For a fitness instructor and business owner, I sure didn’t have much equipment to work out at home with! Granted, I do have my boys to chase, lift and toss, but knew I needed to set up shop to work out. Especially, since I haven’t been able to go to my studios. To be honest with you, a lot can be with your own body weight. Unless, you’re into muscle building, you can get a really fantastic workout using little ole you! However, to keep muscles challenged, your mind engaged and to feel a deeper burn, adding a few tools can make a big difference! Here’s how to build your home gym for $100, as a starting point. I have detailed 3 levels of at home set-ups but recommend that you start with the most basic one.
The basics of building your home gym for $100
The critical components of having a functional at home gym are: stablity, padding and resistance. If you can find simple tools to help you with that, you’re golden. Stability tools activate and challenge your core muscles deeply. Think about when you’re sitting on a bumpy ride, or you get thrown off balance. When you’re trying to stabilize, your “tummy” wakes up and contracts. That’s what we’re trying to achieve with the balls, disks, rollers.
Next, we have padding. You want to protect your joints! At 40, I’ve been bouncing hard up and down with the same knees, trust me. 🙂 Make sure your not doing cardio on cement surface, I have solutions below! Additionally, ensure you have a quality mat. That’s actually one of the things I would recommend not skimping on. Proper footwear is extremely important.
Finally, the last basic for how to build your at home gym is resistance. Think of resistance as a BFF. It will help you hang on to muscle mass, tone the appearance of your skin, boost your metabolism and much more. Your own body can be a resistance tool, however, there are inexpensive, light tools that can exponentially increase results.
How to build your home gym for $100 – Level 1
Given the basics described above, here’s my entry level recommendation for what you need at home! And the crux of what I use for my workouts at home.
Quality Mat $19.99 – protect your joints!
Theraband $12.99– the best investment, keep longevity by sprinkling with baby powder and store in cool/dark place.
Ankle weights $15.99- $29.99 -these are everything. 4 months after wearing these for my glute/leg exercises, my core dramatically transformed and my cellulite improved
Free weights 3 lbs & 5 lbs $20 & $27- If push came to shove, I’d do 5 lbs. You can always use canned foods or bottles of water for the 3 lb exercises.
Level 2 At Home Gym
To take your at home gym to the next level, keep the stuff in level one and add the following gems. The added items include restorative aids, more stability and balance. This level will only set you back between $40-80!
Yoga Block $10 – A yoga block can be used for yoga modifications but also to deepen angles and freshen up your strength workout.
Stability Ball $24.99– This a staple for many of us! With the right exercises it can mimic many benefits of Pilates reformer. We have some classes that use it on MaZi Dance Fitness on demand.
Yoga Ball $9.99 – This little guy is great for resistance, and really more of a nice to have. Squeezing it behind your knees, in-between your knees or ankles, and your hands can help you feel the burn quickly!
Foam Roller $7.99– For the price, you can’t beat it. Plus, you’ll save some visits to the chiropractor by rolling yourself out.
Stability Disk $19.99– A cousin of the ball, the flatness of the disk allows you to use it in ways the ball cannot be! I love it for crunches, stepping blance and planks.
Level 3 At Home Gym- Gettin’ Fancy
If you want to feel really fancy and special while you’re working out at home, here’s some awesome add-ons. They are definitely “nice to have’s” and you don’t need them but also super awesome! They can elevate your experience enough that you’ll work out more which will be worth the incremental invesment in yourself. 🙂
Mirror $95.99 Mirrors are pretty transformative to the at home work-out experience. Watch your form, and it reminds of being at the studio or gym.
Space Heater $29.99 If the room you’re working out in is too cold, your muscles aren’t gonna love it. Taking the room to 75-80, will increase the sweat to levels you feel in a group class when everyone is breathing heavily.
Ballet Barre $155 I linked a less expensive one also. These barres can help inspire you slightly more than a chair. 🙂
Floor mat $169 Remember the part about protecting your joints? This is perfect for that, especially if you like dance cardio and have challenging floor surfaces.
Floor mat starter $19.99 You can also start small with a set of these and test out a better, more forgiving surface!
Well there you have it for how to build your at-home gym for $100! If you’re looking at what exactly to do with all these tools, then check out my on-demand workouts, a 14 day free trial. 🙂 These tools won’t take up much space. I have a little cabinet, were I keep my essentials and roll out of the way, for now! Start small XO, Z
