Gym Equipment for Beginners

While travel restrictions are being eased, the lesson to be learned from the pandemic is that it’s important to have home-based alternatives to the infrastructure that we interact with regularly.

It’s possible to have a home workout plan without equipment, but having a home gym is important.

It will help you not only retain your fitness during times like the pandemic but also because it is a cost-effective way to develop your fitness.

Choosing where to start can be difficult given the abundance of choices on the market.

If you’re just starting to build your home gym, your money would be better spent on equipment that is both cost-effective and useful in the long term.

Here are some of the pieces that you should prioritize:

Dumbbell Set

The dumbbells should be your first piece of equipment because they are portable, affordable, and very versatile.

They can be used to provide resistance and tension to a wide variety of muscle groups, and they can also be used to target specific muscles for more advanced workouts.

Dumbbells come in small weight increments, which also makes it easy to incorporate them into a progressive workout routine.

Stability Ball

A stability ball will help you train balance and will also help you improve your posture and body alignment.

They are great for beginners who have yet to build their core strength as stability balls can be used to assist with sit-ups.

Moreover, they’re comfortable to lie on, which is a great way to stretch your muscles while resting between workouts.

Resistance Bands

Resistance bands are lightweight, portable, and they can be attached to a wide variety of surfaces so they function as cables.

They can be used as a substitute for your cable machine in workouts such as pulldowns, rows, and tricep pulldowns.

Also, they are used to provide additional resistance to adduction-based exercises such as leg raises, and can be used to help maintain form during exercises such as squats.

Foam Roller

Foam rollers aid in getting a good stretch for your muscles. They help mitigate soreness by releasing tension and they also help improve blood flow, which aids muscle recovery and growth.

This is especially important for beginners who may be shocked at the pain from muscle soreness. They can use for core exercises such as planks and heel taps.

Jump Ropes

The jump ropes are ideal for beginners because they are portable, affordable, and don’t require regular maintenance as treadmills.

Many studies have found that an hour jump rope can help burn more than a thousand calories. They also help train agility, leg strengths, and of course, cardio.

These benefits will also be drastically increased if you do decide to buy a weighted jump rope instead.

Core Sliders

Core sliders are some of the best pieces of equipment to use if you want to target your core. They can significantly improve core strength and balance when used correctly.

Another benefit of using core sliders is that they are great for lateral exercises, cardio, and squats without having to place a lot of pressure on your joints.

They are also lightweight, portable, and they do not require any maintenance beyond cleaning.

Kettlebells

Kettlebells are perfect for explosive workouts but are also great for training your balance (in Turkish get-ups). Not only this, but they are also small and cost-effective.

They can also be used for squats and rows, and they are often used in HIIT routines because of how kettlebell workouts work.

These workouts improve multiple muscle groups, wrist mobility, grip strength, and they also incorporate a lot of movement, which helps improve explosive power.

Kettlebells are also included in a number of routines, which can help users burn even more calories.

Yoga Mat

Whether or not you practice yoga, these mats are essential because they provide you with a platform that provides sufficient cushioning as well as stability.

They are often made of sweat-wicking material, which makes them easy to clean.

Even if you don’t practice yoga, these mats can be used for a wide variety of floor exercises such as planks and some core exercises because they keep your body from slipping all over the place.

They also provide users with a stable platform to perform static stretches safely. Doing floor exercises on a slippery surface can lead to injuries.

Doorway Pull-up Bar

A doorway pull-up bar is a simple bar that can hook over the trim found at the top of a doorway to create an improvised pull-up station.

Pull-up bars are great for beginners because they allow users to perform a wide variety of bodyweight exercises that target the back, shoulders, and biceps.

Not only this, but pull-up bars can support most weights, which means that users can even add ankle weights to increase the challenge.

However, it’s important that you invest in a high-quality pull up bar as those that are poorly-made can cause accidents.

Plyo Box

A plyo box is a cheap and effective alternative to a stair climber because it provides a similar resistance comparable to a stair climber.

Plyo boxes are great for step-ups, jumps, and calf exercises.

They can also be stacked to increase difficulty, which means they can also be incorporated into progressive workout routines.

Balance Trainer Ball

A balance trainer ball is a tool that has half of a ball as its lower end and a flat platform as its top.

This piece of equipment helps build core strength, balance, and stability without subjecting your joints to a lot of strain.

It’s also used by physiotherapists to correct misalignments in the hips and legs, which improves both your static and active posture.

Conclusion

Once you master using these equipments, you can eventually move on to more complex equipment.

Remember that the point of buying these basic kits is that they are affordable, portable, versatile, and they do not require any maintenance.

If you’re able to manage them, you’re more likely to be capable of managing bigger equipment.

Although it’s unlikely that you’ll need full-sized equipment when these pieces of equipment already serve as good alternatives to their gym equipment counterparts.