Home Gym Must Haves

Are you tired of paying a gym membership and driving back and forth (like me)? Or do you want to get into fitness and have a workout space at home? there’s really not much you need in order to get started. You can do a lot without any equipment. But if you want to expand your options a lot, you don’t need much. In our home we have a small set up that has worked great for my husband mostly (because he works everyday) but also for me working out several times a week. Here’s my recommendation for good, simple, home gym must haves. 

A good dumbell set

Here’s an adjustable set that goes up to 25 lbs each, and there’s another model that goes up to 55 lbs each. They’re easy and quick to adjust, and are inexpensive for what you get. If money is burning a hole in your pocket, I will be adding an alternative for each point that will be more costly but will be better quality. 

This is a great classic dumbbell set. There are more expensive ones you can get that have weights that go higher than 25 lbs, but those get super expensive super quick.

Power cage

This is the skeleton for a lot of weighted lifts like squat or bench. Get that plus a bench, a bar, and some weights, and you greatly increase the scope of what you can do. Here’s the one my husband has been using for the last two years. 

He’s used it for weights up to 405 lbs and it has been rock solid. But don’t bother getting any of the cable stuff or the bench that come as options. Dedicated cable machines are better, and the bench is overpriced for what you get. Here’s another option that’s also rock solid. It’s also foldable so when you’re not using it it won’t take up much room. 

Cable machine

Cable machines are great and there are tons of lifts you can do with them. Unfortunately they’re more expensive than anything else listed, and it’s near impossible to find one that fits a tall person (not talking about me obviously). That’s the one my husband uses. Because of this, I don’t consider this one of the home gym must haves, but I put it here anyways because of how diverse these can be.

I’ll be honest, compared to any cable machine that a gym has, it’s lacking. It’s too small for my husband, but if you’re shorter than 6 foot, it may be exactly what you’re looking for. It’s simple and easy to assemble. Also it was within our budget, which culled 90% of the contenders. Here’s one that is more expensive that I believe would fit more people and give more lifting options.

All this equipment is good and well, but means nothing if you don’t use it. So the final but most important piece of equipment to have is the drive and discipline to use what you have. Get someone you live with to work out with you or to check in on you to make sure you’re keeping up with it.