Equipment for home fitness. How to set up a home gym

Find out which equipment should be the first to appear in your home gym in order to conduct effective workouts.

The content of the article:

Creating a gym at home can be quite difficult if you approach the issue on a large scale. In accordance with the equipment of the training venue, three classes can be divided into three classes:

1. Premium class- equipped with all the necessary exercise equipment and sports equipment for comfortable exercise. It is quite obvious that organizing such a hall will require serious financial investments from you.

Premium home gym

As for the premium class, the number of necessary types of sports equipment and equipment may be higher. When choosing a location for your own gym, you must use a well-ventilated area. In addition, it is worth taking care of high-quality lighting. Scientists have proven that strength training in low light has an extremely negative effect on the eyes.

The minimum distance between exercise equipment and walls is 30 centimeters. If you have small children or pets living with you, you should limit their access to the premises to minimize the risk of injury. To ensure good sound insulation, the walls should be covered with cork panels. However, this recommendation only applies to premises used as a gym.

We recommend replacing the flooring as well. Carpet or tufted covering is best suited for this. If possible, it is also worth increasing the shock-absorbing qualities of the floor. However, to resolve this issue you will need specialists and additional financial expenses. There must be one full-length mirror in your living room.

If there are mirrored doors near the wardrobe, the living room can be organized close to it and thereby save money. Below we will talk more about the most necessary things for training, but you should also take care of various little things, for example, wristbands, a jump rope, weights, etc. It is quite possible that you do not have enough space to store them in your existing closets and pantry. In such a situation, you cannot do without additional racks or shelves. A wooden box located under the bed can serve as a replacement.

To ensure that your workouts are as enjoyable as possible, you should think about aesthetics. When choosing the color scheme for a gym, you should avoid dark and harsh tones. They can cause despondency and in such a situation, training cannot be as effective as possible. After preparing the premises, you can think about choosing sports equipment.

If your goal is to adjust and then maintain weight, then you should use cardio equipment. The most popular among them are treadmills, elliptical trainers, steppers, and exercise bikes. When a person sets a goal to pump up his muscles, the choice should fall on strength training equipment. But you can’t do without a barbell and dumbbells in any case. These two shells will help you solve any problems.

If you want to know what are the 5 must-haves for your home gym workout, a barbell and dumbbells are definitely one of them. Even if there are no financial problems, only those people who set aside an entire room for a gym can afford more than one exercise machine. The most compact among them are exercise bikes and steppers. Although there is a fairly large selection of sports equipment for home use on the market today, it is not always possible to make it as compact as possible.

Middle class gym at home

• Flooring.
• Lighting and access to fresh air.
• Presence of a mirror.

Dumbbells

Barbell

They do not make strong sounds when dropped, and will not leave dents on the laminate. You should choose these pancakes carefully. The coating should not be excessively soft and should not crumble when pressed. When choosing the weight of discs for a barbell, focus on your capabilities. There is no point in collecting a large number of disks at once. You can first limit yourself to two weighing 5 kilos and several weighing 0. Then, if necessary, you can purchase additional ones.

Bench for bench press

Among other things, pay attention to the height of the bench. Most often, 40–45 centimeters are enough. The last criterion for choosing this type of sports equipment is the filler material. It is best to use solid types to eliminate negative stress on the spinal column.

We recommend purchasing a power frame that you can make yourself. This will allow you to feel confident while lifting heavy weights. Of course, this type of sports equipment may not fit into the interior of your room, but if you take training seriously, then a power rack is worth buying. Other important things worth noting are the horizontal bar and pulley block.

Budget class gym: 5 necessary things for training

Also, a weight will not be superfluous. Probably, no money will be allocated for the purchase of a bench press, much less a power rack. Three stools can be used as a bench. A good imitation of a Scott bench can be a chair whose back is wrapped in soft material. If you are planning to create a budget-class gym, you will have to be creative when using available items.

What other sports equipment can be useful for girls to train in the home gym?

Fitball

Jump rope

Pilates ring

Latex tape

What you need to equip a home gym, and what you can do without, see the following story from Denis Borisov:

How to equip a gym at home? All you need is one bar, a few pairs of plates, racks or a power rack, a bench and a homemade platform!

Not everyone who wants to do strength training can make gym training part of their lifestyle. Lack of time, high cost of membership, problems with traveling from home or office, lack of gyms in the city with good equipment, or a simple dislike of the atmosphere of a commercial gym - these reasons force many people to invest in a home gym.

A complete home gym for barbell training does not require a huge investment, and it is quite easy to assemble. A bar, several pairs of weights, a power rack or racks for barbells and presses, a regular horizontal bench for, a platform for - that’s all the necessary equipment. Rubber pancakes are useful for strength training, but there is no urgent need for them.

The equipment is quite primitive, and not necessarily expensive, you just need to know some subtleties and nuances.

Vulture

Skimping on the fretboard is a bad idea. Of all the components of a gym, the quality of the bar is of utmost importance. The weights simply hang on the bar, the platform simply lies under your feet, but the bar acts as a link between you and the force that opposes you - gravity.

Sometimes the savings are worth it. For example, generic drugs are cheaper than branded analogues, although the active ingredient in them is the same. The same cannot be said about the Olympic bar. In most cases, you get exactly what you paid for. Unless you are lucky enough to find a good, cheap used barbell, but in today's era of rapidly growing interest in barbell training, you shouldn't count on such luck. Get ready to pay about 15,000 rubles for a good neck.

Why so expensive? Because metal is expensive, good production equipment costs money, and storing bars in warehouses is also expensive. A cheap neck will bend, but a bendy neck is junk. Scrap metal. A bar that bends no more than 3 mm is considered straight, and if the angle of deviation from a straight line is more than 4-5 mm, the bar is considered bendable.

Load such a bar with plates, and it will begin to play in your hands - the bar will “level” itself, the ends of the bar will go down, and an arc will form in the central part. For squats, it’s still all right, especially if the notches on the bar allow you to pick it up from the supports in a stable position. But if you take the bar off the rack for squats, bench presses, or lifting it off the ground for unstable deadlifts, the bar will begin to rotate in your hands or on your back. This is not good because there will be safety issues when performing the exercise.

Most commercial gyms have several bars, and usually they all bend because the gym owners buy cheap junk, don't know which bar is best, or just don't care. Bars in gyms also bend because visitors who did not buy the equipment with their own money throw them on the floor, on a bench or in a power rack. Even an expensive bar will bend under the weight of 150 kg if you throw it across the bench. But a cheap bar bends even when people simply forget to take it apart at the end of the day.

You can check the straightness of the neck by placing it on the floor and rotating it in the center (if the seat bushings are not welded). If the bushings are loose, the neck is not straight. Or you can test it by rotating it in a power rack - the end of the bent bar makes a circle whose diameter is larger than the seat sleeve, and the center of the bar moves back and forth with maximum deflection at the bend point. One of the benefits of a home gym is that you can always train with a perfectly straight bar.

There are bars of different diameters on sale. The Olympic Weightlifting Federation requires the diameter of the bar to be 28mm, while the International Powerlifting Federation requires the diameter to be between 28 and 29mm. The standard length of the bar is 2.2 meters, the diameter of the seating sleeve for plates is 50 mm, and the weight is 20 kg. The thicker the bar, the stronger it is, so weightlifters with sharp snatches and jerks use a softer 28 mm bar, while powerlifters need a stiffer bar because they lift heavier weights and perform exercises slower.

The Olympic Federation has a special 25mm standard for women's weightlifting (smaller hands need a smaller bar). Competing athletes need to take all this into account. For a home gym, a 28.5 or 29 mm bar is best; it is the most durable and wear-resistant. Never buy a 32mm neck. This is a special bar for squats, which is of no use in a home gym. Usually they are all so-so. Another pile of scrap metal.

Pancakes

The pancakes are just hanging there. They are made of cast iron and add weight to the barbell. The pancakes do not have to be new, because old and new cast iron weigh the same. The only thing you should be concerned about is the weight of the plates and how tightly they fit into the bar bushings. If you find used pancakes, buy them. These are rare today, but can sometimes be found in thrift stores or in the classified ads section. Used labeled pancakes will cost 30-60 rubles per kilogram, while new ones will cost twice as much. After simple calculations on the calculator, you will begin to look for used pancakes with greater zeal.

In cheap, low-quality pancakes, the hole diameter may be too large for the landing sleeves. Plates with an internal diameter of 52 mm or more will dangle on the bar. This might not seem like a big problem until you put the barbell on the floor for a deadlift. In this case, the bar will lie on the plates, instead of the plates hanging on the bar, and the dangling discs will fall on their sides. As a result, you will have to firmly secure them with locks or clamps so that the bar does not turn into a disorderly pile of discs. But even in squats, plates dangling on the bar will be distracting when you step back, so you'll always have to use clamps to keep them in place.

The weight of the best pancakes corresponds exactly to that indicated on the label. And they are expensive. The weight of a cheap pancake can be anything. I came across 20 kg pancakes that weighed 18 kg and 25 kg. As long as you know the exact weight of the barbell, you can hang the same weight on the right and left, and that's great. You cannot estimate the weight of a projectile approximately or by eye.

Depending on your strength capabilities - or what indicators you want to achieve - you will need from 2 to 6 pairs of 20 kg plates. Lighter weight plates are very important to properly dose the load. You should be able to put just enough weight on the barbell as needed. The weight should always be the same, and the weight gain should be precise and small so that you can adapt to it and not gain weight by leaps and bounds.

You will need one pair of 10 kg, two pairs of 5 kg, one pair of 2.5 kg and a set of “mini plates” that will allow you to increase the weight of the barbell by less than 5 kg. You won't find mini pancakes used, and they can be expensive when new, but they can be made from a few 5cm flat nuts that you can buy at a hardware store.

Rubber pancakes

If you plan to do snatches and jerks, it is much more convenient to use plates with “cushioning” in these exercises. Once upon a time, we simply caught the barbell after completing the exercise and smoothly lowered it onto the platform - and only in competitions did we throw it to the ground, because the platform was the organizers' problem, not ours. Today there are rubber plates that allow you to throw a barbell onto the ground without much risk of destroying the surface.

It must be said that this changed the nature of the exercise. Since you don't have to lower the projectile under control, you don't have to do half the work. But since we have rubber plates at our disposal, we should use them, because they reduce wear on the bar and platform. They are always expensive, even used ones, which are almost impossible to find these days.

You'll likely have to buy new ones, but the good news is that you only need three pairs - a 10kg pair, a 15kg pair and a 20kg pair. You'll notice that 10kg plates are great for warming up before deadlifts because they aren't too heavy, although the outer diameter is the same - 45cm - as the 20kg iron plates. As a result, the distance from the ground to the bar will be the same, but the projectile will weigh only 40 kg. If you don't plan on doing Olympic lifts, just buy a pair of 10kg rubber plates to put less weight on the bar for your deadlift.

Barbell racks or power frame

In squats, various presses and the bench press you cannot do without barbell racks. They will save you from having to lift the barbell from the floor to the starting position every time - this is a dangerous process, and it limits the working weight you can use. The racks make it possible to raise the projectile from the ground to a convenient height in advance, placing “hooks” on each side of the bar that securely hold the weight.

There are a wide variety of racks, from a couple of simple and unrelated ones to huge welded garage-sized monsters that can be found in expensive gyms. Disconnected racks are dangerous due to their instability; If you are not very experienced, it is only a matter of time before a training accident occurs. A better option is a small squat rack, which looks like two racks connected at the base. Some frames allow you to adjust the height of the posts and even the spacing of the hooks, and are much more stable than isolated posts.

But the best choice would be a power frame or “cage,” a system of four or six vertical columns. The power frame allows you to place the bar both inside and outside, and at any height. In a good power frame, the base is tightly connected to the frame, and in the center of the base lies a steel cross, covered with a thick plywood panel. A welded frame may be stronger than a prefabricated one, but the second one is much cheaper and easier to transport and assemble.

A good power rack, flat bench and platform will provide the conditions for you to safely perform all barbell exercises in the privacy of your home gym. Installing safety bars within your squat or bench press range of motion will eliminate the need for a buddy, which is often a major limiting factor in a home gym.

A cool power frame will cost about 60,000 rubles, but they can be found on the secondary market, so look there first. In my opinion, the best load-bearing frames are made from a C-shaped metal profile, but for vertical columns a U-shaped profile is more often used. These are the types of frames that can be found in most gyms. The power rack must have both hooks and safety bars so that the barbell can be placed inside or outside, depending on the exercise and the presence of a spotter.

Horizontal bench

If you plan to bench press, you will need to lie on something. A horizontal bench will become a reliable support in exercises that are performed lying on your back with a barbell in a power rack or on racks. Your flat bench should be extremely simple, yet stable as hell, and light enough to be lugged around the garage when you're not doing bench presses. By the way, the power frame makes benches with heavy vertical stands, which are used in powerlifting competitions, completely unnecessary.

The standard dimensions of the bench are width 30 cm, length 120 cm, height 43 cm. Buy just such a bench, because a taller/longer/shorter/narrow/wide bench is not as comfortable as a bench of standard dimensions. The bench should be made of metal tubes or a rectangular steel profile, with a spacer along the entire length on top and another spacer in the middle between the top and the legs. The width of the legs should be the same as the width of the top, with a durable metal surface. A metal top will add unnecessary weight; The boards are strong enough to support world record-level working weights, so they'll work for you too. My bench is covered in upholstery fabric because the fabric is 15 times stronger than faux leather and is not slippery under any circumstances.

Platform

This useful thing will help you avoid breaking the floor. The size of the platform depends on how much free space you have at your disposal, but the larger it is, the better. You will have plenty of room to work in front of the power rack. Build a platform from 4x8 sheets of plywood. By placing six of them in three layers - each at a 90-degree angle to the previous one for added security - you get a great square platform. The platform should be level with the base of the load frame, so it is the height of the base of the load frame that will determine the total thickness of the plywood sheets.

I emphasize that the platform should be flush with the surface of the base of the power frame. Otherwise, you will stumble sooner or later, so measure seven times. Many people line the platform and base of the power frame with rubber flooring to protect the wood from damage and make the surface non-slippery. In this case, you will have to cut the rubber - use a utility knife and soapy water to simplify cutting, save time and save your nerves.

The platform, which lies on a concrete floor, will have to be turned over from time to time. How often? Depends on the humidity in the room. The lower surface absorbs moisture and becomes deformed, while the upper surface dries out. Eventually the surface becomes convex. You can notice this if you stand on the edge of the platform and it starts to sway. Rubber coating can reduce this effect - here's another reason to use it. If the platform needs to be turned over, be sure to secure it with special screws on both sides so that they hold it in place while moving. It will take two people to flip, so make a deal with friends.

By spending no more than 150,000 rubles - five years of membership in a fitness club or even less - you will assemble a world-class home gym on an area of ​​about 15-20 square meters. You will be able to train whenever you want, and with equipment, the quality and safety of which is completely under your control. For many, this makes the difference between a good workout with full concentration and the irritation of having to deal with unpleasant people, work with lousy equipment and waste time traveling to the gym. Invest wisely and you'll never regret owning quality equipment or the independence that comes with owning your own gym.

Home gym This is every athlete's dream. Agree, it’s a great idea to equip a gym at home. After work or study, you don’t need to travel miles away to train and back home, adjust to the gym’s work schedule and pay for a subscription every month. Owning your own home gym in the long run will save you a lot of invaluable time, money and give you the opportunity to exercise at any time that suits you.

How to set up a home gym?

Let's move on to a practical solution to the issue. How to set up a home gym? First, you'll need a space for your home gym. A few squares will be enough if everything is placed correctly. However, the more free space you have at your disposal, the better.

It is advisable that the room in which our home gym will be located is well lit and ventilated. Of course, it is better for this to be a separate room in your house or apartment, so that no one can distract you from your workout.

Secondly, you need to have your own sports equipment. It all depends not only on the available space, but also on your financial capabilities. In order to equip your home gym, there is no need to buy expensive exercise equipment. First of all, you need a basic set of sports equipment for training at home.

Gym at home: necessary equipment

It's clear that the more sports equipment you have at home, the more exercise you can incorporate into your routine. However, funds must be spent wisely. So, for training at home to be as effective and varied as possible, you must have:

• collapsible dumbbells;
• barbell with a set of weights;
• bench for press and press;
• squat racks with safety net;
• horizontal bar and parallel bars.

Here is a basic set of equipment for training in your home gym. This list goes on and on. You can also shorten it by purchasing a power frame instead of squat racks, in which you can perform not only squats, but also presses, pull-ups, and others. In addition, such comprehensive solutions will help save a lot of space. What your home gym will be like depends only on you and your capabilities. I wish you good luck, friends!

Are you a workout freak who can't always find time to work out, or aren't you always happy about going to a crowded and sometimes even expensive gym? If you had the choice, would you like to move your gym into your home?

Let's face it, we all lead busy lives and spending all our time in the gym like we did in college is no longer an option. We work 50+ hours a week, have social commitments, families... and then there's the question of who will walk the dog? There are times in life when it is almost impossible to fit a gym into your schedule.

The good news is that building a home gym is easy and can be much cheaper if you know what to buy.

Today we will highlight certain equipment that you can install at home for a quick workout if you cannot visit the gym.

#1 – Foam Rollers and/or Trigger Point Equipment

This is a must-have piece of equipment for any fitness enthusiast or anyone who would like to improve their health. Foam rolling and your own myofascial release equipment are the simplest and best things you can do for your body to feel better quickly.

You can choose a foam roller or a half roller for no more than $10-20 and they will last you a lifetime. When choosing, make sure that the roller is made of a dense material, because a soft one will break and not work properly. Even better, head to the hardware store and pick up 6-8 inch pieces of PVC pipe that only cost $5!

If you are truly interested in maintaining excellence in health and mobility, choose the Trigger Point Therapy equipment package, which is not expensive.

#2 – Suspension Trainer

Suspension loops such as TRX and Jungle Gym are becoming increasingly popular due to their versatility and ability to be used anywhere. There are literally hundreds of exercises and movements that can be done with simple straps. You can do everything from pull-ups to lunges, bends and one-legged squats.

Hinges cost between $50 and $150 and can be mounted on a wall, tree, or even above a closed door. Considering the price you would pay for a machine to do all of these exercises, such as the Bowflex or Total Gym, this is a great buy.

It's recommended to buy pre-made loops for safety and convenience, but if you'd rather do it yourself, you can go to a sporting goods store and pick up 6-inch straps for less than $10. Some even come with loops on the ends that you can use as a handle. Just be careful when training using them.

No. 3 – Sliding discs

Sliding plates are used to increase the difficulty of various weight-bearing exercises by reducing stability and making them more force-demanding. They have a piece of plastic at their core that is designed to glide easily on smooth or carpeted surfaces, making them a great addition to your home gym.

The Valslide brand sells discs for $25 a pair, but you can make your own using items around the house. Some use accessories, frisbees and even paper plates. Be creative.

A few of the most preferred sliding plate exercises are reverse lunges, sliding push-ups, hamstring curls, and body saws. There are endless possibilities for variety in your favorite exercises!

No. 4 – Rubber tubes and tapes

You can find them at most sporting goods stores or online in any size, shape or thickness you need.

Bands can be used to add resistance to various exercises or create some of your own. They vary in cost, but if you choose a bundle of different sizes, you can sometimes get even more.

Lightweight bands are preferred for a variety of shoulder rotation and stabilization exercises. Mini bands and large bands are used for support in hip and glute stabilizing exercises.

No. 5 – Universal horizontal bar trainer

The universal horizontal bar is the king of core exercises, and the main assistant for those who want to get an impressive shape and build a super-strong torso. A pull-up bar, such as the Iron Gym, is inexpensive and easily fits into most doorways.

In the beginning, most people cannot pull themselves up easily or at all, so it is recommended to use wide bands for assistance, which can be easily purchased online. They will make your work much easier because they provide additional support with each lift.

To attach your pull-up bar, simply bring one end above the bar and make a loop on the other through the end of the strap and tighten. The tape should securely hang the horizontal bar. You may need a small stool to support the end of the band, cross your legs above the floor and begin the pull-up.

No. 6 – Ab wheel

When it comes to building a strong core and six-pack abs, there's no better tool than the ab wheel. There are many sizes, but the small double wheel is a great size to find in any store.

It doesn't have a million uses, and you might think you don't need it. All you can do is the perfect ab exercise with a wheel, it's very simple. So why reinvent the wheel?

No. 7 – Kettlebells

When it comes to functional exercises, you can't do without weights. You'll have to spend a couple of dollars, generally speaking, each kettlebell will cost you about two dollars per pound, but you want a small set that will last a lifetime.

Kettlebells have gained widespread popularity in functional strength training. They differ from dumbbells by having a raised handle, which causes the center of gravity to shift further away from the arms, allowing them to swing. This is a unique advantage that allows them to be used in dynamic exercises such as kettlebell swings, throws, or catches, which are similar to Olympic lifts but safer.

They can also be used to complement resistance exercises such as squats, deadlifts, lunges and presses. Another plus of kettlebells is that you can do a lot of work with just one kettlebell, the main thing is to use it correctly. It is recommended to purchase a book or disk with a description of all possible movements with kettlebells, or even take a master class from a trainer. A little knowledge will go a long way forward!

Try this home workout bonus:

Warming up

• Foam Rolling (5-10 minutes)
• Alternating lowering of legs raised at an angle of 90˚, 10 on each side
• Glute Bridge, lying pelvic lift, 10 reps
• Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch, kneeling hip stretch, 30 seconds on each side
• Kneeling T-Spine Twists, T-twisting on one knee
• Squats, 6 times
• Spiderman Lunges, Spiderman lunges, 5 on each side

Instructions: Move between single letter exercises. For example, perform set A1 and then set A2, then return to the first, and so on until you have completed 3 sets of each exercise. You should rest to restore breathing for about 30-60 seconds after each exercise..

These home gym exercises should help you achieve your fitness goal!