Don’t Let the Busy Season Derail Your Workouts: Affordable Home Gym Essentials
Are you worried about finding time for your workouts during the hustle and bustle of the season? Between holiday shopping, gatherings, and an already packed to-do list, it’s easy to skip the gym and let fitness fall by the wayside. Or maybe you’re not the gym-going type to begin with—who wants to wait for equipment or wipe off someone else’s sweat from the elliptical?
Good news! You don’t have to sacrifice your fitness goals just because life gets busy or because you’d rather skip the gym. You can create a versatile home workout setup with just a few affordable, space-saving tools. Whether you’re squeezing in a quick exercise session before wrapping gifts or you just prefer the privacy and comfort of working out at home, I’ve got you covered. And if you need a little extra motivation, there are hundreds of free YouTube workouts that can turn your solo routine into a guided session with a virtual coach.
A Few of My Favorite Things in Home Workout Equipment
These are a few of my favorite, easy-to-use pieces of home exercise equipment for building your home gym on a budget that don’t require turning your living room into a fitness center:
1. Balance Pad
Why I Love It: Balance pads are thick pieces of foam that require your muscles to engage to prevent you from falling. It’s perfect for improving balance, stability, and core strength—all of which become even more important as we age.
How to Use It: Just standing on a balance pad will improve your balance and stability. Place the pad under one foot for lunges or stand on it while doing biceps curls to challenge your core. Try marches in place and knee raises. You can perform almost any exercise on a balance pad and it will be more challenging and will engage and strengthen your stabilizing muscles. For safety, have a wall, counter, or other stabilizing surface next to you when you’re using it.
I keep my balance pad by my desk and practice standing balance movements throughout the day. I also use it for exercises like push-ups for an increased stability challenge. Be mindful of the size of your balance pad—you want one that allows you to place your entire foot comfortably on it. Mine is a size large and it works well for my size 10 feet. It also happens to be on sale at Amazon right now (as are several others).
2. Yoga Blocks
Why I Love Them: These small, sturdy blocks make yoga poses and stretches more accessible. They also can add versatility to other workouts.
How to Use Them: Need a deeper stretch? Use blocks to support your hands or feet. You can also stand on a block for a balance challenge, or you can step or hop over them for a quick cardio burst. The most common yoga block dimensions are 4″ x 6″ x 9″, but you will find blocks that are both larger and smaller. I have blocks in various sizes.
3. Yoga Mat
Why I Love It: A good yoga mat is non-negotiable. I use my Manduka PRO Mat for everything. It’s priced a little higher than a lot of yoga mats, but it’s a workhorse. I’ve had mine for over 10 years and it still functions and looks like new.
Yoga mats are useful for many kinds of exercise. Yoga mats provide a protective layer over wooden floors to shield them from damage, provide a cushion while performing stretches or floor work, provide a non-slip surface during aerobic exercises, and provide a soft surface for higher impact exercises. Yoga mats are a versatile tool—whether you’re doing yoga or some other form of exercise.
How to Use It: The sky’s the limit here—yoga, Pilates, bodyweight exercises, a cushion for weight-training exercises, and aerobic exercises. Just be sure that if you’re going to use a yoga mat for more dynamic cardio workouts, you get one that is slightly thicker and sturdier. That’s why I like the Manduka PRO Mat—it covers all the exercise bases and it’s very durable. It also has a lifetime guarantee. As of 11/28/24 it’s on sale at Manduka for $112.50, which may seem a bit pricey for a yoga mat, but this mat is well worth it in my opinion.
If your primary use of the mat will be cardio workouts in shoes, you’d be better off with an exercise mat designed for that purpose, which can also be used for floor exercises and yoga.
4. Pilates Ring
Why I Love It: This compact, lightweight, and inexpensive piece of equipment known as “the magic circle” adds a surprising level of resistance to your workouts and can be used to strengthen your glutes, stretch out your shoulders, and tone your inner thighs.
How to Use It: Place it between your thighs during a bridge exercise or squeeze it between your palms to work your chest and arms. Try some or all of these exercises for a full body workout with a Pilates ring.
5. Rubber Ball
Why I Love It: Don’t underestimate the fitness benefits of a simple rubber ball! It’s perfect for core, posture work, and strengthening, and it’s ridiculously affordable. You can usually pick one up at the dollar store (where nothing costs a dollar anymore, but it’s still very cheap).
How to Use It: Use it to add resistance to your ab workouts, like seated twists or overhead reaches, use it as a support tool for back stretches, place it between your upper thighs and squeeze it for an inner thigh workout, squeeze the ball to increase your grip strength, squeeze it between your hands at chest level to strengthen your pectoral muscles, and use it to improve balance and hand eye coordination. There are so many options. This YouTube video shows several ball exercises.
6. Exercise Bands
Why I Love Them: Lightweight and portable, these bands can mimic the effect of heavy gym machines without taking up any space.
How to Use Them: Add resistance to squats, lunges, or shoulder presses, or use them for stretches after a long day. You can use an exercise band to replace virtually any gym exercise. Of course there are differences, but resistance bands can provide a very good strength workout.
I like Bodylastics because they’re high quality and give the weight equivalent for each band. Bodylastics also has an app with workouts using the bands. Similar bands can also be purchased on Amazon or from other vendors.
7. Dumbbells
Why I Love Them: A few pairs in different weights provide endless strength-training options. Your level of strength and fitness will dictate the weight ranges you should choose. I have dumbbells in 2-3 pound increments going up to 20 pounds.
Often you can find used dumbbells at garage sales and thrift stores. Buying multiple sets of dumbbells can get expensive and they do take up space, but having a few sets of dumbbells is a worthwhile investment for any home workout set up.
Another option is a set of adjustable dumbbells like those offered by BowFlex. A set of SelectTech 552 adjustable dumbbells (5-52 pounds) is currently on sale for $379. These are a tremendous space saver, but they can be a little bulky.
How to Use Them: Start with basic moves like biceps curls, triceps kickbacks, shoulder raises, and dumbbell deadlifts. Combine moves like lunges with a curl to hit multiple muscle groups and get a slightly more aerobic workout.
8. Kettlebells
Why I Love Them: Kettlebells add a dynamic element to strength training, giving you cardio and muscle-building benefits in one. Form is critical, so make sure you have some instruction before you begin using kettlebells.
I’ve found inexpensive kettlebells at Walmart. BowFlex also has an adjustable kettlebell (8-40 pounds) for $149. It’s not shaped quite like a traditional kettlebell, and it takes a little getting used to, but it’s a great space-saver.
How to Use Them: Swings, goblet squats, and farmer carries are all excellent options. They’re also great for functional fitness to keep you strong for daily activities. I have a kettlebell in my office and I will perform 20 or 30 kettlebell swings throughout the day. It’s a great way to get my heart rate up and incorporate some strength work at the same time.
9. Full-Size Aerobic Step
Why I Love It: This old-school piece of equipment is so versatile and never goes out of style. It’s great for cardio and strength training, and you can adjust the risers to suit your fitness level and workout needs. You can even stack the risers to use the step as an incline bench. I’m a fan of The Step—which is the original aerobic step and is made in the USA—but there are several knockoffs that are cheaper and probably work just as well.
How to Use It: Use it for step-ups. You can also use it as a bench for strength training, or find a step workout on YouTube for some fun cardio. Here’s a 30-minute beginner step workout if you’d like to give it a try.
10. Balance Ball
Why I Love It: A balance ball—also known as a stability ball—helps strengthen your core, improve flexibility, and even enhance balance.
How to Use It: Use it for crunches and other core exercises, hold a plank with your arms on the ball for an extra challenge, or use it to perform pushups. You can even sit on the ball while you’re working at your computer to improve your core stability and posture. When selecting a stability ball, size matters. So get a ball with the recommended circumference for your height.
Black Friday/Cyber Monday Deals
Now is the perfect time to snag these items at a discount. With Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales in full swing, you can stock up on your home gym essentials without blowing your budget. Look for bundled sets of dumbbells or resistance bands, and keep an eye out for high-quality mats and steps at a discount.
Note: while I have provided links to several products, I did so solely for your convenience. I’m not an affiliate and do not get any type of compensation for my recommendations.
Your Affordable, Space-Friendly Fitness Solution
You don’t need a gym membership or a lot of space to stay active this season. With a few affordable tools, you can create a home workout setup that fits your lifestyle and keeps you moving—even on the busiest days. So grab a step, some dumbbells, and your yoga mat and start working out in the comfort of your own home.
Which of these items will you add to your home gym? Let me know in the comments below!
Disclaimer: Always consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new exercise regimen.
The Pilates ring has been a key component for my hip therapy. The small ball is fun, I use it for standing posterior (single) leg lifts to balance. The larger therapeutic ball is excellent for so many different reasons, even bouncing on it doing sitting jumping jacks, bouncing around the room like a little kid, doing chest press with weights while laying on it in a extension pose for countering slumping, and pass-the-ball from legs to arms and repeat for core is excellent. Kettle Bells are dangerous unless one knows how to use them., I've been shying away except to do swings with light weights and modified stiff-legged dead lifts, but also kinda scary if any lower back problems unless form is perfect.
All in all an excellent article, great job. And it's so easy to do these at home, especially when lazy, walk out into the living room and start moving. Now all people need is motivation!