Do you need to buy expensive gym equipment?
“I can’t build muscle at home”. “I need lots of equipment to get a good workout”. “I can’t afford a home gym” .. RUBBISH!
Today, I’ll reveal the secrets behind a basic budget home gym setup, and answer whether or not you need to spend 1000s of dollars on expensive gym equipment (Heads up: You DON’T!). I will also reveal some of my home gym hacks for saving time, space, and money. My home gym setup has helped me stay consistent while juggling a successful small business and family.
Sam’s Basic, Budget Home Gym Set-up:
While I sell the best gym equipment in the world, and have a warehouse full of machines to use any time I want, I still have some high-quality, multi-functional pieces of equipment for my home gym. The home gym equipment I use regularly is as follows:
- Ironmaster Quick-Lock Adjustable Dumbbells – great for Deadlifts, Squats, Overhead Press, Bench Press, Bent-Over Rows, and Curls.
- Ironmaster Adjustable Kettlebell Handle – great for Lunges, Single Arm Rows, Kettlebell Swings, Kettlebell Clean and Presses
- Skipping Rope – great for your heart health, and calves!
- Bicycle – great for overall health, cardio, and weight loss or weight management.
Have a closer look at my home gym setup. Pretty impressive..right?
My Ironmaster Dumbbells (shown above) are some of the first I brought into Australia, so they’re practically 20 years old. They’ve been sitting outside in the elements, and they still work as good as new. And yeah, they’ve got a bit of rust on them, but I think that adds to the charm.
Clearly, you do NOT need fancy gym equipment to build muscle, gain strength, and lose fat. In fact, we have a whole series of videos on YouTube some of the most underrated, compact, and affordable pieces of basic, budget home gym equipment. You can find that video playlist, here:
Balancing Family Life and the Gym:
When my twins were young and they were a bit sick, I trained for the best part as part of a whole year on my basic budget home gym set-up, and it was some of the best training I did in my life. I really enjoyed it. I did a lot of it outside, so it was great being out in the sun when it was bad weather. I’d just go and do it in the lounge room. So don’t let the lack of equipment fool you. You can always train hard!
“How do I get motivated to train at home?”
If you still think you can’t work out at home with basic equipment, what you really need is some inspiration or a goal. I recommend you research and find out what workouts you would enjoy, and what you want to get out of your training – for example, build bigger arms, be able to squat your bodyweight for reps, or even just be able to run around with your kids without getting out of breath. Once you have a clear goal in mind that you care about, it’s much easier for you to stay consistent and have fun with your training. And if you do these workouts consistently and progressively add intensity, you will get results. It’s that simple. You don’t need a perfect training program to get started either, just a basic outline of what you’ll do each session – experimenting is all part of the fun.
Summary: Why I Love My Budget Home Gym:
Times are tough out there, and that’s the reason why I’m doing these videos and blog posts – to help save you money and help make sure you’re staying fit and healthy! I love weight training, as do my wife and kids. Training is not just about building muscle and strength. It’s about building good habits, improving mental health, and being a good role model for others. So don’t hold yourself back – get some basic equipment and start training today!
Still don’t believe me? Hear the truth about home weight training from IFBB Pro Bodybuilder and 2013 Mr Universe, Lee Priest!