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Almost all of us wish for a home gym. And why not? It is would never be crowded, you will never have to wait in line to use an equipment, parking is not an issue and of course it will always play your kind of music. If you are one of the few lucky people who have space and money to make a reasonable home gym, here is our list of 5 equipment that you must have.
Home Gym Equipment #1: Power rack
No gym if complete without a power rack. Although it is a must for doing squats (just in case you fail to lift the weight), you can almost do any exercise on it. Slide a bench under it and you can easily do bench press, place a bar at the level of your shoulders and you can do shoulder press, a bar at the level of knees acts as a stand for bicep curls. Apart from this, most power racks have parts where you can put your plates in hence saving you space. Your bar can always rest on power rack itself.
Home Gym Equipment #2: Pullup bar
What is the no. 1 exercise to build a killer back? Yep! Pullups. A pull up bar is a must home gym equipment since it provides a great body weight exercise. Not just pullups, you can do chin ups, hanging leg raises and even hang a punching bag on it.
Home Gym Equipment #3: Free weights
No home gym is complete without weights, unless you are going for calisthenics. Instead of buying fixed weights, go for free weight plates as you can adjust the weight according to the exercise. This will save your overall investment if you buy fixed weights. If you have extra money on you, go for bumper plates (the rubber coating ones), these will not rust and will protect your floor if you drop it.
Home Gym Equipment #4: Olympic rod and dumbbell rods
To accompany free weights, you need a bar and dumbbell rod. But why Olympic rod specifically? Well Olympic rods weigh more, which makes them resistant to bend with time, hence worth a one-time investment for a reasonable home gym. Their weight also makes them more stable for a workout as well as for loading and unloading hence, further protecting you and your floor. Dumbbell rods are better than fixed dumbbells as you can make a dumbbell of the weight of your choice using your free weights.
Home Gym Equipment #5: Adjustable Bench
It goes without saying; a bench is a necessity for various exercises. Bench press, skull crusher, dumbbell flyes, hip thrusters are just to name a few. It should be adjustable so you can target your muscles at different angles which will increase the variety of your exercise. An adjustable bench comes last on my list since most of the exercises can be done on a floor, though not as effectively, but just till you can save for a bench press.
The list sure sounds expensive, but think of all the money you will save on gym membership and transport. A beautiful home gym is definitely more comfortable and totally worth your investment