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Exercise Equipment: 7 Best Home Gym Essentials

Build an effective home gym with seven versatile pieces of exercise equipment. From dumbbells to resistance bands, these are the top home gym items to build strength at home.

two women performing a weighted step up with a dumbbell on a  plyometric box, demonstrating using the best equipment for your home gym and a good cardio at home option.


 

Strength training workouts at home are my thing. They’re the reason NML exists — my goal has always been to make fitness accessible to everyone.

Home workouts can be just as effective as gym workouts. You can build strength and muscle at home with some basic equipment. 

If you’re thinking about building a home gym from scratch, these are my ‘essential’ home exercise equipment picks.

Bicep curl with dumbbells Arm Workouts. For the best exercise equipment for at home workouts. Using a dumbbell that is the best piece of exercise equipment

Top Pick

If I had to choose one piece of exercise equipment for a home gym, it’d be dumbbells. Dumbbells alone are all you need to build strength at home.
Dumbbells

Exercise Equipment FAQs

What Exercise Equipment Do I Need To Workout At Home?

I highly recommend dumbbells and resistance bands because they’re versatile, affordable and practical tools for strength training. A range of dumbbells allows you to change the weight as needed. Resistance bands can be used to target smaller, stabilizing muscles.

What Is The Best Home Gym Equipment For Strength Training?

The best piece of exercise equipment for strength training at home is a set of dumbbells. Dumbbell exercises often mimic real-life movements, making them useful for functional strength training. Dumbbells are generally compact and take up minimal space, making them suitable for home gyms with limited room.

What Exercise Equipment Is Best For Beginners?

In addition to dumbbells and resistance bands, I recommend the following: an exercise mat to provide support for floor exercises such as pilates, stretching and core workouts. And a stability ball to help improve core strength, balance and stability. 

Best Exercise Equipment

Pregnant woman performing a bent over row on a bench with a dumbbell. Using the best exercise equipment for a home gym.

7 Best Home Gym Essentials

  1. Dumbbells
  2. Bench/Plyo Box
  3. Pull-Up Bar
  4. Extra Large Yoga Mat – Use discount code: NourishMoveLove
  5. Resistance Bands – Use discount code: NML
  6. Foam Roller
  7. Exercise Ball

1) Dumbbells

Strength training is the name of the game for all seasons of life. You can work EVERY muscle in the body at home with just a set of dumbbells (lifting weights is the number one thing you can do to build strength and definition).

A kettlebell is another great option to mix up your home workouts. (Note that you can do all kettlebell workouts with a single dumbbell.)

In all of my strength training workouts I use a medium to heavy set of dumbbells.

Woman performing a low squat hold with a dumbbell front racked in front of her in a full body workout. Using a dumbbell which is some of the best exercise equipment.

2) Torque Plyo Box/Bench

Pregnant woman sitting on a plyometric box performing a modified overhead tricep extension with a dumbbell.

Whether you’re pregnant, recovering from an injury, or are a beginner, adding a plyo box/bench is a great way to modify exercises. 

You can use a plyo box to add an incline to core exercises, which will help reduce the pressure on your core as you work to advance moves.

I personally used a plyo box during my knee recovery to continue building strength and get my heart rate up during injury-friendly strength workouts.

3) Pull-Up Bar

You can achieve your pull up goals at home with this doorframe pull-up bar.

Pull ups are one of the most effective exercises to strengthen back muscles and sculpt your shoulders, forearms and chest. 

Back workouts for women can improve posture and core strength, increase muscle mass and definition, and help prevent injury and back pain.

That said, pull ups require consistency. I highly recommend a pull up bar at home if you’re serious about your pull up goals.

Woman performing a pull up on a multiple grip pull up bar from Amazon. The pull up bar is one of the best pieces of exercise equipment for at home fitness.

4) Extra Large Yoga Mat

Woman performing a single leg glute bridge in an abs and butt workout. Using an extra large yoga mat, the best exercise equipment. Great cardio equipment for an at home cardio exercise.

I love my extra large yoga mat. It provides plenty of space to move on and helps protect your joints (and wood floors).

I have an extra large mat (8′ x 4′ x 1/4″). 

For a discount on my Gorilla Mats (affiliate) Yoga Mat, use code: NourishMoveLove

5) Resistance Bands

Mini loop resistance bands are a great piece of home gym equipment to work BOTH the large and small muscles during resistance band workouts.

I prefer standard mini loop resistance bands for upper body workouts and fabric resistance bands for lower body workouts. 

Pull up assistance bands help boost muscular strength and endurance to progress you to bodyweight pull ups. 

For a discount on Hope Fitness Gear Bands, use code: NML

Woman performing a squat hold with a resistance band 6 inches above her ankles. A resistance band is a top piece of exercise equipment for at home fitness.

6) Foam Roller

Woman using a foam roller to stretch out her hips during a foam roller stretching workout. Best stretching equipment for at home fitness after using cardio equipment.

Foam rolling is a self-massage technique commonly used by physical therapists and personal trainers. This form of stretching releases tension, sore muscles, and knotted muscles in ways that traditional (or passive) stretching cannot.  

Foam roller stretches help increase range of motion, decrease post-exercise soreness, and help in injury prevention and muscle recovery.

7) Stability/Exercise Ball


A stability ball is an excellent way for expecting moms to safely strengthen their core and lower body.

The exercise ball is a multifunctional piece of equipment and is one of my favorite pregnancy products for all trimesters.

I personally prefer the 55cm or 65cm exercise ball.

Pregnant woman performing a modified squat using an exercise and stability ball. The exercise and stability ball is a piece of top exercise equipment to provide modifications for a pregnancy fitness journey.
pilates ball hold and press as part of pilates ab workout

Bonus! Pilates Ball

The pilates ball is my favorite tool to help make the mind-muscle connection necessary to start repairing diastasis recti or for any beginners looking to build foundational core strength.
Pilates Ball

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