My Must-Have At Home Gym Equipment

As many of you may know, you can complete my workouts (found in the Sweat app) with little to no equipment. 

Training using the at-home workouts in the Sweat app can be ideal for anyone who doesn’t have a gym membership or prefers to work out at home.

Jump to:

• Best Home Gym Equipment
• Exercise mat
• Bench
• Dumbbells
• Jump Rope
• Foam Roller

I always get so many questions about what equipment I WOULD recommend buying that you can easily store at home to help maximise your workouts.

Best home gym equipment

Having exercise equipment at-home can make it so much easier to fit your workouts in! Here are some of my must-have pieces of home gym equipment.

Exercise/yoga mat

An exercise mat is something you will get a lot of use out of! It can provide comfort when you are doing floor-based exercises, or stretching. 

An exercise mat can make your recovery sessions more comfortable. It can also provide a non-slip surface so you can complete exercises safely. 

If your workout includes jumping (which most of my workouts do!), then a thicker exercise mat along with correct technique may reduce the impact on your joints. 

When buying an exercise mat, consider how you are going to use it. A yoga mat is usually very thin, but it’s easily portable. 

A pilates mat or an exercise mat is generally much thicker. This means it’s a lot more comfortable for ab exercises and stretching. 

An exercise mat can also provide cushioning if you are using weights indoors. When you aren’t using it, the mat can be rolled up and stored out of the way. 

Look for a mat with a strap for ease in carrying and storage. Something else to consider is easy cleaning — you should clean your mat once a week, so make sure it can easily be wiped down. 

Bench

Having a bench at home is SUCH a worthwhile investment, in my opinion. 

A lot of people who work out at home replace benches with things such as tables, stairs and other stable household objects that can safely take your bodyweight — these work fine too.

However, having a bench is also great for exercises other than your typical step up You can use it for arm and ab exercises too, which makes it super versatile.

Dumbbells

Dumbbells are a piece of equipment that you can use with almost any exercise. They are a great investment because they don’t take up a lot of room and can help add more intensity to your resistance workouts. 

My advice would be to buy 2-3 sets of varying weights so that you can use them for a variety of exercises.

If you are on a budget, don't pick a set that feels super comfortable to use and hold. Instead, choose ones that are a little heavier, to help challenge yourself and increase your strength. After all, you are only going to get stronger as you progress.

Jump rope

I always get tons of questions about how women can complete their cardio at home if they don’t have a treadmill or don’t want to walk outside. 

A jump rope is an excellent solution for all those cardio woes because it helps to get your heart rate up quickly and takes up little room. You can use it for a HIIT cardio workout in the later weeks of my programs.

You can also use a jump rope for your warmup or make it the focus of your workout like I have in my favourite jump rope workout.

Foam roller

A foam roller can help you to recover faster from your workouts!

My Sweat programa have one active recovery session that I recommend you complete each week. The session includes some stretching and foam rolling. 

Foam rolling benefits include increased blood flow to your muscles and reduced muscle tension. Greater blood flow means your muscles get more oxygen and nutrients, promoting faster recovery from exercise. 

You can purchase a foam roller from most sports stores. Use a foam roller along with an exercise mat for your recovery session. 

Start your home-gym with this exercise equipment!

These are just some of my favourite pieces of home gym equipment. With these staples, you can create and follow tons of different exercise routines!

When you’re just starting on your exercise journey, you might not want to buy everything at once. If I had to choose only two of these pieces of equipment, I would recommend getting an exercise mat and some dumbbells.

Even just these two items can help you have a great workout. As you look to expand your home gym, remember you can often purchase affordable equipment second hand. 

Don’t worry if you don’t have a lot of space at home! Literally all you need is enough space to fit a mat to do a full body workout at home. 

What do you have in your home gym? Let me know in the comments below.