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Home Gym Essentials: What You Need to Get Started

The New Year’s just around the corner! Is staying fit in 2024 on your resolutions list? It’s definitely on ours!

If dashing through the snow to get to the gym or training in a room full of people isn’t your cup of tea, then we have an alternative for you. How about building your own home gym? It will help you stay fit and healthy, and improve your workout consistency, all within the comfort of your home. 

You’re probably thinking “it’s going to cost me a fortune”. Not necessarily – you can start off with just a handful of devices and accessories and save by buying second-hand equipment.

Read on to find out how you can shortlist your go-to devices, at an affordable budget.

6 Benefits of Having Your Own Home Gym

In the gym industry, January means one thing – millions of people signing up for a membership to stay fit in the new year. If you want to avoid crowds, consider setting up your own home studio. On top of convenience, you can:

1. Save Time & Money

On average, a monthly gym membership costs around £45; that’s £540 a year. This gives you a pretty solid budget for building a home gym. And when you consider that you can buy second-hand home gym equipment for a fraction of the price of a new one, working out at home seems even more appealing.

Also, you can skip the commute entirely. Unless you live really close to a gym, this can be a significant time saver! You can spend that time exercising instead of being stuck in traffic.

2. Access it 24/7

The best thing about having a home gym is probably being able to access it whenever you want. You don’t have to worry about temporary gym closures during Christmas or New Years’ – you can continue your workout routine on your own terms. You can also forget about opening hours. If you wake up at 6AM and feel like exercising, all you need to do is grab a little snack, change into your favourite gym outfit, and start working out – sounds fabulous, doesn’t it?

3. Have a Safe Space

Ever felt discouraged about having to go to a packed gym during peak hours? Or, maybe, you suffer from gym anxiety and don’t like others watching you work up a sweat? Neither of these will keep you from hitting your fitness goals if you work out at home. 

If you’re a beginner, having a home gym can help you put away all the blockers and build a positive relationship to sports. Plus, it can boost your chances of turning any New Year’s resolutions into lifelong habits. 

Feel like working out in your bikini? Go for it. Or, maybe you’ve just purchased a new pair of lime neon leggings and want to try them out? It’s your space, and everything’s on your terms.

4. Forget About the Queues

Those of you who are regular gym goers probably know the pain of waiting in line for gym equipment. It’s especially bad if you go during peak hours – you can actually spend most of your ‘gym time’ on waiting to work out instead of actually doing it. 

It’s a whole different story if you have a home gym. You can forget about queues and focus entirely on exercising – all you need is a few resistance bands, dumbbells or kettlebells, and a stability ball and you’re good to go!

5. Reduce Distractions

Having a community of other motivated gym goers can do wonders to keep you motivated in your fitness goals. But here’s the catch – if you socialise a tad too much and end up talking to someone between sets, it could throw your whole workout off. 

You could get the best of both worlds by finding an accountability partner and working out from your home gym. Exercising in a distraction-free zone and ongoing check-ins can do magic!

6. Customise It

Prefer kettlebells to dumbbells? Or, maybe, you don’t need a home multi-gym machine and would rather focus your training on yoga and simple body mass exercises? You don’t need to work with the equipment the gym has on site, why not create your perfect setup instead?


Do I Need to Buy Gym Equipment, and How Much Does It Cost?

Buying home gym equipment can, but doesn’t necessarily have to, be a large investment. If you don’t want to regret any of your purchases, then you need to be super honest with yourself. Answer these questions:

  • Are there any exercises I particularly love, or hate?
  • What types of equipment are a total no-go for me (at least, for now?)
  • How much space can I dedicate?

It’s a good idea to start off with a modest setup and add new elements over time. It’ll be easy on your wallet, and you’ll avoid the regret of buying any unused equipment.

As you can see, it’s hard to put an exact price tag on a home gym. The good news is that you can keep the cost well under £1000 if you’re looking to buy the ‘bare minimum’. If you’re open to buying second-hand equipment, you might even spend just a couple of hundred pounds total. For example, instead of purchasing a pair of kettlebells for £85, you could pay as little as £18.99 to a re-seller. Compared to a gym membership, this could pay off rather quickly!


Home Gym Essentials For Powering Up Your Strength Training/ Fitness Training 

While you can do a lot using your body weight only, there are a few affordable essentials which might come in handy and add a bit of resistance to your workout. 

  • Kettlebells – stand with feet shoulder-width apart, holding a kettlebell. Hinge at the hips, swing the kettlebell through your legs, then thrust your hips forward. Engage your core for full extension at shoulder height. It's best to do your first workout in front of a mirror to make sure you maintain a good posture, and don’t lean back while swinging. 
  • Dumbbells – start with a warm up and stretching. Lift with your legs, not your back. If you start feeling any pain, immediately stop exercising and lower the weight.
  • Resistance bands – if you’re new to resistance bands training, begin with two training sessions a week, each 30 minutes long. It’s best to gradually increase the resistance and intensity of your workouts over time. 
  • Bench – it’s great for a variety of exercises. You can use it to work on your abs, arms, and chest. While doing a bench press, lie flat making sure your head, shoulders, and buttocks touch the surface of the bench. 
  • Jump rope – a jumping rope is probably one of the most effective cardio exercises. You can burn a lot of calories, and build strength and endurance in as little as 20 minutes. Remember to keep your hands at a similar distance from your body, and use your wrists to put the jump rope in motion while keeping your elbows and shoulders stable. 
  • Stability ball – you can use it to train various muscle groups, including your core, back, and hips. To stay safe, select the right ball size. Go for one that lets you keep your knees at a 90-degree angle while being seated. 
  • Pull up bar – to do a pull up, hang with your arms straight, while engaging your shoulders and core. Pull up slowly, until your chin is over your hands. Then lower yourself in a controlled manner to return to the starting position – and voilà, that’s your first rep done!

If you have limited space, or simply don’t want to buy home gym equipment separately, piece by piece, you can go for a home multi-gym machine instead. 


Home Gym Essentials For Yoga

What if you want to add some yoga into your workout plan, or want to focus on it entirely? Here’s your basic setup. 

  • Yoga mat – A good yoga mat serves two purposes – it gives your knees and elbows extra padding and provides slip resistance. There are tons of different types – some mats are made of thermoplastic material, PVC, natural rubber, or even hemp. It largely comes down to personal preference. To retain your mat’s anti-slip properties, you’ll need to use a gentle detergent and freshen it up regularly.
  • Yoga block – Yoga blocks can be particularly helpful for beginner yogis, as they help you reach down to the floor or balance better if flexibility is a limiting factor. Most blocks are made from natural cork, foam, and wood. 
  • Yoga clothes – there’s a reason why many yogis wear slimfit clothing – particularly tops. Since you’re keeping your head upside down in many poses, wearing a loose top would be super inconvenient. There are plenty of chic, affordable yoga styles from Fabletics to choose from.
  • Stability ball – if you’re also buying strength training equipment, then you can use a standard fitness stability ball. Or, you could go for a yoga wheel to engage in back-bending poses. Either of these options will help you make your yoga practice a bit more challenging and help strengthen your balance and core.
  • Yoga strap/rope – You can buy a yoga strap or, alternatively, use a resistance tube band. The difference between the two is that standard fitness bands come with various resistance levels, while yoga ropes do not.


Home Gym Ideas – Putting Your Best Foot Forward in 2024

As you can see, you don’t have to spend all your savings to buy home gym equipment. All it takes is a little bit of planning and creativity. Start with:

  • Deciding how much you’re willing to spend
  • Figuring out what your fitness goals are
  • What types of exercises are most fun
  • How much space you have for your home studio.

Once you’ve answered these questions, you can start your search. Remember – you don’t have to buy brand new devices and accessories, as there’s plenty of good quality second-hand equipment available online. You just have to do a bit of digging. 

To wrap it up, building a home gym means you’re saving money on membership and time on commute. Not to mention, you can spare yourself a ton of distractions and maintain a 100% focus for all your workouts. 

Here’s to staying fit and healthy in 2024!

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