Strengthen, tone, and lose weight by setting up your home gym with everything you need! Learn the best exercise equipment to spend your money on that's great for beginners, cost-effective, and takes up little space.
Plus, this home exercise equipment is easy to use! No cable to adjust or space needed to be made. Set up a small home gym with this exercise equipment and start losing weight today.
If you want to stay consistent with your goals, at-home workouts can help- especially as a busy mom!
However, body weight exercises will only get you so far.
Snag some of this practical, home exercise equipment and take your weight loss results to a whole new level- plus, you can save money while you do it 😉
What To Consider When Setting Up A Home Gym
Setting up a small space for at-home workouts can feel overwhelming. There's a lot to consider:
- Space
- Cost
- How often you'll actually use it
- What kind of workout you'll be doing (strength training, cardio, etc)
Before you purchase any home exercise equipment, nail down the answers to those questions.
What Equipment Is Best With Losing Weight?
The truth is, any gym equipment can help you lose weight. It's the workouts, intensity, and consistency that helps with weight loss. Not necessarily the equipment.
However, strength training will help you to start losing weight and keep it off faster than cardio machines will (though a sweaty cardio workout can be a great addition to your training program and definitely helps with burning calories!).
This is because learning how and why to strength train will help build muscle mass which keeps weight off long term. Whereas a cardio workout only burns calories at the moment.
For the moms in my SMASH Workout Program, I recommend only a pair of 15 pound dumbbells and a green mini band to get fit.
So, don't waste your money on cardio machines like an exercise bike or rowing machine that you won't use. instead, set yourself up with exercise equipment that will help you lose weight... and keep it off.
The Best Home Gym Equipment For Small Spaces
As a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist, I am spoiled to have a full gym set up in my house (you can peek at a gym tour to check it out!)
But I didn't always have this home gym equipment and most of my clients don't either.
Actually, I trained for a few years without a gym membership or any fancy at-home workout equipment. I also learned a lot. Mainly that you can easily rock an at-home workout without equipment (here's a fun cardio workout).
That said, adding resistance to your at-home workout routine (not heavy lifting just resistance) will be a game-changer in terms of results and strength (12 benefits of resistance training).
If you want to set up a full gym at home- rock it! But it’s not necessary.
You can use any one of the pieces of at-home equipment and lose weight, tone up, and get strong.
My top four pieces of fitness equipment for losing weight are:
- Cheap: you don't need to spend more than $100-300 for gear
- Good for small spaces: not everyone has the floor space to store workout equipment. These pieces tuck away pretty easily.
- Easy to use: the choices are amazing for beginners or advanced fitness enthusiasts.
You can check out my youtube channel for a ton of at-home workout videos to help you get started with any of the pieces you chose.
You can also peep at my blog post A Busy Mom's Ultimate Guide To Working Out At Home which will give you all the ins and outs for getting set up to smash home workouts.
#1: Resistance Bands
Bands are one of my favorite things to recommend for anyone working out at home or for those of my clients that travel a lot.
Not only are they inexpensive but they take up virtually no floor space and you can do so many exercises with them (here’s a fun arm workout for example!).
Staples for anyone working out at home resistance bands provide tension at the hardest part of an exercise but they pack up light and are super cost-effective.
I love them because they give you the ability to work your back muscles (and upper body in general) which is normally a challenge with just bodyweight activities (here are 15 back exercises you can do at home!).
I also recommend bands because they're easy to travel with. They don't take much room in your suitcase and you still get a workout while away.
Lastly, I like that resistance bands are a low-impact, non-intense way to get people strength training which leads to losing weight.
Which Kind Of Resistance Bands To Buy
I don't recommend pilates bands. The tension just doesn't stimulate your muscles as nicely as I would like. Instead,
I have every one of my clients grab a strength band, It's the least resistant of the strength bands this one works perfectly for shoulders and arms.
If you have something to fix it to (a beam) even better but it's definitely not needed. My strength band is red but the yellow one is the equivalent.
Green mini band: these are perfect for all glute (bum!) and lower body exercises. I use these every single workout to give my glutes a nice hit. They are the cheapest and best piece of at-home fitness equipment for beginners you can grab. You’ll see me refer to them in almost every single workout video I love them that much!
Target those crucial muscles like your glutes with a mini band that can easily be taken anywhere you go!
How To Use Resistance Bands For Your Goals
You'll notice that prosourcefit offers more than just one resistance band. This allows you to progress your at-home workouts, get strong and lose weight.
The yellow band is the one I use the most often with clients however here is what I rock with the other bands.
Purple & red Strength Band: great to help you work on your back muscles. and muscles of the posterior chain It provides ideal resistance or can be folded in two to help with glutes!
Green Strength Band: I use this one mostly to train for any kind of major pull (chin-ups) but also for a few awesome lower body exercises. It's the least used of my clients at home bands but I personally love it.
Truthfully, resistance bands are the piece I recommend the most for beginners who want to lose weight. They're insanely easy to use, low impact, and still give you a full workout.
Resistance Band Workouts
#2 Kettlebells
I love kettlebells and for a long time before we built my gym I worked out with just two twenty-pound bells until I could afford more.
Kettlebells allow you:
- a full-body workout
- can be used for strength, losing weight, mobility, and power
- easy to hold
Kettlebells are extremely versatile and you can use them in place of dumbbells or as more of a power workout for burning calories.
Easy to use for a total body workout to help you get lean and strong. Plus, they take up such little room they fit anywhere.
I normally tell clients to grab 15-25lbs depending on what they want to spend. I worked out for a long time with just two twenties. So don't blow the bank.
Grab one or two to start losing weight and just use what you've got! Here’s a fun Kettlebell Circuit though to get you started!
Kettlebell Workouts To Try:
#3 Dumbbells
Now, before you skip over this section let me remind you of two things: strength training is easily the best way to improve your posture, stimulate your muscles, lose weight, and keep you healthy long term.
Learn more about the benefits of strength training before you jump to conclusions.
The other point to keep in mind is that you don't need to purchase the whole rack! I would suggest starting with a set of 12's, 15's and/or 20's. That alone will get you seriously started and sweaty.
The only dumbbells I use they're simple, store nicely, and great fr any style of workout you plab to do.
And don't be nervous that your upper body won't be ready for a fifteen pound dumbbell. Instead of using both dumbbells at once, just use one! One dumbbell workouts are amazing for weight loss.
Not enough money? Just grab the 15's. You can still rock a lot of sweaty workouts and lose weight with one pair of dumbbells and they're an amazing addition to a home gym.
TIP: Just don't get the ones that you add plates to in order to up the weight. They definitely save you money but they're a huge pain in the ass. They're bulky and they take too much time between exercises.
Grab regular hex dumbbells. And if money is a thing, only grab one weight- your money is better spent!
Dumbbell only workouts:
#4 TRX
My favorite equipment for at home! A truly great piece of compact exercise equipment.
Ideally, you would hang them from a beam or anchor point BUT they do come with a door jammer meaning you can literally work out anywhere. Just hook them off the back of a door and you're good to go.
TRX is the most expensive of this exercise equipment but the most useful. You can target all of your muscles with countless exercises and in different ways (strength/metabolic etc).
Plus, the straps allow you to alter the resistance based on where you're standing and they're low impact.
For people just starting out, anyone with an injury, or if you're looking to lose weight, they're my go-to option.
Strengthen your entire body as a beginner or an elite athlete with these suspension straps.
It is one of the best investments you can make to your at-home workout routine and it’s one of my favorite tools when it comes to pregnancy workouts because it's so easy to modify the intensity!
On top of that, because with TRX you train on an angle, it is a great tool to improve your core muscles as they constantly have to stabilize. And most kits come with a workout DVD that explains many of the common exercises.
Trx straps may seem like a bit of investment but they're absolutely worth it. They allow you to use your body in a whole other plane of motion which gives great results.
TRX Workouts:
Don’t forget to pin these awesome pieces of home gym equipment for weight loss!
So that's it! My favorite home gym equipment for weight loss and strength training.
Don't waste your money on cardio machines like an exercise bike that you won't use. Instead, choose one of these pieces in your price range and go from there. Every time you add another piece you can do more.
Fitness and weight loss isn’t about having the best equipment, it’s about making the best use of the equipment you have.
Resources To Help You On Your Weight Loss Journey
- 6 week fat loss workout plan (at home!)
- Learn how to get better at push ups
- No equipment fat loss workout
- 25 At-home weight loss workouts
- How to lose weight permanently
- No equipment HIIT workout
- 3 Day dumbbell workout plan
- Follow along home workouts
- Strength training for beginners
- Fitness goals that aren't weight loss
- Metabolic finishers
- Everything you need to know about home workouts
Frequently Asked Questions About Fitness Equipment For Weight Loss
Items like resistance bands, mini loops, and gymnastics rings are the best equipment for small spaces and to lose weight. They're compact and can be put away easily.
Exercise equipment like resistance bands, mini loops, a gym mat, and a set of dumbbells are all great options and take up little floor space. From there a skipping rope, TRX suspension straps, and kettlebells give great at-home workouts for weight loss as well.
The best gym equipment to lose weight is the one you'll use consistently! However, equipment like dumbbells, resistance bands, or kettlebells will be a better investment than things like an exercise bike or rowing machine in terms of long-term weight loss.
Deanna
Love this article. Perfection! Yoy just took the stress out of my shopping for equipment, thank you!
fitasamamabear
Happy to hear it Deanna!There's so many options out there it's nice to have it narrowed down 🙂
Sarah
Thank you so much for this helpful information. It is so overwhelming all the possible equipment and I appreciate you keeping it simple.
fitasamamabear
It's insanely overwhelming.. and expensive! And it totally doesn't need to be.
Kim
I love my resistance bands! I bought them because they were cheap but I didn't know what I would do with them. After having them for a while they are one of my goto pieces! Now you convinced me to try the kettleball too.
fitasamamabear
Honestly you can do SOO much with bands! They're such a great "get started" piece of gear. But yes... give KB's a go! They're fun to play with lol
Claire
I have been following your blog since I had to stop going to the gym during isolation.
Man I feel like I have isolated or been at home with a child isolating for a very very long time! (5 kids and they never got it at the same time!)
Anyway, I started following you and trying some workouts, I have missed the gym a bit, but I am so happy with how much I can do at home and it has made me feel like I have more time.
But I was looking to progress my workouts so this is a great list
fitasamamabear
I am so happy to hear all this (except the kids sick a lot haha story of my life and I've only got three!). Honestly, there is so much you can do at home and get wicked results, I'm happy I can help. If you have questions at all, don't hesitate to reach out!
Jennifer
What a great article! I don't have a lot of space for equipment, and I loved all your tips! I'm making a shopping list now!