Make Your Own Home Gym
Get a surprisingly great workout with simple gear
You’ve seen ads for expensive home exercise equipment that will have you assembling for hours, rummaging through directions and finally contorting in strange ways to get an ultimately limited workout. But there’s good news for all you frazzled exercisers: experts say simple is better. To get a total-body workout without all the fuss, stick to these five affordable multitaskers that fit perfectly in every woman’s home gym. As an added bonus, you won’t need to scour infomercials waiting for that special offer; they’re all easy finds at sporting goods stores or retailers like Wal-Mart, Target and Amazon.com.
Balance Ball
Challenging your center of balance ignites stabilizer muscles and adds a different level of difficulty to all your exercises. That’s why a balance ball is an absolute necessity for your home gym. They’re especially important for mothers because childbearing can throw off core strength, Lisa Payne, a Chicago-based personal trainer, observes. She recommends a Bosu ball – an inflated rubber hemisphere attached to a rigid platform –that can be purchased for about $99. Stand or kneel on the ball while doing exercises like bicep curls to boost balance and core work. For legs, try lunges with your back foot on the ball to hit more muscle groups, she advises. Chicago personal trainer Jenni Smith, RD, recommends a large, inflated rubber ball, or stability ball, usually costing a little over $20. Lie over it for more difficult crunches or place your hands on top to heighten the core emphasis of a plank.
Resistance Bands
With resistance bands or handled bungees, you can work every muscle group in your body, says Jenni. “They’re great for women who are worried about bulking up,” she affirms, “because they work on toning and lengthening muscles.” Clark Lichty, a Chicago-based personal trainer, says they’re a good alternative to dumbbells or machines. They allow resistance to be maintained throughout the entire range of motion, activating small muscle groups to make your body work in ways it’s not used to, he explains. Bands can be used for almost any form of strength building, from bicep curls to squats.
To get those hard-to-hit abs, Jenni recommends tying one end to a bedpost and lying on your back facing away, creating a more efficient crunch. Clark says they can also be used as stretching tools, similar to cords. Resistance bands usually cost between $8 and $15 or can be found in packs of various thicknesses.
Hand Weights
Using hand weights is the simplest way to work those arms, helping your muscles become lean and toned. Plus, they only cost about $5 to $15, making them one of your most affordable buys. Lisa recommends most women stick to 8 pound weights with high repetitions; this will improve strength and generate more cardio than heavy dumbbells. For an extra punch, Jenni suggests combining the benefits of hand weights and balance by simulating a bench press with your shoulders resting on a stability ball.
Jump Rope
You might associate it with your childhood playground, but the good ol’ jump rope is great tool for revving up that cardio while working on strength and coordination. The length of time you can sustain is shorter than you jog or bike, but your heart rate reaches a higher peak. “This is not a long endurance exercise,” Jenni says. She recommends doing three or five intervals jumping for 30 seconds to a minute with rests between. To create an additional element of strength training for your arms, use a jump rope with weighted handles, Jenni suggests. Most jump ropes cost between $10 and $20.
Medicine Ball
A medicine ball is one of the smartest multitaksers in your home gym. “They’re good for core strength, conditioning, coordination, joint flexibility, upper and lower body strength, and range of motion,” Clark observes. They come in various forms, but Clark says it’s wise to have a few, as different exercises require a range of ball weights depending on the muscle group you’re working. Use a medicine ball for chest presses, forearm lifts, lunges, weighted crunches and twisting exercises that work the full spectrum of your core. Generally, medicine balls cost between $20 and $70 depending on weight and design.
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Written by Natalie Dillon
