Overview of essential equipment for home workouts

Author: Timko Ilya - master of the whole project and fitness trainer.
2014-05-15

As a survey shows, 40% of visitors to this site train at home. In general, home workouts are quite "fashionable" right now. People are trying to save their time and money. At the same time, everyone agrees that the quality of home workouts is always lower than that of workouts in the gym (all other conditions being equal).

Well, the thing is, not many people can imagine what equipment is more necessary and functional and which is less so. After all, some people have nothing at home, while others have whole strength multi-gyms. So, in this article, I will go through the most primitive pieces of equipment for home workouts to the most elaborate ones. Let's start with the simplest.

2 – 3 stools

They will serve as benches for various presses:

And all those exercises that are usually done lying on a bench. Besides that, you can do:

You can do push-ups from them by placing your hands on the stools. Or you can do:

In general, this is the simplest and quite functional piece of equipment that almost everyone has. That is, in most cases, you probably have such stools by default.

Jump Rope

A jump rope is a kind of the most primitive and cheap cardio trainer. It is well suited for warm-ups before workouts and for cardio loads in addition to strength exercises. Its effectiveness compared to regular running is approximately 50%. Not amazing, of course, but there are some benefits. And for individuals who are not well-prepared, it will be just what they need.

Adjustable Dumbbells

If you already have stools, it's time to think about dumbbells. They should be adjustable. Usually, for women, a dumbbell weight up to 12 kg is sufficient. For men, up to 25 kg. But this is on average. I have some "housewives" in my gym who lift dumbbells of 20 kg.

Alternatively, you can buy a set of dumbbells that have increments of 2 – 3 kg. But this is a more expensive option.

In general, dumbbells are a more versatile piece of equipment than a barbell, as the number of exercises you can do with them is approximately twice that of a barbell.

Pull-Up Bar and Parallel Bars

This option is very important. But it is generally important for men. Women can often forgo this. Of course, you can go outside, but it's not very convenient to run back and forth from the room to the yard after each exercise.

Currently, home wall-mounted pull-up bars and parallel bars are inexpensive and relatively easy to install. With the help of a pull-up bar and parallel bars, you can perform basic exercises for the back, biceps, triceps, and chest. Personally, in my gym, not a single mass training complex does without parallel bars and a pull-up bar.

Barbell Bar

Alright. If you have all the above, the next most important item is a barbell bar. It's best to get a straight bar, as it is more versatile than a curved one. It's also preferable to have the diameter of the weights for the dumbbells and the barbell the same. I think even a fool can understand that this is more economical and convenient.

Weights for Barbell and Dumbbells

I hope that the barbell and dumbbells you have share the same diameter of the sleeve. This way, purchasing weights will be much easier for you.

For women, these weights should suffice: 2x10kg, 2x5kg, 4x2.5kg, 4x1.25kg. You should have four small weights to put on the dumbbells. Thus, the total weight with all the discs will be 65 kg (if the bar weighs 20 kg).

For men: 2x20kg, 2x15kg, 2x10kg, 4x5kg, 4x2.5kg, 4x1.25kg. Thus, the total weight with all the discs will be 145 kg (if the bar weighs 20 kg). This weight will come in handy for deadlifts. As practice shows, the average man weighing 80 kg can potentially lift 140 kg for 2 – 3 reps after a year of training.

Barbell Racks

You need to choose racks that are suitable for both squats and bench presses. There are plenty of options available now, and it’s not a problem to find suitable racks. Of course, with a light weight, you can do presses and squats without racks, simply laying down with the barbell or resting it on your shoulders. But this would be more suitable for women, and only for those who don’t want to lift large weights in general. By the way, until the early 20th century, there were no racks in gyms at all.

Adjustable Bench

If you have all of the above + an adjustable bench, then your gym is already about 20% - 25% short of a fully functional gym. You already have almost everything needed for working with free weights. But you lack machines.

The backrest must be adjustable. This way, you can perform exercises not only lying horizontally but also at an angle and sitting.

What and where is better to buy, see here: What dumbbells, barbells, and racks to buy for home?.

Hyperextension Bench and Ab Bench

In short, you can do not only the following on a horizontal hyperextension bench:

Therefore, a hyperextension bench can very well replace an ab bench.

And if there is still money and space in the apartment?

After that, it all depends on your goals. If the main goal is weight loss or toning, then it’s better to buy a cardio machine. A treadmill or elliptical trainer. More details: Which cardio machine is best to buy for home use?. For those wishing to build more muscle, you can also look into strength training machines. More details: What strength training machines are best to buy for home? and Home multigyms: review of the best models.

Conclusion

As you can see, even with just a few thousand rubles, you can acquire some necessary equipment. Typically, this includes dumbbells and various improvised materials. It's not uncommon for people to also have barbells and pull-up bars with parallel bars at home. Therefore, some of my home complexes include exercises on this equipment.

Well, to turn your home into a fully functional gym, you will need about 20 square meters of space and approximately 200,000 rubles. Thank you for your attention.