How to Build a Home Gym on a Budget

In today’s society where multi-tasking has become the norm, time is a hot commodity and has easily become a major challenge as busy women each day struggle to balance work, family and personal time. It’s no surprise that convenient, time-saving alternatives such as ready-made dinners, home cleaning services, etc have risen in demand as women seek manageable ways to simply “get stuff done.” With so many things going on simultaneously, where does that leave time to hit the gym and workout?

With life constantly being on-the-go, it’s becoming more and more important to take time to focus on being healthy and working out, even if it’s only 30 mins a day. Having a home gym can help solve this problem and we are going to tell you how to create one on a limited budget.

Whether you looking to lose weight, maintain your weight or want to build strength and lean muscle, these items are essential for creating an effective home gym. You may first want to consider what kinds of exercises you’re interested in that will not only challenge you but keep you focused and consistent. In thinking about these exercises, you want to make sure your home gym includes a variety of equipment that checks off the boxes for cardio, weight and strength training. One really great piece of cardio equipment that is portable and costs $10 or less is a jump rope. High intensity jump roping literally turns your body into a calorie-burning machine! You not only burn 800-1000 calories on average per hour during your workout but you continue to burn calories throughout the remainder of the day. A bicycle and roller blades are other effective ideas for cardio that can be fun for the whole family.  

Strength training aka resistance training is also essential in creating lean muscles so that you look and feel better. There are two types of strength/resistance training: Isometric resistance and Isotonic strength training. Isometric resistance involves contracting your muscles against a non-moving object, such as against the floor in a push-up. Isotonic strength training involves contracting your muscles through a range of motion as in weightlifting. Dumbbells and resistance bands are great for strength training and are absolute must-haves in any home gym. These items can be bought inexpensively at any sports goods store or local department store like Walmart. Be sure to purchase at least two different resistance and/or weight categories to provide variation for your workouts.
We can’t forget about that midsection. Every woman wants sexy abs, right? You may also want to incorporate some core training equipment in your home gym.  A simple ab roller can get the job done with little strain to your wallet and is easily portable. There are a wide range of exercises that can be performed using the ab roller and if you purchase the version with the foot straps, you can definitely take your workout to the next level.

There are also plenty of FREE workout options that you can do in the comfort of your own home gym. You could in fact turn your entire home into your gym by using items found around house, such as stairs, chairs, walls, etc.  For instance, there are an array of  chair workouts you can do such as seated jumping jacks, tricep chair dips, oblique twists, knee tucks, etc. Your stairs can also be put to good use to work on your glutes, calves, thighs and hamstrings. Some great stair exercises include the step-up to reverse lunge, skater steps, stair jog, side steps, etc. Don’t have stairs? There are plenty of other exercises that require absolutely no equipment at all like jumping jacks, pushups, mountain climbers, planks, air squats, the list infinitely goes on and on! Additionally, there are thousands of apps in the android play store and IOS marketplace that provide you with home and/or gym workouts you can do on your own or as part of a virtual community. It’s like having your very own personal trainer and support group in the palm of your hand.

Don’t forget with today’s advanced technology, there are tons of apps out there providing quick on-the-go training that you can do at home or wherever you are. Apps like MyFitnessPal, CardioTrainer, LoseIt, Nike+ come in handy when wanting to track your progress, weightloss, nutrition, etc. You can get them for free from the Android store or the IOS marketplace.

So, there you have it. You can still achieve your fitness goals while managing your busy life as a working woman, working mom, stay-at-home mom or any combination of the three. You also don’t need to break bank to get your own home gym, you just need to apply little wisdom and improvisation.

- Butterfly Armor Team