Most home gyms are bulky and require a lot of space, your's doesn't have to.
Red Deer is still a fairly small city, but it doesn’t always seem that way. I know sometimes at 5:00 PM when I am waiting, and waiting, and waiting at certain red lights around the city amidst what seems like hundreds of cars it doesn’t feel very small at all. Perhaps you’ve experienced the same thing, perhaps this is one of the “reasons” you’re not making to the gym to complete your much needed regular exercise.
Perhaps you’ve considered a home gym but have talked yourself out of it because of the space needed and the cost. One of the problems I’ve always found with my home gym is that I seem to go through phases. For a short time I really enjoy the flexibility, convenience and control of my environment working out at home. But when that fizzles I realize I am best suited at a gym for the pattern it creates, when I arrive at the gym it’s time to work, not to think about what’s on TV or the things I need to do around the house. But this is not to say that a home gym isn’t the right answer for you even as a compliment to your gym or personal training program. I think especially for families a home gym can be both practical, affordable and a great family building experience both health and relationship wise.
If you were to consider a home gym here is my opinion on how you can do it both cost effectively and with a minimal amount of space.
Warm Up – You need something to slowly elevate heart rate with variable resistance and impact as a warm up should always begin with no resistance and little to no impact. A simple step will work; a stationary bike or treadmill would be my choice. This will potentially be the most expensive item and the only one to use significant amount of space.
Bodyweight and full body movement training are both incredibly effective and the best part is they require little equipment or space. Here are some basic tools I would recommend that will ensure a variety of workout options while minimizing cost and space.
2 Kettlebells – A large overly heavy one and a moderate to light weight. Use your heavy kettlebell for swing exercises that are the core of kettlebell training all the way to typical resistance exercises like presses, lifts or weighted squats. Your light kettlebell can be used for a variety of core dynamic exercises like Turkish getups and windmill. Cost about $75-100 each
TRX Trainer or simple gymnastic rings – Suspension training has become very popular, the TRX is basically a fancy set of 4 loops for hand and foot positions but simple gymnastic rings will work just as well. These are typically suspended overhead and are adjustable in length allowing you to do all kinds of pushing, pulling, curling, extending exercises with varying amounts of your bodyweight. Anybody can do it, they take little space, cost little and are actually pretty fun to use. Cost $80 for rings up to $300 for the TRX.
Medicine Ball(s) – These are some of our favourite pieces of equipment. From the intense wall ball shot made famous by Crossfit to throws, torso twist passes, overhead drops, deadlifts and cleans the medicine ball can be used for a long list of exercises. We prefer the larger soft medicine balls but any would work, I would recommend a heavier one at about the 15-20lb mark or if two were an option I would have a 5-8lb and a 15-20lb. Cost ranges from $30-$100 each.
I feel that these items alone would be more than enough for a basic home gym. The cost is low, the variety and function is high and very little workout space is required. In fact those travelling to work could easily take these items with them to workout while away. (In that case I recommend the TRX over the rings as I think it has a door mount system available for those on the go.)
To help you out posted below are some basic instructional videos using the equipment listed above.
IMPORTANT NOTE: It should be noted the exercises displayed below are not necessarily beginner exercises. The selected exercises are an attempt to show that you could have a very complete and functional workout at home with very little equipment or space. There are a number of other options and it is highly recommended that you seek the guidance of a qualified trainer to learn the proper execution of all exercises (not just the ones displayed below) to ensure safety and the highest degree of effectiveness.
