Here’s the link to my Setting Up a Home Gym blog posts.
Tag: setting up a home gym
Setting Up a Home Gym 3.0
To set up a home gym I recommend getting this equipment:
A 36-inch foam roller.
A set of 5-pound, 8-pound, and 10-pound dumbbells. (Use a set of 5-pounders to start. Or 2-pound dumbbells first if you’re out of shape. As your routine gets easier add the 8- and 10-pound sets.)
A 10- or 15-pound kettlebell. (I have 10-pound 15-pound and 20-pound kettlebells.)
A 10-pound body bar. (Start with a lower weight if you have to.)
An aerobic platform with risers.
Medicine ball. (I have a 12-pound.)
A resistance band.
Disc sliders.
These items can be bought on Amazon.com. I bought the dumbbells and medicine ball at Modell’s as well as training tee shirts and pants. Get fitted for the right sneakers while you’re at it.
First: you might have to buy an exercise mat to cover a rug or carpet. I have a hardwood floor in my living room where I exercise regularly.
Exercises that can be done in your apartment: (Watch YouTube videos to see the correct form.)
Foam roller stretching and other stretches.
Dumbbell exercises:
Pec flyes, bicep curl, chest press, lunges and squats, walking lunges, lateral raises, triceps kickback, chest press with squat, renegade row, one-arm row, one-leg dumbbell step up with reverse lunge, dumbbell donkey kicks, dumbbell fire hydrants, dumbbell flyes to shoulder press, dumbbell Russian twists.
Kettlebell exercises:
Swings, goblet squats, curtsy pulse squats, side squats, one-leg dead lifts.
Body bar exercises:
Frontal raises, hip bridging from floor.
Core exercises:
Bicycle crunches, figure 4s, leg raises, alternating V-ups, in-and-out crunch, Russian twists, toe touches.
Other exercises:
Planks, disc slides knee-to-elbow, plank jacks with disc sliders, side plank with hip drop, wall sits, jumping jacks, medicine ball slams (on hardwood floor or mat), triceps dips off chair, butt kicks in place, high knees in place, butt kicks in place, squat jacks, resistance band bicep curls, tricep dips off box (can use a chair at home), plank with opposite knee to elbow, lateral plank walks, body weight squats, decline pushups (off coffee table at home), mountain climbers.
(Disc slider exercises can only be done on hardwood floors or exercise mat. Cloth side faces floor.)
Setting Up a Home Gym
I’ve exercised in my living room two or three times since I was thrown into the role of caregiver for my mother.
You don’t need an expensive gym membership to work out every week.
You can go on YouTube to watch videos to see how to perform different exercises.
For a cost of $90 or so upfront you can buy equipment to use in your home.
I’m not a big fan of buying things on Amazon yet I do shop on this online superstore every so often.
I bought from Amazon sellers a 20-pound kettlebell, two 10-pound dumbbells, and a 36-inch foam roller.
That’s all you’ll need to exercise in your living room: just these three items.
Amazon also sells adjustable weight dumbbells.
With this equipment you can do an exercise routine for thirty minutes or longer.
If you’re not ready for higher weights buy the weights you can use at this time.
Turn on the radio, internet, iPod or other device to your favorite music for a mood boost while you work out.
Some exercises you can do in your living room:
Stretches and foam roller
Kettlebell swings
Single-leg deadlift
Alternating V-ups
Goblet squat
Curtsy squat
Pulse side squat
Lunges
Dumbbell curl
Chest press
Renegade Row
Plank
Side Plank with hip drop
Bicycle crunches
Figure 4 crunches
Push-ups
Jumping Jacks