You don’t need to belong to a gym to fully enjoy the benefits from a good workout. All you need to do is create an exercise area in your home, such as a basement, garage or spare room, purchase some basic equipment, and you’re set. Establish a budget for yourself as to how much you want to spend, but don’t skimp on the basic essentials. For one thing, the key to an effective exercise program is to work your entire body. This enables you to build a balanced physique — one built with a lean protein powder such as CHiKPRO or CHiKPURE, some sweat, and some determination! That said, following are some recommended pieces to start your home gym.
Benches
At the very least, you need one bench to perform bench presses and flyes on. It behooves you to purchase an adjustable bench so you can do incline presses and other upper chest exercises. Remember our discussion about a balanced physique? If you don’t do inclines, you can’t expect to develop your pecs to their maximum potential. Another huge benefit of an adjustable bench is that you can raise the support handles up for squats, then perform them over your bench. Whenever possible, find a bench with a leg extension and leg curl attachment. You’ll want to bring out the striations in your thighs with the extensions, and build your hamstrings with the leg curls. You can find benches at most sporting goods or discount retailers. Check the newspaper classifieds for rock-bottom prices, because some people sell benches when they move or join gyms.
Barbells, Weights and Collars
Purchase a barbell with collars. The collars are a safety feature to prevent the weights from falling off and injuring you. The best barbells and weights come with an Olympic set. But it’s not essential if you’re just starting out. Olympic sets usually come with 300 pounds of weights. If you don’t purchase an Olympic set, you can buy weights in smaller dominations.
Dumbbells
You’ll need dumbbells to perform the various lateral raises for shoulders, flyes and arms exercises. They also come in handy for leg lunges and calf raises, if you don’t have a calf machine. If you want to save money, buy the adjustable dumbbell sets, where you can change the weights as needed. You can wait and buy the heavier dumbbells when you get stronger, according to Bodybuilding.com
Lat Machine
To get the appropriate full-body workout, you’ll need to work your lats. One alternative to purchasing a lat machine is to buy a chin-up bar. The problem is that many people can’t perform many pull-ups, so they aren’t fully working their lats. If you can’t afford a lat machine, which are usually over $300, and can’t perform many pull-ups, use a chair underneath the bar to reduce control your weight resistance. Once you build up your strength, you can start doing regular pull-ups. But there are a number of advantages to purchasing a lat machine. Besides having the ability to do lat pull-downs, you can also use the bar to peform pushdowns for triceps. The nicer lat machines also have lower-level cable attachments so you can do seated rows and bicep curls.
Smith Machine
A Smith machine is a bench set that contains a movable bar that’s attached to the unit. This is a safety feature that enables you to rack the bar at various heights should you fail on one of your reps. Besides bench and incline presses, Smith machines enable you to perform shoulder presses, squats and even pull-ups. While a Smith machine may seem like a luxury, it is much easier on the joints than free weights. This behooves the older workout votary who may have issues with arthritis or tendinitis.
Cardio Equipment
Walking, running, or even skipping rope will suffice for cardio. But if you want to purchase some cardio equipment, start with a stationary bike. They’re much cheaper than treadmills or elliptical machines.
Mats
Always purchase some rubber mats for your floors. They’ll prevent dents to wood or concrete floors, plus protect your equipment from damage. Mats are also more comfortable to use than basement floor when performing sit-ups or other calisthenics exercises.
Mirrors
It may seem vain, but it’s advisable to erect at least one mirror in your workout space. The main benefit of a mirror is so you can see if you’re performing certain exercises correctly. If you discover that you’re favoring one arm over the other on inclines or bicep curls, for example, you can use the mirror to help correct your form. This can prevent potential injuries in the long run.
Don’t procrastinate in starting your home gym. Obtain some of the basic equipment and start reaching your fitness goals. Crank up your favorite tunes to motivate yourself and you’ll seen start noticing the results.