The off-season is coming for many of us, but regardless of the time of year, having a spot in your house to do some strength and mobility work is a big part of being an efficient, healthy athlete. Here, we’re talking about the few pieces of gear that we love for all of our strength training. We keep things super simple so that pretty much wherever we are, we can do a decent rendition of our usual strength and mobility routines.
Before we dive in, remember: Whatever you do, don’t delay starting a weight routine because you don’t have the ‘right gear!’ Start by squatting gallon jugs of water or doing rows with bricks instead of dumbbells if you have to.
And you can start with relatively light weights and make strength work harder with variations like one leg squats, lunges, step-ups can augment the weights you have by putting more stress on single limbs. Moving SLOWLY or through deeper range of motion can also really create challenge. For instance, doing a deep squat or lunge, or a pushup with narrow hands, elbows back taking 5sec to go up / down. (This is a deep stepup example, trying to just barely touch the ground with the non-working leg.)
And if you want to do strength but don’t know where to start, check out all of our Video Resources for Yoga, Strength and Bike Skills
To build a simple, basic home gym, here’s what we recommend:
Adjustable Weights
We have a single adjustable weight that Peter got out of pandemic-based desperation a couple years ago, and we didn’t think it would last. However, it turned out to be a great purchase, and it’s been really ideal for me (Molly) as I’ve slowly added more weight to my easy strength routines. We only got one of these weights since we already had a couple of dumbbells and kettlebells in the house, so we can use it with one of those for farmer’s carries, while everything else tends to be single side or holding the weight in the middle.
These can be pricey, though, so if a decent high quality (read: brand name you know and trust and has solid reviews) adjustable dumbbell is out of your price range, we like 2 x 20 lb dumbbells, which you can then lift together for 40 lbs, but somewhere from 15-20 pounds will be fine for squats, presses, etc. for most relatively fit adults.
RELATED: How to Set Strength Training Goals
35-Pound Kettlebell
Depending on where you’re at with lifting, we love a 35-45lb kettlebell for kettlebell swings, squats and Turkish getups. You can use an adjustable dumbbell for this if you’re trying to build a home gym from scratch—the adjustable is definitely the first thing we’d get, since it can grow with you!
Get it here (or here if in Canada)
RELATED: The Athlete’s Healthy Office Set-Up for At Home or At Work
Stretch Bands
Stretch bands for band pull a parts and similar warmup/therapy / corrective (small/skinny usually orange or red) and/or a large (usually green) for stretching hips/hamstrings etc. (I’ve recently started tying them into a circle for band walking)
Get them here (or here if in Canada)
This is band to assist with pullups and also mobility exercises for ‘distraction’ as per the work of Ready State and Kelly Starrett
Yoga Mat
Not 100% necessary, but if you have bad knees, this can help if you’re doing any floor work on a hard surface. It can also help anchor you to creating a ‘gym station’ somewhere in the house where this is all organized and ready to go!
Get one here (or here if in Canada)
Doorway Pull-Up Bar
We love this pullup bar— we keep it in our doorway and anytime we walk through it, we either use it for a great stretch, a quick hang that activates the core, or a couple of pullups. It makes a huge difference over time! Honestly, best $25 spend you can make.
Get one here (or here if in Canada)
This is a doorway pullup bar that lets you hang or do pullups at home
Nice to have but not as important…
TRX-style Suspension Straps
TRX-suspension straps are a nice addition to an at home workout setup, though like the next couple of additions, we don’t consider them to be must-haves. But they can really help with making bodyweight more effective and help target certain mobility. Plus they give you more options to mix up strength at home!
Get them here (or here if in Canada)
These are trx straps or suspension trainers for doing strength exercises anywhere. You can do body rows or different core exercises
Ab wheel (or stability ball)
Again, not critical, but this is a great addition if you’re really trying to target your core. We like the ab wheel for strictly exercising, but a stability ball can be really nice if you want to sit at your desk and take a break from an office chair on occasion.
Get a roller here (or here if in Canada)
this is a ab roller for doing core exercises
Skipping rope
For speedy cardio, you can’t beat a skipping rope. If you don’t have space in your house, burpees and jumping jacks are fine alternatives, but skipping rope can simply be fun!
Get one here (or here if in Canada)
On a budget? Look for weights on your local buy and sell / Craigslist / Kijiji etc. as there are some older style weights that will pop up. You can also use some things around your house, like a gallon jug of water, to get started.
Get creative about adding more weight. What if you hold the weights together, tie them together or put them in a bag to bias to one side / one leg? Often for things like squats you can group small weights together. Some other common strategies are to find things around the house/hardware store like cinder blocks, rocks.
