Best of Fast Fitness: Five Home Gym Essentials
Home gyms are only growing in popularity. A lot of this is driven by technology – the ability to participate in live classes over the web on your treadmill or bike is a game changer. Even if you don’t want to pony up the money for one of these expensive units, there are still more traditional ways to build a home gym. Here is a post I wrote last year that can help you begin to build that space.
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Last week, I wrote a post about strategies for achieving your New Year’s fitness resolution, which included a suggestion to start up a workout routine at home first before hitting a gym. You may be asking yourself where to begin with building a basic home gym, but the good news is, it doesn’t have to be hard or expensive. Here are five essentials, courtesy of Cooking Light:
- Jump rope: For a few bucks, you can get your cardio in no matter what the weather is outside
- Kettlebell set: The beauty of kettlebells is their simplicity – they give you the ability to get a full-body workout in a relatively inexpensive way
- Dumbbell set: This is one of the most essential components, as it allows you to do exercises with virtually every muscle you need to hit
- Yoga mat: It gives more cushion than carpeting while you do your workouts. Just make sure you get one with a slip-resistant surface (it’s no fun to be sliding while maintaining form during an exercise).
- Resistance bands: They’re great for stretching, and depending on the set you get, will give you a broad range of resistance based on what muscles you are looking to work out
Whether you want to test drive your new resolution before hitting the gym, or simply looking to have the basics at home for those days you’re snowed in, having this equipment handy is a great place to start.
– Dan Mulcahey