With the Holidays approaching you might start thinking about what you want to ask Santa for, and if fitness is on your mind, we got you! Building a home gym can be a great investment for your health because it essentially eliminates any excuses and you have the tools literally at your fingertips to move your body at home. This is especially important during busy times and seasons when you just can’t seem to make it to the gym.
No matter where you are in your fitness journey, having a home gym is a great asset. And you don’t have to build out a crossfit box in your garage but having even a few things at home can make a world of difference and will allow you to squeeze in a workout any time! Plus, you can even literally roll out of bed and workout, no brushing your teeth necessary
It can be overwhelming to build a home gym, and not to mention expensive! But here’s a guide to follow - or casually leave for your partner to see before the holidays ;)
If you’re starting out:
If you don’t have anything yet and just want a few things to get you going, here our top five picks:
Jump Rope - these are as cheap as $5 and as expensive as $30
Yoga Mat - we love our simple ones from Target
2 Sets of Dumbells - one heavy and one light
Medicine Ball
Set of Resistance Bands - we love these
With those 5 things, you can create literally an infinite number of workouts!
If you have the basics:
Ready to invest a bit more and take your home gym to the next level? Here are our picks:
Kettlebells
Medicine Ball
Box Jump and/or Bench (you can build your own box jump pretty inexpensively, check out a YouTube tutorial)
Barbell with multiple weights
Finally, if you are ready to go full out, here’s our wishlist:
Treadmill - Lara owns this one
Peloton Bike (someday….)
Barbell Rack w/ Weights and Plates
Regardless of where you are, you can build a home gym and never have to leave the house to get your workout in. Personally, we love getting out to our Crossfit box or for a run, but also love having some equipment at home when we need it.
As far as programing, there are so many resources out there! YouTube has millions of free classes available but our faves are:
TMAC Fitness: love these equipment free workouts (though you can easily add weights or bands), but our favorite part is that they all end with a mini meditation at the end.
Tone It Up: they have an app with all the workouts and programs laid out so you just press play!
Lauren Gleisberg: she has amazing 30 minute workouts that are built for a home gym. Weight training and cardio into one, plus she gives you a calendar so you know exactly what to do each day.
Emily Schromm - she has tons of workouts to choose from and most of her programs can be adapted to a home gym or no equipment
Kayla Itsine’s BBG workouts - you can find most of them on Pinterest
ClassPass Live, Nike Training Club (free) and Nike Running Club are all apps that are perfect for home workouts
Bad Yogi - great free and paid programs for home yoga workouts of all scales
So there you have it friends, building a home gym should be easy! None of these links are affiliate, just our tried and true methods and personal opinions but if you have any questions or have any other suggestions, we’d love to know! Send us an email or comment below.