Affordable Basic Must-Have Exercise Equipment
When boutique fitness classes, gym memberships, and pricey trainers can break the bank, it may seem like fitness is totally unaffordable. But you can get a great workout at home by stocking up on these highly affordable basics!
Jump Rope: A versatile tool that can build up your endurance and stamina and meets your cardiovascular needs. Even jumping at a very moderate rate burns 10 to 16 calories a minute. Work your jump rope exercise into three 10-minute rounds and you’re looking at 480 calories in half an hour, while 10 minutes of skipping rope is about equivalent to running an 8-minute-mile!
Foam Roller: They not only work sore muscles, they can be incorporated in virtually any aspect of your workout, challenging your balance and stability. Try placing one hand on the roller when you do a pushup or a plank to engage your core muscles even more!
Core Sliders: You don’t need a full gym to add diversity to your workouts. You can add new exercises to your repertoire and increase the difficulty of others with hand and foot sliders. Introducing sliders, an unstable surface, into your workout challenges your balance or your body’s ability to sense its position, thereby improving stability, limb coordination, and your level of muscular endurance. Placing one core slider under each foot, come into a high plank position. Drawing up and in through the lower belly, lift your hips and soften your knees to your chest. Press into your palms as you do this, keeping a flat back the whole time. Stay light on your toes, ensuring you aren’t pulling through the hip flexors.
Door-mounted pull-up bar: Pull-ups are totally intimidating and can be a source of embarrassment at the gym. That’s why practicing at home makes sense and you can mount a pullup bar in the comfort of your own home, so you don’t have to struggle in front of a crowded gym. This bar is also multifunctional and you can mounts gymnastic rings or resistance bands for stationary forearm, biceps, and triceps strengthening exercises.
Mini-band: Resistance bands can target any part of the body, and are lightweight and portable. These bands improve your balance, reduce joint pain, improve speed of movement and make your body more elastic. Adding these bands to your workout can increase your burn and your return from any exercise.
Kettle bells: Kettlebells are great conditioning tools for developing cardiavascular and muscular endurance. They recruit mobility and coordination, and are ideal for dynamic swinging exercises. Try a basic kettlebell swing to develop strength in your back, shoulders, glutes, and hamstrings.
Yoga Mat: Yoga increases strength and flexibility, builds muscle strength, improves posture, lessens chronic pain, eases stress, increases blood flow, lowers blood sugar and blood pressure, sharpens cognition, boosts immunity, and improves sleep, among many other benefits. If you don’t have the time or money to hit a class, roll out your mat and try yoga at home!
