EASY TO GET AT HOME WORKOUT EQUIPMENT
Hi!
As you guys continue to reach out about my online training programs and services, one of the biggest questions I keep getting is
“I don’t have any equipment, but I’m willing to get some…what do you think I should get?”.
This is such a valid question because if you’re not used to training at home (which most of us aren’t), then it can be hard to know what’s worth getting and why.
Not to mention, it’s fucking obvious that it’s been nearly impossible to get any weights. Today on a podcast, I heard that a woman ordered a pair of Bowflex weighs in June, and got them in November……………………
I want you guys to feel confident with the equipment you have which is why I will always tailor your workouts around whatever you have to work with but, I figured this post would be a good way for me to share links to what I use + give you ideas on how to use household items as weights. (please do not use your couch for deadlifts or single leg kick backs…it just seems a bit much and you don’t have the time to adjust your living room that much, right? Right.).
Alright –
Here is the easy to get at home workout equipment that I have been using during quarantine.
Doorway Multi Grip Pull Up Bar – I mean, if you don’t work on pull ups while your locked away in your house, I don’t know when else you’re going to work on them lol. This has been so nice to have and it’s only 20 bucks. There’s a lot of other versions but I like this one because it gives you three different pull up options so you can practice narrow grip, wide grip, pull ups and chin ups.
My Booty Band – Anyone that has purchased this band knows that the resistance is unmatched. You have never felt your glutes burn out like this. No more shitty rubber booty bands that slide and snap. NO. This will actually change your glutes.
30lb Kettlebell – I actually don’t have a kettlebell but I’ve noticed that they are WAY easier to get than dumbbells AND if you get a moderately heavy one like 25/30lbs, then you can use it for soooo many things and get in such a great workout. You can do step ups, Bulgarians, squats, deadlifts, hip thrusts, reverse lunges, literally everything. Definitely worth 100 bucks.
Heel Wedge Blocks – These are cheap and they are specifically for heel elevated squats. I started doing these often over quarantine because it’s an easy way to switch up your basic squat. Elevating your heels allows you to get deeper into your squat so a killlllller exercise that you can do weekly to progress your squat is -> Banded heel elevated constant tension squats. I put my booty band on over my knees, grab my two 25lb weights, elevate my heels, and go for 20 reps…..PFFFT it’s such a good burn it’s ridiculous. I wouldn’t necessarily grab these first if you have NO equipment, but if you’re looking to add a little something and switch things up, go with these.
Hip Thruster with Resistance Bands – I got this from Bret Contreras and still can’t believe it’s only 200 dollars. It comes with 90 pounds of banded resistance, it’s obviously the perfect height for hip thrusts so you don’t have to keep trying to figure out your couch or even worse, bed set up. It also can be used for Bulgarians really well because instead of curling your back toes up on a flat surface, you can just rest your ankle which feels WAY better and allows you to get deeper. It’s just made all of my hip thrusting so much better and so much more comfortable, and now I have the option of banded so highly suggest!
Set of 5 Resistance Bands with Handles and ankle straps – 20 bucks!!! Insane! I just got this set and am so excited to use it. My back workouts have been shit because my weight options for single arm rows are usually too heavy or too light, and back flys tend to bother my lower back. With these bands you automatically get a ton of resistance options and can use them for small isolated movements like bicep curls or tricep extensions, but I’m looking forward to using them for bigger movements. You can do chest press, row, single arm row, lat pull downs, side lateral raises and with the ankle straps you can also do kickbacks which I like because the mini band kickbacks either don’t give me enough range of motion because they’re too tight, or they don’t give me enough resistance because they’re too weak.
Sliders – These sliders are cute and they’re only 7 bucks. If you don’t have heavy weight and feel like you’re missing out on your hamstring work, slider hamstring curls are actually death. They are sooo hard and you can do so many variations like eccentric hamstring curls, or single leg hamstring curls, orrrrr single leg eccentrics….ooo those kill. Aside from that you can use these for mountain climbers or stick them under your feet in a plank position and do super slow abductions with them for inner thigh work. OR if you have the space you can put them under your feet, come into a push up position, and use your hands to walk forward while you keep your lower body still – this is a really good upper body and core exercise.
Luckily I have dumbbells but aside from those, this is the equipment I’ve been using and it’s a great set up. I could easily make someone months of training with these things alone – hit me up if you’re interested!
Okay now let’s quickly touch on some household things you can use for weight in case you don’t have dumbbells + other household exercise options.
I’ll skip out on the obvious laundry detergent and water bottle hack for weight because I think we’ve all already heard that about 8 billion times.
One of my old clients told me the other day that her husband has been using their crockpot filled with water as a weight and I really just wanted to take a moment to applaud that big dick energy. I mean, wow. No excuses lol.
If you don’t have a crockpot or don’t want to make you’re living room a splash zone, try these:
Backpack filled with Heavy Books
Sandbag / great for squats, deadlifts, and loooove this option for hip thrusts because it’s way more comfortable than a bar.
Rags or paper plates / Use for hamstring curls, mountain climbers, plank abductions, inner thigh work.
Tall Table / If you’re dining room table is tall then you can use something like this for inverted rows which is a nice option if you don’t have a pull up bar. AND you can use this for reverse hypers which – if you don’t do reverse hypers – you’re missing out on some insane booty work. This photo below shows that you can also do reverse hypers on a much shorter table so that’s an option as well.
Gardening pot or cooking pot / Something like this is a really easy way to progress your average reverse lunge into a deficit reverse lunge because it allows you to get more range of motion.
I think that about covers the basics of what to use differently at home and some cheap and available workout equipment you can get your hands on! Remember to reach out if you are interested in having me make a personalized workout program for you! You can get more information and see/read testimonials here
