How to make an awesome Home Gym! (Top 10)
With so much kit to choose from, where is your money best spent?
Here’s my recommendations on home equipment and where you can buy it (no affiliate links, should have organised that, ha!). I’ve also tried to keep all the businesses linked either direct to source or UK based (any recommendations you have, message me and I can check out and update).
My thinking is this, we all need to work towards becoming more athletic. We need strength training to make us strong, flexibility work to make us supple, and something in the middle that makes us move and tests our coordiantation. My choices reflect this, and you’ll see that even more with part two of this article, a few weird and wonderful toys!
So as well as the gear below, there’s also part two coming with choices 11 - 20. There’s been some tough decisions and a frequently changing league table! My focus is first on how frequently you may use it, and also considering cost, space and the amount of exercise variety it brings.
Remember, you don’t need anything really, just your own body. However tools are fun, they keep you interested and engaged and help work the body more evenly, and in turn help make you stronger and move better. There may be a few moments of controversy, but I’ve really gone for the goal of achieving greater athleticism, and my favourite tools for that.
So let’s get into it...
ONE
Of first importance, and also free, is a timer app. I use the simple one called interval timer (shock choice of name there!) and have for years, it’s basic, it’s brilliant and has never let me down. Setting custom timer with alerts helps keep you focused, keeps your workouts snappy and allows you to focus on technique. This is so valuable when you have so many distractions at home. I often just set 10 mins at 30 sec intervals and do five rounds of four exercises. Simple, tough and effective. This just about made it to number one due to the amount you’ll use it, and also that it’s free! Oh and last tip, stick your phone on airplane mode, if it rings you owe me twenty burpees!
https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/interval-timer-hiit-workouts/id406473568
TWO
Secondly, I’d recommend a good mat. There’s so much you can do with your own body, however I feel a good quality mat really starts directing your focus towards effective workouts at home. I have two, one that is more padded for stretching, plyometrics (jumps) and yoga when I’m sore, which is from sweaty Betty;
£40
And the second is non slip, great for sweaty workouts and more balanced based yoga, and is from Lulu Lemon, and also love the colour, mine is the men’s which is a little bigger;
https://www.lululemon.co.uk/en-gb/p/the-reversible-mat-5mm/LU9A79S.html
£68
I also have another lulu lemon mat that’s more of a carpet non slip feel, which is my most beautiful mat but is now on the subs bench, I think I’m just a bit too sweaty for it! Also have a couple of standard yoga mats, around £15-20 that are very functional, good for the average workout, but don’t quite give that same nice feeling when setting them out.
For top end I’d highly recommend Yogaline, created by a good friend, it’s custom made for your body and personalised.
£109
THREE
Third up, it’s time to add weights! Hard to pick between a kettlebell and dumbbells, but I think for at home the kettlebell shades it. It’s awkward which often makes it a tougher workout, but you can incorporate swinging it which can also make your workouts lighter for sore days. I’d recommend firstly a lighter one, and for a very rough guess, for the average, fairly consistent gym goer;
Men 8kg
Women 6kg
A lighter option gives you far more variety, and works well alongside a yoga routine. Personal faves are overhead presses, Turkish get ups and Bulgarian split squats with the lighter version.
Then next up, a heavier, for your Squats, Swings etc.
Men 12-16kg
Women 10-12kg
Most kettlebells are pretty similar, but always go for cast iron with some rubber, and never drop them 😉 I’ll recommend Wolverson, a UK company with a great collection.
https://wolverson-fitness.co.uk/collections/kettlebells/products/coloured-cast-iron-kettlebells-mk2
12kg Kettlebell £47
FOUR
Fourth base! Ok a little obvious, but dumbbells coming next, though a slightly more controversial suggestion...go light! You’ve got your heavy kettlebell, that’ll be there for your heavy rows, presses and squats, and also a lighter kettlebell. However you’ll be missing out on the more accessory work, where dumbbells are great, think bicep curls, lat raises, smaller, more controlled exercises where you can do high rep circuits. With these added in you’ll be good for nearly all your weights work. Again, iron and rubber, and I particularly like the hex shape.
Men 3.5-5kg
Women 2-4kg
https://www.powerhouse-fitness.co.uk/bodymax-rubber-hex-dumbbells-pairs.php
4kg £20
FIVE
The fantastic (number) five...a Pull Up Bar. If I could only use two exercises to make someone more athletic, it would be a pull up and a weighted squat. I’ve seen a huge difference in people’s strength, power and body confidence when they learn how to (or add to their) pull ups. They stretch your and help take tension out of your shoulders, whilst building shoulder stability (which we need even more with the more tech driven lifestyle we’ve had the last few months, rounded shoulders for everyone!) and also develop really strong arms and upper back muscles. You can get the door frame version, or if you have a garden space, the big classic frame is the best. Here’s a link for both;
(There’s lots of options here, depending on where you’re planning to have it, you can also find permanent wall and ceiling ones which are great too.)
Adidas Multi Grip Doorframe Pull Up Bar £40
https://www.holydogwater.com/product/324174475899/
Freestanding Garden Pull Up Bar - £215
SIX
Number six! Getting trickier now, and I must confess, having a sixth choice is starting to make this home gym a little luxury! So going to shoot for a curveball...for helping shape a good bottom, wear good bottoms! I kid, but actually we need good fitting performance shorts / leggings. Something where you can move easily, don’t feel self conscious and don’t worry about them slipping. With good bottoms I think you feel more athletic, and they don’t need to be expensive, they just need to fit well. For ladies, I know that Sweaty Betty and Lulu Lemon are the big two, however I have little experience here I’m afraid! (Drop me some suggestions?!)
For men, the most amazing shorts I’ve ever bought are from Ohmme, who unfortunately are closing down. They feel so incredible comfy, I once thought I’d forgotten to put them on!
They’re closing down, if anything is still available then buy it! Heavily reduced and best quality brand in my wardrobe.
https://www.ohmme.com/collections/bottoms
Bottoms £11
Another near life changer for me has been the Japanese brand Uniqlo. A lot of their shorts can double up as more casual shorts, so great if just changing your top and heading out. I have these which I wear for regular outfits, gym and tennis, which is pretty versatile!
£20
Finally, Nike Shorts for their design and cut, are pretty tough to beat. If I’m going for look then it’s always these, particularly this pair, however they’re absolutely not for yoga, made that mistake once and never again. However if you’ve been working on your legs, then choose these.
https://www.nike.com/gb/t/challenger-13cm-brief-lined-running-shorts-wB6clR/AJ7685-010
£27
SEVEN
At number seven, you need some strong support, and no, not a hype crew, but a good, solid bench. This is one place it’s best to either spend a bit more on or go for second hand. You want to feel secure so you can concentrate on your lifting, there’s nothing worse than a rocking bench. Well, ok there is, but you understand my point. Something like this is great for Bench Press, Bulgarian Split Squats and Row’s, which could be a great whole body workout by itself.
https://www.gorillasports.co.uk/gyronetics-e-series-multi-function-bench
Bench £120
EIGHT
To help your weights, number eight. Often overlooked, but so important, is a notebook to track your workouts (and maybe your food). Without tracking down your workouts you’ll miss out on so many strength gains, as when you do track you start seeing where and when you can gently push forwards. I love a notebook for two reasons, firstly it’s easy to make clear notes, and secondly I do feel strongly that you shouldn’t use your phone during your workout. Don’t even get me started on spending five mins on your phone between sets when there’s no benches available...anyway, where was I?! So buy a nice notebook, log your workouts and your weight. Also maybe how you felt out of 10 before the session and then after, which is very useful data for how you’re training is helping you, hint if you’re not feeling better after training you need to scale back or rest. For fat loss, people generally seem to lose around twice as much weight by keeping a food diary, so definitely worth a go for four to eight weeks.
Choose something nice, and you can find custom workout diaries now.
https://etsy.me/2WsmXjx
Exercise journal £9.99
NINE
The beast at Nine. So this is space dependent, and fairly expensive, however I’ve still allowed it a high placing for two reasons, one, it folds, and secondly, in my humble, it’s the best machine for cardio and sprints. Make sure you use proper form (plenty of great YouTube tutorials), and you’ve got all you need for great conditioning (this plus some running drills). Maybe do a 2km test at the start of each month to check in on your fitness, and lots of 250-500m sprints to burn fat and develop power endurance. I’d go for the Concept 2.
Concept 2 Rower - £860
TEN
And sneaking in at ten, and guaranteeing a top half finish...Strava! Or Map My Run, or Ride, or whichever cardio tracking app you prefer! (I’m team Map My Run, but just because I’ve always used it). It’s such a nice boost to see your time improving, and how much distance you covered over a month, so well worth it. I’d recommend the occasional session without it, just focusing on feeling good and nice technique, but overall hugely helpful, and free.
https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/map-my-run-by-under-armour/id291890420
Map My Run App, free.
The League Table (Top 10 / Part 1)
Interval Timer App
Yoga Mat
Kettlebells
Dumbbells
Performance Shorts / Leggings
Pull Up Bar
Weights Bench
Notebook / Exercise Diary
Rowing Machine
Strava / Map My Run or Ride App
I hope you’ve enjoyed the top ten, and please look out for part two, where there’s maybe a piece of kit that you might find a better choice. See you soon!