Must-Have Home Workout Equipment

The Getprice team has put together a list of the essential workout equipment you will need to make the most of those at-home exercise sessions. 

With the pandemic closing gyms around the world and forcing people to find new ways to exercise over the last year, the home gym has enjoyed a major boom. More and more people have taken to working out in their own backyards and living rooms, not only keep themselves entertained, but to maintain their mental and physical health as well.

Fitness equipment retailers have seen huge spike in sales over the last 12 months as people look to build on their home set ups and get their daily adrenaline dose.

If you’re looking to jump on the fitness bandwagon and want to ditch your conventional gym membership, we have put together a list of the essential gym equipment you’ll need to get you started and the exercises you can do with them.

1. Fitness Ball (Exercise/Swiss Ball)

A fitness ball, also known as an exercise or swiss ball, is constructed of soft elastic and varies in diameter but can range anywhere from 35 to 85 centimetres when filled with air.

They have numerous benefits – not only can it assist you in a work out, you can also use one to sit on at your home or office instead of the standard desk chair to activate your core while you work. Using a fitness ball instead of a chair has been proven to burn extra calories, improve posture, and tone core muscles.

Sizes 

Fitness balls come in varying sizes. Here's a breakdown of what size ball you should get based on your height:

- Short height (between 5 ft- 5.5ft):  55-centimetre ball

- Medium height: (between 5.6ft and 5.11ft): 5-centimetre ball

- Tall height: (between 6ft and 6.3ft): 75-centimetre ball.

Exercises

A fitness ball can be used for a wide range of exercises (which you don’t need a gym for) that will keep you fit and healthy. Some of these exercise include: 

- V sit-up

- Knee tuck

- Overhead ball squat

- Wall squat

- Balance push-up

- Single-leg bridge

Click here to find the best fitness ball prices in Australia

2. Weight Bench

A weight bench is a piece of equipment that resembles a normal bench but is designed to assist weight training. Weight benches are very common as they give you a platform to perform seated or prone exercises, and are incorporated in many workouts. 

Types

Weight benches come in a variety of designs – fixed flat, fixed inclined, adjustable, with attached racks to hold bars, etc. There are plenty of different manufacturers to choose from depending on the vendor and your budget, so there's one to suit any need.

Exercises

Many of the exercises performed with a weight bench involve the use of dumbbells or a barbell, but there are a few you can do that don’t require any weights. Here is a list of exercises you can do with a training bench:

- Bench press (with dumbbells or barbell)

- Incline bench press (with dumbbells or barbell)

- Dumbbell pullover

- Dips

- Seated shoulder press (with dumbbells)

- Dumbbells flys

Click here to find the best training bench prices in Australia

3. Dumbbell 

A dumbbell is a type of free weight used in weight training. Dumbbells come in different shapes and can be used individually or as a pair. 

Types

Surprisingly, dumbbells come in many varieties – to make it easier to choose which is the best for you, we've narrowed it down to the most popular sets on the market today:

Fixed Dumbbells

A fixed dumbbell is one which cannot be increased or adjusted. It’s by far one of the most common dumbbells you’ll find in the gym as their set weight makes it easier to transition between exercises by simply putting the dumbbells back to exchange for another pair to suit your workout.

One of the downsides to fixed dumbbells is that you might need to purchase a number to suit your workout routine (especially if your intention is to increase muscle). The lightest dumbbells often start at 1kg and incrementally increase by 1-2kg, up to as much as 60 or 70kg. If you're after a full set, it'll cost you a small fortune to buy them new. \

However, if you're just after one or two weight variations, these dumbbells are a good starting point. 

Hex Dumbbells

Hex dumbbells are fixed dumbbells shaped like a hexagon on each side of the hand-grip instead of being round. This means they can be placed on the floor without them rolling around. They're great for HIIT workouts where you are interchanging between different equipment and don't want to deal with dumbbells rolling away from their station. 

As with the regular fixed dumbbells, you can't adjust the weight so if you’re looking to steadily gain muscle mass (which requires you to increase weight) these might not be the best option for you.

Adjustable Dumbbells

Adjustable dumbbell weights can be changed based on your need – a great option if you’re looking to become the next Arnold Schwarzenegger. These dumbbells come in three main parts: a dumbbell bar, weight plates and a lock to hold plates still.

One of the biggest advantages of adjustable dumbbells is that they don’t require a lot of space or weights, you can simply add or subtract a couple of weights to best suit your workout.

These dumbbells save space and money but make it trickier to transition from one exercise to another because you have to adjust your weight each time. 

Exercises

- Goblet Squat

- Dumbbell clean

- Bent-over row

- Dumbbell floor press

- Cross body hammer curl

- Bicep curl

- Dumbbell deadlift

Click here to find the best dumbbell prices in Australia

4. Jump/Skipping rope

The thought of a jump/skipping rope might bring back nostalgic memories from your childhood, but it doesn't have to remain a thing of the past – it’s actually a great way to warm up and burn extra calories – or give yourself a killer cardio workout. 

Types

Jump ropes come in different coatings, threads and sizes depending on what you intend to use if for and in what setting. These types include:

Outdoor Jumping

If you’re looking to skip outside on a rough surface (like concrete), it's important to choose an outdoor rope that comes with a PVC cord or shatterproof beads for more durability.

Speed Jumping

You can find many jumping ropes built exclusively for speed – made popular because of the double under technique used in CrossFit gyms. Because they’re lightweight and the rope is thin, these speed ropes are incredibly fast but may be a bit difficult if you’re a beginner. 

Workout/Gym Ropes

If you’re just after a jump rope to use at your home or local gym, search for a rope that has comfortable handles, a thick PVC cord and can easily be adjusted to suit your height. 

Thick cords are beneficial as they are easier to use and will get you into the rhythm of jumping faster. They also don’t tangle so you won’t be opening your gym bag to a woven PVC mess. 

Exercises

Get your heart pumping with these simple (yet effective) exercises you can do with a jump rope:

- Basic Jump

- Alternate foot step jump

- Boxer step jump

- High knees

- Rope jacks

Click here to find the best jump rope prices in Australia

5. Kettlebell 

The kettlebell is a cast iron or cast steel ball with a handle attached to the top. Kettlebells are generally used for performing specific movements designed to build strength and endurance.

Types 

There are different types of kettlebells, however, for the purpose of this article, we are only going to focus on the ones you are most likely to purchase for your home gym.

Cast iron

The most common type of kettlebell is constructed out of cast iron – this is your typical-looking kettlebell that has a handle wider than the bell itself. You will commonly see the cast iron kettlebell in both gyms and homes as they’re extremely durable. 

Rubber coated

While some cast iron kettlebells are left as plain metal, others are covered in rubber to ensure they don't damage the floor during your workout. They're often coloured depending on their weight, as well, to make them easier to identify in the gym. 

Exercises

Now that you're looking at getting your very own kettlebell, you better learn some exercises to build into your killer workouts. Here’s a few to get you started:

- Kettlebell swing

- Kettlebell thrusters

- Kettlebell clean and press

- Kettlebell snatch

- Kettlebell shoulder press

Click here to find the best kettlebell prices in Australia