Must Have Fitness Equipment For Your Home!

Starting your fitness journey and don’t know what type of fitness equipment to get? If so, this is the place for you. In this article we go over the most versatile and convenient pieces of equipment to get so you can get some gains at home!

Fitness Equipment for specific goals

Firstly, all of the equipment mentioned below are to a degree portable and versatile, so don’t expect full blown machines and barbells to be on this list. With that out of the way, I will outline a reasonable approach to working out. I will specifically talk about resistance training since it’s the activity that will give you most bang for your buck in terms of body composition goals. (But if you were looking for cardio equipment you can check out my favorite piece of equipment here) A reasonable and sound resistance training plan that keeps in mind the structural health of your body must include these following movement patterns:

Upper body

vertical push (eg. overhead press)
vertical pull (eg. pull-ups)
horizontal push (eg. push-ups)
horizontal pull (eg. bent over rows)

Lower body

hinge (eg. kettlebell swings)
squat (eq. squat or lunges)

Gymnastics rings

The gymnastics rings is one of the most versatile pieces of equipment. It is the ultimate tool to get some upper body gains. You can perform all of the upper body exercises stated above. With the rings you can build an amazing physique. The rings are also super convenient because they don’t weight much, you can put them in your backpack and carry them anywhere. As long as you have somewhere to hang the gymnastics rings you will be able to get in a good workout.

Pull-up Bar

You are most likely familiar with a pull-up bar since many homes already have one at home. This is definitely one of my favorite pieces of equipment because I love to do pull ups and chin ups. If you don’t have anywhere to hang a pair of gymnastics rings you can also buy a pull-up bar and hang them there. If not you could just buy the bar to do your vertical and horizontal pull exercises. I know its only two movement patterns and so it seems like an unreasonable investment but the majority of the other movements can be done with no equipment, like for horizontal and vertical push you can use the floor. Pull up bars are definitely up there on the list of equipment because most of the other pieces of equipment neglect the vertical pull movement pattern.

Kettlebell

The kettlebell is another great piece of equipment for the home. It doesn’t take much space and you can do exercises like kettlebell swings, rows, overhead presses, so many exercises to be done with a kettlebell. You can totally do most of the movement patterns on the list except for vertical pull, meaning this is a great piece of equipment to invest in.

Dumbbells

The dumbbells are super versatile. Like the kettlebell, you can do pretty much every exercise pattern mentioned above except for vertical pull just like the kettlebell. I would say the dumbbells are a better option to get if you’re starting out, more than a kettlebell since you can do horizontal pressing and overhead pressing much more conveniently than the kettlebell. Also if you’re not much into calisthenics, this would be my first option of equipment to get. Since you can do the most movement patterns out of the pieces of equipment on this list.

Resistance Bands

Resistance bands are also very versatile, and can be another great alternative to dumbbells. I still remember that when weights were scarce during the lockdowns, resistance bands were the saviors to many people stuck at home. I don’t have much to say about bands except, if you can’t get some dumbbells, try to get resistance bands as a replacement. You can do a lot of exercises and if you have never exercised before you can make some decent gains out of bands.

Ranking Fitness Equipment

For upper body focused people:

For people with a lower body focus:

So the best combination is the gymnastics rings paired with a good set of dumbbells.