Setting up a home gym can be a daunting prospect. Your space and budget are probably limited, so you must carefully consider your equipment choices. After all, the right workout equipment is a joy to use. In contrast, poorly thought-out purchases can be a waste of money, taking up valuable space.
As a veteran personal trainer, I’ve been helping people set up home gyms for over three decades. Consequently, I’ve got a pretty good idea of what you need for a great home gym.
Of course, YOUR requirements depend on your fitness goals, budget, and how much space you have available. However, I can help you boil your choices down to the bare essentials to get you started.
In this article, I share the five must-have pieces of gym equipment for home gyms. Armed with these items, you’ll have everything you need to start your home fitness journey.
5 Must-Have Pieces of Workout Equipment for Your Home Gym
Are you thinking of building a home gym? The following items provide everything you need to build muscle, get stronger, increase your fitness, improve your flexibility, and burn fat. Consider these items as the essential cornerstones of any great home gym!
1. Adjustable Dumbbells
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A rack of commercial dumbbells is hugely expensive and takes up a lot of space. However, you can replace all those individual weights with a good set of adjustable dumbbells. With the ability to quickly change weights, you can use adjustable dumbbells singularly or in pairs to train your upper body, lower body, and core.
Effective adjustable dumbbell exercises include:
There are lots of different types of adjustable dumbbells to consider, from compact selectorized/stacking dumbbells to Olympic dumbbell handles.
However, for the money, a simple pair of standard dumbbell rods and a selection of small to medium-weight plates provide the best bang for your buck. You can also buy more weights as you get stronger, which helps spread the cost of your dumbbells, taking the strain off your wallet.
Related: Best Dumbbell Workout to Build Muscle at Home
2. Resistance Bands
While dumbbells are incredibly versatile, working only against gravity can make hitting some muscles tricky. For example, you can’t really replicate lat pulldowns with freeweights, and many of the best triceps exercises are off the menu, too.
A home cable machine is one solution to this problem, but they’re big, expensive, and impractical for many home gyms. The good news is that there is a solution that’s both compact and cost-effective – resistance bands.
Just like dumbbells, resistance bands are incredibly versatile, and you can use them to replicate most freeweight and machine strength training exercises. Resistance bands are also an excellent warm-up, mobility, and stretching aid. They’re available in a range of styles and strengths, and most are very budget-friendly.
In addition, bands are easy on your joints, portable, and all but silent in use. As such, you could even consider resistance bands as an alternative to dumbbells. That said, pumping rubber is never quite as satisfying as lifting actual weights!
Effective resistance band exercises include:
- Overhead press
- Lat pulldown
- Triceps pushdown
- Good morning
- Supine leg curl
Related: 10 Strength Coach-Approved Resistance Band Exercises You’ll Wish You’d Known About Sooner
3. Adjustable Bench
There are plenty of exercises you can do while standing and many more where you sit or lie on the floor. However, adding an adjustable exercise bench to your home gym will open up a whole new category of exercises to you.
Combined with your dumbbells and resistance bands, owning a bench means you can work several otherwise hard-to-reach muscle groups, and it will make your workouts more comfortable, too. Plus, many exercisers appreciate the added back support you get from sitting or lying on a bench.
A regular flat bench is probably the most budget-friendly option. Still, you’ll enjoy more variety if you choose an adjustable bench. Some benches even fold flat for easier storage.
Effective adjustable bench exercises include:
- Incline dumbbell press
- Chest-supported dumbbell row
- Incline dumbbell curls
- Bench knee-up crunches
- Dumbbell leg extensions/curls
Some benches come with additional features, such as leg extension, leg curl, preacher curl, and pec flye attachments. However, in my experience, these add-ons don’t usually work as well as advertised, so should not be considered essential.
Related: 11 Best Weight Benches Reviewed for 2024
4. Yoga Mat
Most core and stretching exercises take place on the floor. While you could just kneel, sit, or lie on the ground, I guarantee you’ll be a whole lot more comfortable if you add a good-quality yoga mat to your home gym setup.
As well as providing essential padding, yoga mats are non-slip, and help keep your floor clean. Yoga mats also roll up, so they’re easy to store.
Yoga mats are available in various sizes and thicknesses. They are made from several different materials, including PVC, TPE, polyurethane, rubber, jute, cotton, hemp, and cork. Each type offers different levels of grip, durability, eco-friendliness, and comfort, so pick the material that best matches your needs.
Regardless of which type of yoga mat you buy, I strongly recommend placing a towel on it to soak up any sweat and keep it clean. Also, wipe down your mat with an anti-bacterial spray every week or so to prevent unpleasant smells and extend its lifespan.
Effective exercises you can do on a yoga mat include:
- Planks
- Push-ups
- Crunches
- Clamshells
- Downward dogs
Related: The Best Mat Exercises for Your Upper Body, Lower Body, and Core
5. Jump Rope
Home cardio equipment usually falls into two very different categories – cheap and poorly made or good quality but very expensive. Consequently, picking an effective cardio option for your home gym is no easy matter.
However, you don’t actually need something like a bike, treadmill, or elliptical to build fitness and burn fat at home. A jump rope will get the job done.
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Jump ropes are cheap – often costing $20 or less – and deliver a low-tech but high-effect cardio workout. Jumping rope also strengthens your ankles, tones your calves, legs, arms, and shoulders, and burns a lot of kilocalories. You’ll find your coordination improves, too.
You can use a jump rope for low-intensity zone two cardio, but interval training works much better. Just crank up your favorite tunes and alternate 40 seconds of jumping rope with 20 seconds of rest. Repeat ten times for a cardio workout that’s as effective as it is brief.
Effective jump rope exercises include:
- Two-footed jumps
- Heel-toe jumps (boxer style)
- High knees
- Butt kickers
- Double unders
- Crossovers
Jumping rope is an excellent way to warm up for your at-home workouts, and you can add bursts of jump rope to your training program to increase your fitness and enhance fat burning. Alternatively, like FitnessVolt.com author Vidur Saini, you could start every day with a quick bout of jumping rope.
Don’t know how to jump rope? Don’t worry – it’s easy to learn. Check out this video to discover the joys of jumping rope:
Optional Extras
Now you know how little exercise equipment you actually need to set up a great home gym. But what if you have more space than the average person or don’t mind spending a little more money?
If that describes your situation, here are a few more things to consider adding to your home gym!
Power Tower
A power tower is a freestanding pull-up/dip station. Most also have a “captain’s chair” for abs training and may also feature raised push-up bars. A power tower is great for anyone who enjoys calisthenics or bodyweight training. You can also use a power tower as an anchor for resistance bands.
Related: Build Muscle at Home: The Ultimate Power Tower Workout
Suspension Trainer
While you can train all your major muscles with dumbbell and resistance band exercises, using a suspension trainer, such as a TRX or similar, will add a whole new dimension to your home workouts.
Suspension trainers take bodyweight exercises and turn the difficulty up to the max, making them ideal for more experienced lifters. That said, shortening the suspension straps makes many exercises easier, so this is a very versatile piece of fitness equipment.
Related: Suspension Trainer Bodybuilding Workout Plan
Squat/Power Rack
A squat/power rack allows you to train with heavy weights in relative safety. One is a must for any lifter who wants to bench press or squat at home. You can also use a squat/power rack for barbell overhead presses, rack pulls, and pull-ups, and many feature dip bar attachments.
While power racks are generally pretty big and can be expensive, they’re essential for anyone who wants to lift heavy weights. Combined with a barbell, weights, and bench, they’re the perfect centerpiece for a hardcore, heavy-duty garage gym.
Kettlebells
Kettlebells are spherical weights with handles at the top. They can be lifted and swung in many different ways and provide an excellent addition or alternative to dumbbells. You don’t need to buy a full set of kettlebells, but adding 2-3 to your home workout setup will significantly increase your exercise library.
However, it’s worth noting that kettlebells can be expensive, and many so-called kettlebell exercises can be done with dumbbells.
Medicine Balls
Most strength training exercises are done slowly, smoothly, and with control. While that’s usually the best way to build muscle and strength, it’s not so good for developing muscle power, which is force produced quickly.
Medicine balls can be lifted quickly and even thrown to develop muscle power. So, if you want to run faster, jump higher, throw further, or punch/kick harder, medicine balls can help. In addition, they’re great for enhancing core strength.
Related: 15 Medicine Ball Exercises for Full Body Workouts, Fat-Burning, And Stronger Core
Closing Thoughts
Lack of time, lack of self-confidence, and lack of facilities are three of the most common barriers to regular exercise (1). However, in many cases, you can overcome these barriers by quitting the gym and working out at home instead.
Home workouts are often more time-efficient and convenient than going to the gym. In addition, your home gym is always open, so you can work out whenever you like. You don’t have to worry about other gym users, either, so you can relax and enjoy your workout without interruption or judgment.
Of course, working at home means you’ll need to set up a home gym. But, as you hopefully now realize, this does not have to be difficult or expensive. In fact, if you are really short of time and on a tight budget, you can get in great shape with just some resistance band and bodyweight exercises.
So, don’t feel you have to attend a commercial gym to get in shape. The reality is that your body doesn’t care where you work out. What really matters is that you do it regularly and consistently. For many people, that means setting up (and using!) a home gym.
Related: 10 Common Excuses for Not Working Out Busted
References:
- Hoare E, Stavreski B, Jennings GL, Kingwell BA. Exploring Motivation and Barriers to Physical Activity among Active and Inactive Australian Adults. Sports (Basel). 2017 Jun 28;5(3):47. doi: 10.3390/sports5030047. PMID: 29910407; PMCID: PMC5968958.
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