14 Things Every Home Gym Needs

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There’s a little game I like to play sometimes, and it seems to be popular with other people who tend to work out at home: What equipment would I buy if I were starting a new home gym from scratch? Or you can play the expanded version: If you already have (insert general items here), what would you buy next?

What follows are my tips for anyone looking to start a new home gym or expand their existing one – be it a corner in your bedroom or a complete weightlifting paradise in the garage. I start with space and budget friendly items and then move on to some larger purchase items.

Kettlebells

If I were to put together a home gym from scratch, I would probably start with two kettlebells: one light enough to do a rigorous press or snatch, and one heavy enough to make swings and goblet squats a challenge. For a beginner this could be one thing 25 pound kettlebell and a 50 pound kettlebell; Of course, if you are stronger, you should also become heavier. The plain cast iron type is usually the cheapest, while the colorful type is the cheapest Competition style kettlebells feel a little nicer.

If I had a little more money I would buy them adjustable KettlebellsHow this one from Bells of Steelso that they could get heavier as I got stronger. Adjustable in competition style by far the best varietyas they maintain the same, smooth shape regardless of the weight you put on them. This allows you to perform cleans, presses and snatches instead of limiting yourself to swings.

A pull-up bar

Pulling exercises are among the hardest exercises to improvise outside of a gym (although if you took my advice about kettlebells, you could do rows with them). A pull-up bar in the door frame This one It hardly takes up any space, but opens up a lot of possibilities. If your door frames don’t allow for jamming a door frame bar, try using one Pull-up tower like this one.

A spinning wheel

Cardio is good for you. I keep telling myself that and I’m almost starting to believe it. With a spin bike, you can do interval or steady-state workouts while staying comfortably indoors when the road outside is dark, wet, or icy. The price range of options is wide here. You can treat yourself Top class Peloton (see this guide to decide between the Bike and the Bike+, and This overview of power zone trainingwhich is hands down the best way to use a Peloton). Or you can opt for one of the cheaper bikes (e.g. a Sunny), which represent less than a fifth of the price.

A rowing machine

My first choice for cardio equipment is, as mentioned, the bike. But if you want another machine, I would vote for a rowing machine. Rowing involves the entire body and is ideal for interval training. The Concept 2 is probably the most well-known (and many would say best) brand in this area. (No rower? My goodness third The choice would be a treadmill.)

dumbbells

Dumbbells are a great way to lift weights at home. They’re smaller than a barbell, less specialized than a set of kettlebells, and you can do a ton of different workouts with them.

As with kettlebells, you’ll need to decide whether you want to get a few pairs with specific fixed weights (cheaper to start with) or opt for a more expensive, adjustable set. Rubber hex dumbbells are the best choice if you want a selection of dumbbells that you can easily grip and use without having to adjust them. But when space is tight, Power block And Bowflex make quick fit options that compare favorably to the competition in our adjustable dumbbell roundup.

A bank

If you have dumbbells or want to do any kind of bro workout, you’ll need a bench. Since I’m more of a barbell guy, I just got one flat bench This fits in my rack when I want to bench press. But people who do more dumbbell exercises often prefer one stable adjustable bench which can be configured for working in an inclined position or while sitting upright.

A barbell

If you powerlift, weightlift, or just want to go heavy in your general strength training, there’s really no substitute for a good old barbell. “Standard” handlebars with a 1-inch hole are common in budget sets, but opting for them will make your purchase more durable an “Olympic” style bar with 2 inch collar. Get a 45 pound or 20 kilogram bar This one unless you have a specific reason to buy something else. (Women who do CrossFit or Olympic lifting may prefer this 15 kilogram women’s dumbbell which is used in competitions.)

Iron weight plates

You have a few options for plates – we’ll discuss another one in a moment – but Iron plates are the classic choice. They are robust, correspondingly heavy and up to almost any task. Get any type you like: regular metal plates, plastic-coated plates, vintage-style deep plates. Anything but Hexagonal plates.

Bumper plates

Not everyone needs bumper plates, but if you’re one of those who does, skip the iron plates altogether and go for the good stuff. Bumper plates are essential for Olympic lifts (the snatch and the clean and jerk) and they also work well for other exercises like deadlifts. Generally they are the cheapest are made of black rubber and are labeled in pounds; If you want the information in kilos with color coding according to international standards, you must expect an additional charge.

A squat rack or cage

Once you’ve done it, you’ll know you’ve made it as a home gym owner Your own squat rack. Consider the space available, as some racks require high ceilings and all require enough space on the sides so you can reach the bar to change plates. There are folding shelves, half shelves and full shelves. You can also go the DIY route one of those concrete bucket and wood squat stands that everyone was using during lockdown. (Mine lasted great for years and only broke when the buckets suffered too much UV damage from sitting in the sunlight for so long.)

Resistance bands

Adding a band to your pull-up bar gives you the ability to perform assisted pull-ups. Instead, hold a band in your hands and you can pull the band apart. Bands are also a great addition to your barbells if you don’t have enough weight plates (or if you’re a fan of conjugate training and then probably already attach bands and chains to everything that isn’t nailed down). .) If you want to use bands with barbells, look for this Long loop type; If you want to use them alone, search the kind that can be attached to handles.

Sandbags

Sandbags are the underrated workhorses of many home gyms. Sand is dirt cheap – almost literally – but you can expect to actually spend a few bucks on it High quality fabric sandbag to insert it. (That is, you may DIY this, and we have instructions.) Start with a bag that weighs maybe half as much as you and practice picking it up, carrying it, and generally doing everything people do with weights. Yes, you can even press it over your head if you’re careful. If that’s too easy, opt for a bag that weighs as much as you or more.

A plyo box

A box is handy and one of the few things I’ve always wanted in my home gym but never found the space for. With a boxyou can do box jumps or box squats. With two of these you can do dips or stand on them and do a belt squat. The possibilities are endless.

specialty bars

If you’re looking for someone who has it all, I’ll tell you what they don’t have: another specialty bar. After a regular barbell, a typical next purchase is one Safety squat bar. You could also choose one axiswhich is great for practicing strongman competitions, or a cambered or duffalo bar (I honestly don’t know why powerlifters love these so much, but they do). A dedicated deadlift bar is perfect for the deadlift specialist in your life, and a soccer bar or Swiss bar gives you plenty of pressing options. A protocol is great for the spoiled strong man or woman in your life, or one EZ curl bar for the bodybuilder. Or grab one Trap bar Perform deadlifts in easy mode.