Fitness Equipment Home Gym

Compact Exercise Equipment


“I don’t have enough space for big gym equipment,” or “I can’t afford all of those exercise machines” are simply not good enough reasons to give up on exercising. With a little self-reflection and planning, nearly anyone can exercise at home. Here are some equipment ideas from various budgets that do not take up a lot of space:

Stability Ball

Pros:

  • - Inexpensive
  • - Because of the element of balance, muscles (including many that don’t normally get exercised) are constantly firing and reacting together
  • - Can be used to exercise every muscle group
  • - Can be combined with dumbbells to increase difficulty
  • - Can adjust inflation level (less inflated = easier to balance on)

Cons:

  • - Be mindful of proper positioning and technique to avoid injury
  • - Be sure to get the correct size ball for your body type

Pull-up/Chin-up bar

Pros:

  • - Inexpensive
  • - Excellent for upper body strength and muscle building
  • - Most models can be easily removed & stored in a closet or under a bed
  • - Some models do not have to be screwed into the doorway, so no damage is left
  • - Some models have multiple grips to focus on different muscles

Cons:

  • - Some models must be screwed into the doorway, so doorframes are damaged
  • - Pull-ups/chin-ups take a certain amount of upper body strength, so not everyone will benefit from this type of exercise initially

Resistance bands

Pros:

  • - Inexpensive
  • - Can be used to exercise every muscle group
  • - Can purchase bands that provide different resistance
  • - Can vary resistance on an individual band by wrapping it around your hand, or by varying where you hold the band

Cons:

  • - Some bands are made of latex, so you have an allergy, but careful to get latex-free bands

Dumbbells

Pros:

  • - Smaller sets geared towards aerobic exercises are relatively inexpensive
  • - Offer a huge variety of exercises for most muscle groups
  • - Strengthen stability and secondary muscles that are not worked with certain machine, or even bar exercises
  • - Large variety of weight available
  • - Can be combined with a bench to provide an even greater variety of exercises

Cons:

  • - Larger sets geared towards muscle and strength building can be expensive (if the cost of individual dumbbells is an issue, look into adjustable weight dumbbells such as the popular PowerBlocks or Bowflex SelectTech)
  • - Less stability provided than bars or weight machines, so be sure to focus on technique to avoid injury

Jump rope

Pros:

  • - Inexpensive
  • - Excellent for cardio work without the need for large, expensive machines
  • - Difficulty of jumping can be modified to meet the needs of most exercisers

Cons:

  • - Not ideal for anyone with leg joint troubles, or other chronic problems of the legs due to high impact of constant jumping

Exercise videos

Pros:

  • - Relatively inexpensive
  • - Provides instruction on technique and sequence for exercise routines
  • - Many different types of workouts available to meet a larger variety of personal needs and goals
  • - Equipment that is required for most videos is relatively inexpensive and easily stored

Cons:

  • - Difficult to truly know if you will like the exercise routine before purchasing it. You may want to research the video online and read reviews first or borrow one from your local library.