The 'Must Have' Home Gym Guide

So, you want to put together a home gym? Maybe you have some space at home, and you want to use it.

And why not? Instead of relying on the availability of public gyms, you can have one right where you live. This saves you time, money, and lots of frustrations in the long run.

But there is a problem:

You have no idea where to start. What equipment to buy? What isn’t so important?

To help you get started, we’ve put together this article. Below, you’ll learn what the most critical pieces of equipment are.

Let’s dive in.

 

1. Dumbbells

If you can only get one type of equipment for your home gym, make sure you get dumbbells. While a bit more expensive to buy initially, dumbbells have a fantastic return on your investment.

First, dumbbells are great because you have a wide range of weights to pick from. This means that you can use them regardless of your experience and training style.

Second, thanks to their versatility, you can use dumbbells for all kinds of exercises. For example, pick a pair of lighter dumbbells and do activities like bicep curls, tricep extensions, and chest flyes. Pick a couple of heavier dumbbells and perform rows, chest presses, and squats.

 

2. Kettlebells

Next to dumbbells, kettlebells are another fantastic piece of equipment for your home gym. Kettlebells are incredibly versatile because you can pick from various weights, and you can use them for all sorts of exercises.

Unlike dumbbells, kettlebells also offer the ability to perform more dynamic movements like kettlebell swings. This makes them fantastic if you enjoy doing metabolic conditioning work and need the occasional break from traditional weight training.

Plus, you can use kettlebells for traditional movements like chest and overhead press, rows, squats, and much more.

 

3. Resistance Bands

Though resistance bands tend to gather dust in some forgotten corner of most gyms, they are invaluable to any home gym. Instead of investing tons of money in different machines, you can get a few resistance bands.

For one, resistance bands allow us to perform a variety of great exercises like chest flyes, lateral raises, lat pulldowns, rows, bicep curls, and tricep extensions.

Resistance bands also add an extra challenge for traditional movements. For example, wrap a band over your arms and behind your back to make regular push-ups more challenging.

Plus, bands are fantastic for mobility and warm-up activities, so you can always find a good use for them.

 

4. Barbell With Weights

So long as you have the first three types of equipment on our list, you can have amazing workouts at home. But, barbells are also fantastic because they allow us to perform effective compound lifts: bench press, rows, deadlifts, squats, and military press.

Plus, barbells allow us to load up more weight and build more strength from our workouts. Thanks to the mechanical tension, we can also experience better muscle growth over time.

Barbell exercises are also time-effective and work great with other movements you would do with dumbbells, kettlebells, and resistance bands. Together they give you everything you need to have varied and effective home workouts.