Strength Train At Home With This Affordable Equipment
All you need is a few affordable items to build your own home gym.
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Let’s face it: running is an expensive sport. The cost of race entries, running shoes, sports bras and physical therapy sessions add up over time. Running is also time consuming and balancing training along with life’s other demands means making the most of each moment of the day.
Related: What Going To The Gym Looks Like After Having Kids
One way to save both money and time is to do strength training at home. You don’t need a lot of expensive equipment to get started; you just need a few key pieces of equipment in the beginning. Over time, as you get stronger or get bored, you can add other pieces of equipment.
Of course, you can do body weight exercises at home at any time without equipment, but adding resistance other than body weight can help you get even stronger and can add freshness to a stale body weight strength training routine.
Ditching a gym membership has played a crucial roll in my ability to find the time to strength train consistently. Without a gym membership, I eliminate having to spend time going to and from the gym, thus making my workouts more efficient.
Related: How To Build A Better At-Home Gym
Here are three pieces of equipment to add to your home gym for under $60:
- Mini resistance band (price range: $4.00 – $10.00): This tiny torture device can elevate your glute work. Slide it around both legs and use it to add resistance while doing hip bridges, clamshells, squats and leg raises
- Set of light-weight dumbbells (price range: $8.00 – $30.00 per pair): One set of weights can go along way. For exercises that require heavier weights, perform uni-lateral exercises while holding both dumbbells in one hand.
- Resistance band with handles (price range: $15.00 – $19.00): This is really a versatile piece of equipment that can be used primarily for upper body exercises. One band can provide enough resistance to strengthen both small muscles (think biceps) and larger muscles (think latissimus dorsi).
What is your favorite piece of equipment to use at home? Tweet @RacePaceJess and @WomensRunning and share with us!