Home workouts are great because they offer the ultimate convenience. But often times people won't workout at home because they think they can't get a good workout without all the gym equipment.
Now, to be clear, you can get a great bodyweight workout without any equipment. However, the proper tools will help provide a more well-rounded routine.
Over the next couple of weeks, I'm going to share with you what I consider the most important pieces of equipment for a home exercise program. My list takes into consideration cost and space, so you should find the compilation of equipment not only to be affordable, but compact enough that you could keep everything in a small corner of your home.
1. Kettlebell
Why I like it: It's nice to have a weight so you can challenge yourself more than simple bodyweight exercises. Kettlebells can be utilized in so many different ways from squats to swings, to pressing and pulling.
Exercises: Squat, Hinge, Row, Farmer Carry, Lunge, Overhead Press, Step up.
Extra: I have one 25 lb kettlebell and one 50 lb kettlebell. I usually use the lighter one for upper body exercises and the heavier one for lower body exercises.
You may be thinking what about dumbbells? Those are important and will be included later in the list, but kettlebells tend to offer a bit more variation, so when comparing apples to apples, I prefer a kettlebell.
2. Theraband (or some type of similar rubber band measuring at least 3 feet long).
Why I like it: Perhaps the biggest challenge when working out at home is finding suitable exercises for strengthening your back muscles. Sure, you can locate a doorframe or tree branch to do some pull ups on, but the reality is that pull ups are way too difficult for most people. Bands provide some joint-friendly and fairly easy options for strengthening your back muscles. Not to mention they are cheap, and provide a range of accommodating resistance based upon how much tension is placed on the band.
Exercises: Band pull apart, door handle rows, diagonal band pull apart, banded side steps, rotator cuff exercises.
Extra: I like to have a few different resistance levels of bands. I find I need more resistance for the gross movement patterns like rowing, and smaller bands for prehab exercises like rotator cuff work.
In the coming weeks, I'll be sharing a few more equipment items to help amplify your home workouts. But, if I could only pick two things, the kettlebell and theraband would be the first two on the list because of their versatility and ability to help strengthen muscles that would otherwise be difficult to target with body weight alone.
