who want to create a small home gym and do frequent workouts, because it’s big enough to hold all your equipment and provides a nice comfortable non-slip area for you to stand, lay down or sit on.
Pull-up bar: Multipurpose workout bar
With the Iron Gym Total Upper Body Workout Bar you’ll be able to do pull-ups, push-ups, chin-ups, dips, crunches, and much more.
This type of pull-up bar installs in seconds with no screws or mounts needed, it simply holds itself in place against the doorway, without causing damage or putting you at risk for using it properly.
With a workout bar you can do tons of different exercises, that’ll help you build muscles in a safe way, while at the same time improving your core strength.
Resistance bands: Great for more than warmups
Resistance bands do more than providing resistance, and we recommend you take a closer look at the AmazonBasics TPE Resistance Band.
Resistance bands are great, low-budget equipment that suit any home gym and works for multiple purposes.
Not only do they provide resistance when warming up or stretching, they also provide assistance when you’re attempting to do pull-ups yet haven’t mastered it. Simply wrap the resistance band around the pull-up bar and underneath your feet, in order to relieve the pull a bit.
We believe resistance bands belong in any proper home gym, simply because they work really well for a ton of exercises.
Workout bench: For weightlifting, and more
We believe the Marcy Multi-Position Workout Utility Bench is a great choice for any low-budget home gym. It provides a great, versatile seating area for multiple exercises.
A workout bench is an essential piece of equipment for any home gym, and it doesn’t even have to be expensive either. Granted, it isn’t necessarily cheap, but it’s a great purchase that you can use for a ton of purposes.
Place your workout bench on your exercise mat, and you’ll have a great place to sit or lie down when doing your biceps curls, sit-ups, benchpress, and more.