The Gym Equipment You Need to Exercise at Home

Do you want to exercise at home? In this interesting article, discover all the gym equipment you'll need to start doing it today!
The Gym Equipment You Need to Exercise at Home

Last update: 23 November, 2020

Having gym equipment at home can make your life easier in many ways. In this article, we’ll explain what gym equipment you’ll need to create a home gym.

You can find many training machines to help you stay in shape in gyms. In these places, of course, there are usually lots of people exercising. Therefore, gyms are excellent meeting points and the most common places to go and work out and lose weight.

However, some people don’t have time, don’t like the atmosphere of gyms, or, simply for greater comfort, prefer to work out at home. In these cases, having gym equipment at home is essential.

The gym equipment you need for your home gym

Setting up a home gym can make it a lot easier for you to work out. Firstly, because you won’t have to wait for the machines to be available to use. In addition, you’ll have the advantage of playing the music you like.

To set up your own gym, you must select a space in your house where you can place everything you need. It can be a room or another place that doesn’t interfere with the rest of the home.

In most gyms, very few people use certain machines or accessories. When it comes to setting up your own gym, you have the freedom to invest in the things you need and will actually use.

Choose the gym equipment you need

Perhaps not all people do the same exercise routines. However, athletes need two general pieces of equipment that, in turn, are relevant to setting up a home gym.

  • Cardio. You can do some cardiovascular exercises without equipment. However, it’s always a good to have cardio equipment to expand your options.
  • Muscle development. You can achieve many fitness goals through different exercises that require weights, bars, boxes, or gym machines. This way, you can tone, build muscle, lose weight, or reach any other goal.
A woman training at home.

Taking these two points into account, below, we’ll share the essential equipment to have a fully conditioned exercise space. Write them down now!

Mats: gym equipment you need

When it comes to equipping your home gym, this probably isn’t the first object that comes to mind. However, the truth is that mats are very important when you’re doing exercises on the floor.

Kettlebells

It’s a great idea to have them in your home. They don’t take up much space and you can buy the ones that you usually use in your workouts.

In fact, you can do many different exercises with kettlebells. They’re essential elements for building muscle mass, toning muscles, and building strength.

Exercise or yoga balls

Exercise or yoga balls are great for exercises such as sit-ups or squats. You can even use one as a desk chair to correct or improve your posture.

Cardio equipment: gym equipment you need

There are many different equipment options for aerobic exercises. Depending on your budget, you can buy accessories such as a jump rope or a step platform. If you want to make a bigger investment, you can buy an elliptical, a treadmill, or an exercise bike.

Pull-up bar

The pull-up bar is very useful, easy to install, and allows you to do different exercises. Therefore, it’s a valuable home gym equipment.

Foam roller

Foam rollers are ideal for muscle massages, warm-up exercises, or post-exercise flexibility exercises. You can also use them as supports in variations of abdominal exercises, push-ups, and stretches, among others.

Women exercising with foam rollers.

Weight bench

A weight bench is really functional for many different exercises, so it doesn’t hurt to have one. Many weight exercises are done on benches. In fact, you can also do many different exercises without weights on them.

Gym equipment you need: enjoy your personal gym

Adapting a space in your home to exercise has many advantages. One of them is the possibility of reducing expenses since you won’t have to pay for a gym membership. Also, it’s useful to make better use of your time, as you’ll be able to exercise whenever and however you like.

Nevertheless, you can’t forget aspects such as self-discipline, motivation, and proper exercise technique. Since you’re exercising alone, no one will be able to motivate you when you don’t have energy. Thus, you’ll need to push yourself harder.

Finally, remember that, as time goes by, you can add other equipment you consider necessary for your home gym. The important thing is that you never stop exercising!


All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.


  • Charness, G., & Gneezy, U. (2006). Incentives to Exercise. SSRN. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.905026
  • Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2007). Active human nature: Self-determination theory and the promotion and maintenance of sport, exercise, and health. Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Exercise and Sport, 1–19.

This text is provided for informational purposes only and does not replace consultation with a professional. If in doubt, consult your specialist.