Chapter 8: Home Workout Equipment Options

Home Workout Equipment Options

If you’re someone who feels that you’d rather workout in the comfort of your own home as opposed to the gym, there are plenty of options available to you here.

So many people get caught up in the thinking pattern that they absolutely must be going into the gym if they want to see results.

Not so.

If you have a proper home workout program structured, you can most definitely see great results right in the comfort of your own basement.  You simply have to know how to structure the sessions and what to do so that you can see the results that you’re after.

Having the right equipment makes this easier.

So what should you pick up for your home workout program?

Let’s look at some of the best types of equipment that are available.

Exercise Ball

The first piece of equipment that you’ll definitely want to pick up to take with you is an exercise ball.  Exercise balls are not only good for working the core muscles effectively, but you can also perform a number of other exercises on them that will stimulate the muscles more intensely than before and get you showing greater strength gains.

For instance, if you are performing a typical set of chest press with dumbbells, you could do this with your back flat against the dumbbell, which creates an instable surface. This will cause the muscle fibers deep within the core to contract harder than they typically would.

Exchangeable Set Of Dumbbells

Next, you’ll also want to make sure that you get your hands on a set of exchangeable dumbbells.  Exchangeable dumbbells are going to be good because they take up far less space than if you had a set of dumbbells and are going to allow you to progress faster through the various weight levels as you begin building better body strength.

Furthermore, an exchangeable set of dumbbells will allow for a much greater number of exercise options that you can perform as you go about your workout routine.

You can purchase ones that either have you simply flicking a switch to adjust the weight (which are most convenient but higher priced), or purchase ones that have you adjusting the plate weight on either ends to adjust the dumbbell weight through that method.

Resistance Bands

Moving along, the next piece of fitness equipment that you should be considering investing in as you go about structuring your program are resistance bands.  Resistance bands are going to be absolutely ideal for anyone who is going to be doing a great deal of travelling with their workout program since they can simply place these in their suitcase and they’ll be all set.

Resistance bands are also great for those doing home workouts who want something a little less heavy than free weights and who are looking to form a base level of strength.

While you won’t be able to reach the same resistance level with a set of resistance bands as you would a set of dumbbells, you can still see great strength benefits when you use these correctly.

Resistance bands do come in varying levels of resistance, so make sure that you pick up a few different tension levels to fully challenge yourself to the max.

These are also a generally more cost-effective option than a set of dumbbells, so will work well for those who are on a budget.

Skipping Rope

Finally, the last piece of equipment that you’ll want to consider picking up for your home/hotel workout is a skipping rope.  Getting in some cardio training will be beneficial for helping you burn calories and strengthen both the upper as well as the lower body muscles.

In addition to this, skipping is very comparable with running in terms of getting your heart rate up high enough so that you can reap full cardiovascular benefits and boost your metabolic rate for hours to come.

If you perform one minute skipping intervals between your strength training sets, this is a perfect way to take your conditioning up a step and really get you seeing the fastest results possible from that workout session.

So there you have the main pieces of equipment that you’ll want to purchase as you get going on your home/hotel workout program.  Clearly taking dumbbells along with an exercise ball may not be all that realistic for your hotel workout session, but if you take some resistance bands and a skipping rope, you’ll have everything you need to get a good workout session in.

Now let’s show you your hotel/home gym workout program.