I recently shared Equipment Ideas For The Home Or Office Gym with a new husband/wife client team and followed with suggestions of which pieces of equipment I’d recommend getting first as they build their home gym. I’m a big believer in purchasing home gym equipment gradually and only as needed. My clients were probably relieved that I didn’t recommend several thousand dollars worth of equipment before they even break out into their first sweat.
My new clients already have a few 3 to 12-pound dumbbells and I recommended they hold off on purchasing heavier ones ones until they decide if they really need them. With a little imagination a workout can be completed using only body weight for resistance, but to make things a little easier and to allow for more variety in their workouts, I recommended the following pieces of equipment.
- Swiss Ball:
- Can be used instead of a bench for a variety of exercises
- Excellent tool for core exercises
- When sitting on the ball, knees and hips should be at ~90°
- 45-centimeter Swiss ball – for people under 5′ tall
- 55-centimeter Swiss ball – for people 5′ to 5′ 7″ tall
- 65-centimeter Swiss ball – for people 5′ 8″ – 6′ 3″ tall
- 75-centimeter Swiss ball – for people over 6′ 3″ tall
- TRX Suspension Trainer:
- Uses body weight as resistance
- Provides excellent core workout
- Provides total body workout with one piece of equipment
When I set up their workouts I’ll plan the majority of their upper body exercises using the TRX and for their lower body exercises I’ll combine lunges and squats with the Swiss ball and TRX. We’ll work their core while doing many of the upper and lower body exercises and I’ll be sure to have them do a few minutes of planking for good measure. This girl loves counting off thirty second intervals while having her clients do a variety of planks. 🙂
If you wonder how they’ll warm up without having any cardio equipment, don’t worry; I have plenty of little tricks up my sleeve that will leave them breathing harder than a ten-minute run on the treadmill!
- Questions:
- Do you workout at home or at a gym?
- What’s your favorite piece of equipment – either at home or at your gym?
- How often do you strength train?
Most of my workouts are at home but I never use my TRX trainer. Need to remember to pull that out!
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So now I’ve got to nag you to use your TRX in addition to your GoPro? LOL 😀
I have a gym membership for our gym at work (it’s a nice one!) but I usually work out at home, most often. I have a treadmill, exercise ball, free weights, resistance bands, and a few little things like a jump rope, slider discs, etc. It doesn’t take up much room (except for the treadmill) but I can do just about everything!
That’s awesome, Liz! I love being able to workout at home – there’s never an excuse not to get it done!
Thank you for the post! But how did you choose your equipment?
I had a gym membership also but realized that most of the exercises I do there, I can do at home. The difference is just if you have an equipment or no. For instance, if you want to work out to get 6-pack or smth, then at gym you can go to that necessary machine. But in truth you can work with your abs also at home. So yeah, then I started to work out from home. And after a few months I was able to buy my own equipment. So I did it..
I have only dumbbells and I think it’s enough to do exercises to loosen your body. But of course, I will buy more with some time. So maybe you have an idea what should I get and why?
This topic is especially pertinent at this time. Great work. Thanks for the interesting tips.
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