I’m not going to lie to you – I am a massive tight wad so the idea of having to pay extortionate gym membership prices doesn’t really appeal to me. I would much rather pay out for a bit of gym kit that I can use whenever I want, keep until it wears out and get maximum bang for my buck.
You don’t even have to have masses of space now for a home gym – we have our gym in the garage where, let’s face it, most people store a lot of junk that never sees the light of day! Some people also build sheds specifically to house all their gym equipment. There are also some really great space saver pieces of gym equipment, including folding exercise bikes and treadmills, such as this one from the Gym Company (pictured below) so even the corner of an office or the dining room can become a make-shift gym.
BH Fitness F5 treadmill – £899 available from the Gym Company.
In our gym we have various weight machines (more the boyfriend’s than mine!), including a Smith Machine, dumb bells and kettle bells, a TV, DVD player and TV box, space to do aerobic exercises, a folding treadmill and bike, and a punch bag.
Out of all of the these things, my favourite piece of kit is the bike because you can do HIIT training on it or more traditional sprint and endurance workouts.
My essential pieces of home gym kit are:
- A cardio machine, be it a treadmill, bike, cross trainer or rowing machine – something that means you get a good cardio workout on a rainy day
- Free hand weights and/or kettle bells for strength and cardio training
- An exercise mat for stretching and yoga practice
- Mirror for weights (just to check your form)
- A TV or iPod dock – for entertainment purposes!
Everything else is a bonus!
