Creating a Budget-Friendly Home Gym

Many of us would love to have a home gym complete with top of the line equipment, mirrors, mats, juice bar and sauna but unfortunately most of us do not have the cash or space to build one. But don’t let that stop you. I’ve put together a list of suggestions and recommendations to help you build your own home gym or portable gym, on a budget – no excuses now!

There are three main factors to consider before you begin:

1. Location: – With a little creativity you can work out almost anywhere. Indoors – at the very least you will need enough room to stand with your arms stretched overhead and then be able to do the same lying down. Always make sure furniture and clutter is moved to the sides so you don’t trip over anything. Outdoors – the world is your oyster – consider your garage; driveway; yard; a local school track; park or playground. If you do exercise outside make sure you are properly dressed for the weather. It’s a good idea to keep water, a towel and a first aid kit with you and definitely have your phone with you in case of emergency.

2. Cardio: – Recall that this is any activity done continuously for a minimum of 30 minutes that increases your heart rate, blood pressure and breathing. Indoors – jog on the spot; do jumping jacks; walk or run up and down your stairs or dance. If you have enough room, you can Jump Rope ($5-$40). If you own a bike you can cycle indoors using a Bike Trainer ($75 – $600). Outdoors – walk briskly, jog, run, jump rope, bike, roller blade or any of the other exercises listed for indoors.
3. Strength and Stretch:   

Exercise or Aerobic Step – ($30-$100) –use this for cardio such as step aerobics or High intensity drills. It can be used as a bench for resistance exercises. If you buy a step with risers you can increase the height making exercises more challenging or use the step as a weight itself. No-Cost Option: use stairs in your home, a low sturdy table, ottoman or wooden chairs.

Dumbbells (about $1/lb)- consider buying three different weights –light, medium and heavy (i.e. 3lb, 5lb and 10lb). Keep in mind that you can double up on your sets of weights rather than buy more. For example use the 5 and 3lb weights together to make 8lb. The adjustable dumbbells may be less expensive overall but are time consuming if you need to switch between different weights and may not be as durable. While Kettlbells are “cool” you can do all those exercises using dumbbells.      No-Cost Option: Use water bottles, juice jugs or the laundry detergent or cat litter containers with handles. Fill with water or sand for a variety of weights. For a “sandbag” solution – use an old duffle bag or knapsack and fill with bags of sand, kitty litter or you can even use rocks or books.

Resistance Bands or Tubes ($5-$20)- these are versatile and easily adjusted for many levels of difficulty based on tensile strength– the shorter you make the band the more difficult. Consider a Door Anchor ($5) to increase the number of exercises you will be able to do with just one or a few bands. Like the weights I would recommend buying 2-3 of different resistances.

Exercise Ball ($5 – $30) – use for core work, balance exercises, stretching or even as a form of weight.

Mat ($10 – $50) – If you do sweat a lot or are doing exercises like yoga where grip is important you may want to invest in a rollup mat. No-Cost Option: a rug, carpet, towel or thin blanket

Exercise DVDs (free – $150 for sets) – for motivation and variety you can rent from your local library or buy your own almost anywhere. For high quality, professionally reviewed DVDs check out Collage Video and find the perfect video to match your fitness level and preferences. No-Cost Option: Check out the Internet for free exercises and workouts. Just be warned: ANYONE and EVERYONE is making videos and giving exercise and fitness advise and much of it makes us truly certified in this area cringe in horror.

While it’s nice to have all the amenities of a boutique spa gym or maybe you prefer more of the warehouse filled with tractor tires and climbing ropes atmosphere – this is rarely possible to attain in the comfort of our own homes. What I do feel though, is keeping the equipment to a minimum and using what we already have keeps workout sessions interesting and fresh. What better way to remain engaged and inspired to stay dedicated to fitness (without breaking the bank) and ultimately devoted to your own health and wellbeing.