15 Best Home Gym Equipment on the Cheap

Kettlebell Workouts

Setting up a home gym is an exciting project. Putting together a space where you can enjoy your workout is fun. However, at-home fitness equipment can cost you an arm and a leg.

Finding affordable gym equipment is an art form. We found the best home gym equipment on the cheap to share with you:

1. Sandbag

A sandbag is an excellent piece of at-home fitness equipment that works for your stability, core, and heart. You can use it as a weight when doing marches, lunge walks, or even squats. If you truly feel up to the challenge, use a sandbag when doing planks.

2. Resistance Bands

To get a good resistance workout at home, try using resistance bands. Both long and short-loop resistance bands are great for strengthening muscles.

You can get resistance bands that provide a weight of up to 60 kg. Use them for assisted pull-ups or push-ups as a beginner. For advanced, try using them for lunge, squat, and press variations.

Jump Roping

3. Jump Rope

Jumping rope is an effective way to burn calories and get cardiovascular exercise. It can burn up to 150 calories in ten minutes. A weighted jump rope will help you simultaneously hit cardio, arms, and core. Non-weighted ropes are less than $9, and a weighted rope often starts from $15.

4. Stepper

You can use a stepper for steady-state aerobic exercise, HIIT, or strength exercises. Turn on an aerobic step class from YouTube and get your heart rate up. Lower steps are easier for cardio but make strength exercises like pushups harder. 

5. Flat Bench

A flat bench is amazing for chest and back exercises. It can help you practice your single-leg squat variations like pistol squats and Bulgarian split squats. Side-to-side bench hops are the perfect exercises to get your heart pumping. 

6. Set of Cones

Many bodybuilders are afraid that cardio will ruin their gains. However, cardio will simply elevate your gains and keep your heart healthy. Agility and speed training is a great cardio workout that makes your training functional and fun.

If you can work out outside or you have a larger room to use for working out, get some cones. You can set them up to do speed and agility work like lateral jumps and speed tests. 

7. Stability Ball

Working on your core strength and stability is an integral part of fitness and health. Ensuring you have a strong core will keep your spine and hips healthy even into old age. A stability ball is a great way to add core exercise to your routine. You can use it for planks and lunge variations.

8. Core Sliders

For those looking to get more slow and controlled movements in their routine, core sliders are perfect. Make moves like mountain climbers, pike-ups, and lunges more challenging by using core sliders. Average core sliders are around $10.

Yoga mat

9. Exercise Mat

You can choose to get a thick pilates mat, a yoga mat, or a foldable gym mat. Mats help protect your bones and joints from the floor. They are the perfect crash-landing spot after a hard and sweaty workout.

10. Foam Roller

Recovery is very important and the key to a successful workout. Foam rollers help ease tense muscles and loosen knots. If you love pilates, you can use a foam roller to do reformer exercises at home.

11. Pull-Up Bar

Building upper body strength is possible at home with minimum equipment. A pull-up bar helps you master your pull-ups which work your back, core, arms, and lats.

You can use resistance bands to progress your pull-ups until you are strong enough to lift your weight without assistance. With $30, you can have a high-quality pull-up bar.

Boxing Training

12. Punching Bag

Get your boxing shoes on and get a workout in. A punching bag can complete a home gym. With a punching bag, a pull-up bar, and some resistance bands, you have a complete gym.

Boxing is a phenomenal cardio workout; punching the bag offers enough resistance to strengthen muscles. You can get a punching bag for less than $50.

13. Ab Wheel

If you’re looking to set your abs on fire, the ab wheel will do that for you. It offers significant resistance to help build your abdominal muscles. Use it on your knees as you build strength. Ab wheels are usually $15 or less.

14. Kettlebells and Dumbbells

Kettlebells and dumbbells come in varying weights and offer you various exercises to choose from. Use a kettlebell to get your heart rate up with kettlebell swings. Dumbbells and kettlebells are also used for strength and hypertrophy training. 

Target legs, arms, core, back, chest, or glutes. You can also perform full-body moves. You can get dumbbells for $5 and kettlebells for $10.

Medicine Ball

15. Medicine Balls

Medicine ball slams, wall balls, and Russian twists are some of my favorite exercises to do with medicine balls. These balls have some weight which offers enough resistance to get your muscles straining. The moves incorporate cardio training, helping you work up a sweat. 

Final Word

Setting up a home gym does not have to set you back thousands of dollars. Get a few key pieces of at-home fitness equipment at a time and work with them.

I recommend starting with a jump rope, some resistance bands, a kettlebell, and a mat. You can get a full-body workout and cardio with these.

Enjoy working out from the comfort of your home as you add to your gym.