Home Gym Routines with Cheap Workout Equipment
Article by Chris Montgomery
What’s the secret to getting fit, building muscle or having six pack abs? Do you need a lot of money, a special piece of equipment, or a celebrity trainer kneeling on your back and yelling in your ear? Maybe, but probably not. In fact, you might not even need a gym, just some steel determination and a few simple tools, all of which can be acquired with a small investment of time and money.
No matter how small your budget is, you can do this. Let’s start with the space. For the purposes of this article, we are going to assume you need to a.) get in shape b.)get in better shape, while c.) losing fat and gaining muscle/endurance.
Clear a room or the corner of a room, and make sure you have enough space for a few small pieces of equipment and full body movement. Take a measurement by lying down on the floor and stretching out your arms in all directions. If you can do this, there is probably enough space.
Next, buy some mats. For , black puzzle mats can be purchased from the local superstore, and they do well at protecting tiles or wood floors. The other option is to order thicker rubber mats online, but this can get expensive. The best puzzle mat flooring surface will result from lining the floors all the way to the walls to prevent slipping. Use duct tape to lock the seams for extra security.
Next is the equipment. For general fitness, some adjustable strength and cardio equipment is required. Strength equipment comes in many forms, but in order to get the best bang for the buck, free weights reign supreme. An inexpensive set of dumbbells is the ticket. If there is enough space, buy a standard dumbbell and barbell set, or just the dumbbells and an Olympic barbell set. Less than 0 will buy from 160 to 310 pounds of weight, depending on where you shop. Need a bench? Buy some cheap 8x8x16 blocks.
Next is the pull-up bar, suspension trainer or homemade suspension trainer. There are a thousand and one ways to execute pulling motions with these tools. The best option is a door mount pull-up bar, either the fancy P90x version, the Perfect Pull-up, or a piece of pipe and a couple of flanges. With the exception of the P90x bar, they cost about the same, roughly .
As for the suspension trainer, you can buy the TRX for around 0 and connect it to a simple eye hook screwed into the ceiling joist or stud high up on the wall. Very simple but it eats up a huge part of our budget. What to do?
Spend a few dollars on strong rope (be sure to read the weight bearing limits!) Next, get some PVC pipe (that’s the hard white stuff in the plumbing aisle,) Cut the pipe to handle length, sand the edges, slip the rope through and tie it tight. Except for cushy handles and foot straps and quick length adjustment, this works every bit as well as a commercial product.
Now for the cardio. Depending on the fitness goal and region of the country, spending money on a treadmill, stationary bike or climber might be necessary. When the winter makes it impossible to go out for a run, bike ride, rollerblade or whatever you do, an indoor cardio machine is handy.
A favorite choice is a Versaclimber, which is a whole body cardio conditioner, but expensive. Second choice would be the treadmill, and third would be the bike, rower, or other cardio machine you sit on. If you have stairs in your home, forget about spending money on machines.
For moderate climates, get out and run, walk, skate and do whatever you do; but you don’t have to waste money on a cardio machine if you don’t want to.
You may have noticed jump ropes weren’t mentioned. A cardio session should consist of at least 20 minutes of steady state conditioning, and let’s face it, when was the last time you saw someone jump rope for 20 minutes or more? However, a weighted jump rope is the next piece of inexpensive workout equipment you will buy. This exercise is great for interval training, warming up and developing coordination and speed, all for about -15 dollars.
There are many pieces of equipment that could go on this list, but these are the basics every home gym should have. At the least, get the weight set. In case you’re wondering, here is a short list of exercises which can be performed with only the equipment listed above:
-Standing push press-Goblet squats-Front squats-Power cleans-Military Press-Alternating press-Floor press-Bench Press-Snatch-Swing-Deadlift-Shrugs-Rows-Curls of all kinds-Calf raises-Oblique bends-Windmills-Tricep overhead extensions-Tricep Kickbacks-Pull-ups-Hanging leg raises
And on and on. So to answer the original question, what’s the secret to getting fit, building muscle or having six pack abs? You are. Get some basic equipment and write out a simple exercise plan for the week. For some great ideas, visit http://www.MosLadder.com.
About the Author
I am an ardent strength and conditioning enthusiast who spends far too much time thinking of new ways to put old, new and made-up equipment to use in workouts. My philosophy is that simple tools are better than fancy machines, and having a lot of simple tools keep exercise exciting!Read more about easy home workout ideas: http://hubpages.com/hub/Home-Gym-Workout-Routines-with-No-Equipment