(updated) Starting Your Home Gym
15 Foundational Training Items for a High Quality Gym
This article has been updated (reimagined) to reflect what I believe to be a better system for understanding how to start a home gym.
I’m now offering a tiered model and new approach to the item recommendation links. I’ve also updated the list with a few new items that have won me over with the universal training value they offer.
The goal of this article is to provide you with a great foundation of training equipment that you can either stick with for the rest of your life or build out from to further serve your training ambitions.
Below are the first 15 pieces of training equipment that I would recommend for someone who is getting started with building out their home gym:
*click any item to be taken to its value breakdown & recommended purchase links section
Tier 1
(start here - minimal costs with lots of versatility)
Long Looped Bands (aka Pull Up Assist Bands)
Pull Up Bar (doorway, power tower, power rack, The SledTred)
Suspension Rings (aka Gymnast Rings)
Adjustable Step (aka Aerobic Step)
Stability Ball (aka Yoga Ball)
*Also Utilize (zero cost) Recycled Weighted Pack Idea (read more below)
Tier 2
(choose what you’ll use - great accessory items to enhance your training)
Foam Roller (for soreness and reducing tension)
Weighted Stability Bar (for balance, assistance, and technique work)
Foot Wedges (convenient for knee, calf, and Achilles health)
Foam Pad or Mat (nice for floor based training and shock absorption)
Battle Rope (low cost offering full body power & conditioning options)
Tier 3
(greater investment - but worth every penny if you’re regularly training from home)
*If you’re pursuing this tier I HIGHLY recommend a power tower, power rack, or The SledTred as your pull up bar option
Value Breakdown of Items and My Recommended Purchase Links
Criteria I used to determine these items as foundational:
Provide Multiple functions per piece (can be used for multiple movements)
Dependable
Easy to grab and use
Easy to change settings
Cost effective - Provides a great ROI (Return on Investment)
they will last a long time (probably longer than you)
allow you to progressively train all major movement patterns
allow you to use variety in your training
have the power to get you results on a wide range of training goals!
I have also taken into account the need to be reasonable with how much of a financial investment getting started should be. Each of the items will have links to different versions with respect to cost and value.
Budget Picks (good quality that gets the job done at the lowest price I can find)
My Picks (high quality that offer great value at a reasonable cost)
Let’s dive in…
Tier 1
1. Long Looped Bands
Key Value Breakdown
- Super versatile offering the ability to add resistance or assistance to pretty much every type of movement pattern
- Quickly scale difficulty by which band you grab and how much you stretch it
- One of the easiest training tools to take with you when traveling
Great handle accessory for hooking around bands (and great for pull ups)
2. Pull Up Bar
Key Value Breakdown
- Whether you use it for pull ups or not, this can be a dependable anchor point for using Long Looped Bands and Suspension Rings for a wide variety of movements
- Nice anchor for Band or Ring Supported Movements (ex. assisted squats)
- Really great for hanging progressions (great for your grip and back)
Here’s how I recommend deciding on which pull up bar to get:
Doorway Pull Up Bar - this will get the job done if you don’t have a lot of space.
Power Tower with Pull Up Bar - great option if you just want to use the foundational equipment and your body as resistance.
Power Rack with Pull Up Bar - great option if you want to invest into a barbell and weight plates too.
The SledTred with Pull Up Bar - best option if you’d like to have an all-in-one piece of equipment that can provide the most amount of useful exercises (other than barbell based movements). If you have the funds and you’ll be training from home a lot, this is the version of the pull up bar I believe would be the best (if you want a bar and plates too I would just get a separate rack or squat stand).
3. Suspension Rings
Key Value Breakdown
- Provide a ton of variety of movements utilizing your body as resistance (including any grip and any angle you want for rowing, pull ups, and push ups)
- Can be used to help stabilize and assist during lower body movements
- Easy to transport, set up, and adjust anywhere you have a dependable anchor point above
4. Adjustable Step
Key Value Breakdown
- Tons of ways to use this…lots of creative freedom for strength, mobility, and plyometric movements
- Incrementally progressive elevation options for a wide variety of lower body and upper body movements
- Easy to change elevation and lightweight
5. Stability Ball
Key Value Breakdown
- Offers the ability to utilize smooth rolling based movements in your training (such as leg curls and roll outs)
- Great for bending with when performing movements such as pull overs and deep sit ups
- Offers the ability to use creatively for a wide range of movements
Bonus. Build Your Own Loaded Pack
Key Value Breakdown
- You can load just about any movement (including walking)
- You can wear it traditionally or in front of you for different loading styles
- Easy to take with you wherever
Find any backpack you haven’t used in awhile (the sturdier the better). Then load it using weights, big books, rocks, or other dense household items (I recommend weighing any items you want to use and sticking a piece of tape on it with it’s weight for easy future reference). You now have another great way to load movements!
Tier 2
6. Foam Roller
Key Value Breakdown
- Helps reduce soreness
- Helps reduce muscle tension and promotes relaxation (as you get use to it…)
Alternative if you don’t use this item: You may not want to spend time foam rolling. It’s not a necessity for success but can be very helpful to improve how you feel while training week after week.
*If you’ve never foam rolled before I recommend starting with a softer one.
7. Weighted Stability Bar
Key Value Breakdown
- You can use it for stability or upper body assistance anywhere
- Ability to use it for light loading or stretching
- Use it for posture or mimicking a barbell for working on techniques
Alternative if you don’t use this item: You can use a wall or chair for added stability and upper body assistance. You can use a broom handle for any bar technique or posture supported movements.
8. Foot Wedges
Key Value Breakdown
- Very helpful for building leg strength without knee or back pain in squats and other knee dominate movements
- Use to elevate toes for greater stretch in Achilles and Calf while stretching or hinging
- Travels easy and nice to be able to use just one or both at any width you desire
Alternative if you don’t use this item: You can use anything to elevate your heel or toes, just realize the pressure through your feet will be a little different than if using the smooth inclined surface of a wedge or ramp. You could also use a slant board.
9. Foam Pad
Key Value Breakdown
- Really helpful for exercises when you are on your knees or forearms on a harder surface (place the pad under your knees or forearms where the pressure is high)
- Great for minimizing impact when jumping (like a mini less-bouncy trampoline)
- The softer surface can offer a greater stability challenge for the ankle for lower body balance based movements
Alternative if you don’t use this item: You can use any soft surface, pillow, or other form of soft mats. A dedicated Tri-Fold Mat is also really nice to have available in a home gym.
10. Battle Rope
Key Value Breakdown
- One of the best lower cost conditioning and power development training tools
- Easy to grab and use without taking up a lot of space
- Offering a different style of challenging resistance to wide range of upper and lower body movements (you can get creative)
Alternative if you don’t use this item: You might not want to use a battle rope for conditioning. If this is the case you can use running/walking, different step up variations, other cardio modes you have access to, or various finisher circuits to still promote greater endurance. If you can’t use it because the rope causes too much noise for your space, you can use light dumbbells and mimic similar rope motions (it’s not quite the same but it still provides the ability to do it).
*choose thicker rope or longer rope for increased difficulty
Tier 3
11. Adjustable Dumbbells (PowerBlocks)
Key Value Breakdown
- Provides the most versatile amount of exercises and offer the most options for loading strategies
- Provides a great range of resistance (2.5-50 lbs per hand with upgrade options up to 90 lbs per hand) with 2.5lb incremental loading (really helpful for following the training principle of progressive overload)
- Does not take up much space (imagine trying to store 2.5-90 lbs of fixed dumbbells in your home gym…and fixed dumbbells cost wayyyy more) and weights can be changed and used quickly
PowerBlocks offer the most versatile amount of loading options with the lowest price for a highly durable adjustable dumbbell. However, If you don’t want PowerBlocks a few other good adjustable dumbbell options are the Rep x Pepin Dumbbells, the QuickDraw Dumbbells, the Nuobell Dumbbells, or the Snode Cast Iron Dumbbells.
Great Accessories for PowerBlocks:
12. Adjustable Bench
Key Value Breakdown
- Provides a wide variety of angles for pressing and rowing motions, along with a leg roller for various movements such as rear foot elevated split squats (if you get a bench with leg rollers)
- Can be used as a higher step option or “box” for a wide range of strength and plyometric movements
- Can be used to progress flexibility (such as pull overs or seated good mornings)
13. Roman Chair
Key Value Breakdown
- Really great tool for improving your lower back, glutes, and hamstrings
- Great tool for improving your ability to bend side to side through you lower back and abdominal muscles
- Quick and easy to use
14. Hip, Ham, and Ab Glider
Key Value Breakdown
- Provides the ability to train lower body sliding based movements for your hamstrings, glutes, adductors (groin), and abductors (outer hip & glutes)
- Provides the ability to train upper body sliding based movements for your abs, shoulders, and back
- Ability to add weight onto it, or attach a band or cable to it, for further resistance
If you want a super cheap alternative for this, you can use Slider Discs (or furniture movers) to perform sliding movements on most soft and hard surfaces (they are also nice to use for training when traveling).
15. Adjustable Sandbag System
Key Value Breakdown
- You can be rough with it. Lift it, swing it, throw it, drag it, and carry it for strength, power, and endurance based movements
- Adjustable system allows progressive overload by using bags individually or in combinations
- If you don’t have a sled or Backward Treadmill, you can do loaded backward walking with this as a great option for cardio and knee health
I’m recommending the heavier sets because the heavier loads are nice to have for loading backward walking as you get stronger.
Great accessory item for dragging based movements with Sandbag:
Other Considerations
(1) Investment Strategy and Timing
If you’re trying to stretch your dollar as far as it will go, most of these items will have a nice sale price during Black Friday, Labor Day, or early summer (Black Friday tends to have the biggest sales). I’ve even seen certain items on sale during other minor holidays.
If you’re not in a hurry or you’re in the process of saving up for an item, I highly recommend keeping tabs on them during these times of the year to see if you can get them at an even lower price.
You can also look to buy many of these same items at lower prices from the used market (such as Facebook Marketplace). Just make sure you know exactly what you're looking for (beware of less quality versions) and make sure the items were taken care of well enough to still be in dependable shape for use.
(2) Alternative Options
It’s totally fine if you decide you’d like to explore different versions or brands of these items than the ones I’ve linked.
Some of these items I own different versions than the ones I’ve linked for various reasons.
One example, I own the Shogun Nord-Ex for my Roman Chair. I used the Sunny Health & Fitness Version but then I chose to upgrade because I wanted a commercial level Roman Chair that doubles as a Nordic Leg Curl (for space saving) and can quickly transition from one to the other. This mattered to me because I use it frequently along with many of my clients I work with in-person. The quality is amazing and I love using it, but at the time I got for $850, and now it’s listed at $1,200…so I don’t recommend it for a home gym user unless you personally decide you want it.
I don’t think you can go wrong with any of the items I’ve linked, but if you enjoy shopping around by all means enjoy the process!
If you’re looking to support a great brand with your equipment investment and don’t mind paying a little more, ATG and Ben Patrick (known as The Kneesovertoesguy) offer some great equipment designs that could take the place of some of these items.
Ben is one of the most genuine guys I’ve ever witnessed and his company’s (ATG’s) mission is worth supporting! Also worth noting, if try out their online training program you save 20% on all of their equipment. Here are some of my favorite items they offer:
The ATG Mobility Box (could replace the adjustable step)
ATG Buddies (for foot wedges)
ATG Back Extension *comes pre-assembled (for the Romain Chair)
The Backward Treadmill (offers resisted backward and forward walking like the SledTred)
Sled Strap (for the sled strap accessory)
ATG Gymnastics Rings (for the suspension rings)
Adjustable Nordic Bench (if you want to work on Nordics & have the space, this provides really nice scalable difficulty)
Concluding Thoughts
By having these items, you will be able to progressively train through all major movements (including pushing, pulling, squatting, hinging, lunging, carrying, jumping, bending, and rotating) as well as a ton of other training movements designed to improve your mobility, strength, endurance, athleticism, core, balance, muscle development, fat loss, and so on.
Just to reiterate, you could choose to just use these items for the rest of your life (along with going on walks, runs, and other general activity outside) and make loads of progress physically while moving and feeling great. Building yourself a great physical foundation to live from!
If you choose to equip yourself with these items, then you will have all you need to follow my Lifestyle Program in my Fit for Life Training System.
The other way to view these items are as foundational to your training space (providing all the benefits from above), with the ability to then expand your training tool kit from a great foundation to serve your training ambitions even further!
I also offer a Hybrid Athlete Program in my Fit for Life Training System that requires a good level of training experience, foundational skill sets, and access to a wider variety of training equipment (especially equipment with heavier loading capabilities).
Ultimately, I hope this list clarifies some ideas as to how to get started building out your home gym.
It’s an exciting time and well worth the investment if you are ready to focus on integrating better training into your lifestyle and challenging yourself to keep making measurable improvements!
Thanks for reading!
Brian