Home Workout Equipment Guide

It doesn’t have to cost a fortune to set up your own ‘home gym.’ Even if you don’t have a dedicated room for working out, a simple but complete homegym can be yours for less than $100. If you can spend a little more, you will be able to more easily breeze through your workout or purchase heavier weights to take you to that next level. 

A yoga mat and a set of dumbbells allow you to perform hundreds of exercises for all muscle groups, and even perform cardiovascular work via circuit training. These pieces of equipment can be stored in a closet and you can use them right in your living room. Many are unsure as to the best type of dumbbells to purchase. Here is a guide to choosing dumbbells for your home.

Individual Free Weights

Benefits

• Low cost per dumbbell—about 70 cents/lb

• Great for beginners

• Good if you don’t need a bunch of different size weights

• Quick—you can just grab one and perform your workout—no setup needed

Drawbacks

• As you get stronger you need to keep buying more dumbbells

• Can take up a lot of space

• Buying a full set can cost a lot—up to $700 for up to 60 lb. weights

• As you grow your collection you will want a storage rack which is an additional cost and takes up space

Manual Adjustable Dumbbells

Benefits

• Low cost for naked dumbbell handle and individual plates—about 70 cents/lb. Only $70 to make a set of up to 50 lb. weights.

• Space saver because you can set up any size dumbbell all using just one handle

Drawbacks

• Screwing and unscrewing the handles to change the weight will take extra time, and interfere with circuit training. Having more than one set of handles can help.

• You need ‘higher math’ skills every time you adjust the dumbbell to make sure you have the correct weight ?

Selector Dumbbells

Benefits

• You instantly have access to 5 lb. up to 55 lb. weights with 2.5 lb. increments

• Over 20 ‘pairs’ of varied weights that takes up little space

Drawbacks

• Most costly upfront--$400 at Sears.

Skip the gym...not the workout.