We’re constantly bombarded by an array of advertisements for all sorts of fitness equipment. From abdominal exercise equipment, through home gyms, to cardio machines, it’s very hard to decide what you should buy without having to spend a fortune.
Naturally, the kind of equipment you need changes according to your goals. A bodybuilder needs different things than someone who just wants to lose few pounds. In this article, I want to help you by telling you what home exercise equipment you need in order to lose fat and get lean. The great thing is that what you really need is very cheap. A lot cheaper than what you may believe.
Before I get to the actual equipment let me just say that you don’t have to get all of these items, or any of them for that matter, in order to lose weight. You can get an awesome workout using your body’s weight as a source of resistance. However, having some exercise equipment at home can help you do more effective workouts and get faster results.
Stability Ball
In my opinion, this is the best home fitness product that you can get. It’s cheap, highly effective, and can be used for multiple purposes. I use my stability ball for the following things:
- Ab exercises such as crunches, jackknifes, planks, etc. Any ab exercise that you do with a ball will be much more effective than on the floor.
- Other body part exercises such as squats, chest press (lying on the ball), lower back exercises, bicep curls and triceps extensions (sitting on the ball).
Note: You can see a stability ball in the picture at the beginning of this article.
You can find great deals on this product here: stability balls.
Yoga Mat
Another great and cheap home exercise product. I use my yoga mat (which my wife bought) to do stretching exercises, certain ab exercises such as bicycles and leg raises, and I also do many of my home exercises on it, such as lunges, squats, dumbbell swings and so on. It’s much nicer lying or standing on a thick yoga mat than on the floor or even a carpet.
When you buy a yoga mat, go for an extra-thick on. The thicker it is, the more comfortable it will be for you. Trust me, you don’t even realize how great working out at home is on such a mat until you tried it. Even if you don’t do a second of yoga, this will make your workouts a lot more fun.
Ankle Weights
While most people walk with their ankle weights, I suggest a totally different use for them: strength exercises to tone your butt and your abs. Strapping on ankle weights adds resistance to any exercises such as leg lifts, scissors, and reverse crunches for your abs, and for hip extensions for your butt. These are all highly effective toning exercises in their own right. Adding resistance to them makes them even more effective and can bring you faster results. You should go for light weights at first, increasing weight gradually.
You can find great deals here: cheap ankle weights.
Ab Wheel
I’m not entirely sure I should include this product in this article. While it is cheap, it may not be suitable for beginners. Doing ab wheel exercises is hard. If you’re just starting out working on your abs, you may find it very challenging. You may find it close to impossible. However, there’s little doubt that this is one of the best ways to train your abs at home for cheap.
Working out with an ab wheel will make your abs stronger and toner. However, you do need to already have some abdominal stamina to be able to effectively and safely use an ab wheel.
Dumbbells
To effectively work on your upper body muscles, you’re going to need a pair of dumbbells. These come in many shapes, forms, and weights. Some models are expensive and some are more affordable. It mostly depends on the weight.
When you buy a pair of dumbbells, I urge you to think of something beside the price. You should consider the future and how your fitness will develop in weeks and months to come. While buying a pair of 4 lbs dumbbells is an affordable choice, a better choice is to buy dumbbells that you can grow with by adding on plates at some future date. You can buy a pair of dumbbell handles and some weight plates. This will be cheaper than having to buy more and more dumbbells as you become stronger.
In Conclusion
You don’t need to go overboard, spend hundreds of dollars on a single piece of equipment or thousands on a home gym in order to be able to workout at home effectively. You can buy high quality fitness equipment and do awesome home workouts that will help you to tone your muscles, burn fat, and lose weight cheaply and efficiently.
