Essential Home Exercise Kit

Sometimes I get asked by friends and clients what kit they should buy for themselves. Really the answer depends on what you want to achieve and what you're willing to spend. However, having some stuff at home is essential where you want to workout at home and can be really useful for gym-goers on days they can't make the gym.

For myself, there are a few bits of kit that I couldn't do without:

Dumbbells

I have a set of dumbbells that take plates, so that I can adjust the weight to whatever My client is doing. This means that I can carry quite heavy weights to customer houses for strength training but still exercise areas of the body that require lighter weights. I don't bother with the ready made up dumbbells that are typically bright in colour and come on racks - I'd be too limited on what could be done. I do, however, have a spare pair of dumbbell bars so that I can use two sets of dumbbells where I want to have a rapid transition between weights - for example when performing supersets. Apart from the techie stuff I carry, the dumbbells are probable the most expensive bit of kit (about £40 in total, including extra plates); these are pretty robust and I'd be really surprised if they ever broke!

Some people prefer resistance tubes (giant elastic bands) to dumbbells; I have a set that I take out with clients when we do outdoor work that will include a lot of moving around (eg running a large loop with resistance interval stops). Some people find dumbbells intimidating, so the bands are a good alternative for them. Sometimes I use them to add even more resistance to the dumbbells! I think I paid £5 in ASDA for them, but they need to be replaced fairly regularly.

Swiss (Gym) Ball

I love working with stability balls - they get the head involved as well as the body as the exercises are a bit harder to learn and it becomes harder to maintain good form. Pretty much anything that involves a stability ball will recruit more core engagement. They are typically light (if bulky), and are therefore fairly portable. Unfortunately, it's not a case of one size fits all - I carry a medium ball, but I encourage clients to get one that suits them:

Your height Ball height
< 160cm     Junior 45cm
160 - 175cm Small 55cm
175 - 195cm Medium 65cm
195cm +.    Large 71cm

I think I paid about £7 for mine from ASDA! You don't need to fork out loads on one of these.

Mat

…and of course a mat. Few quid from ASDA or Tesco. This saves you getting sweat on the floor when dong stretches and core work; if you're really dribblesome, you might like a larger mat that you could do all your workouts on.

Other Stuff

In addition, I also have special fat percentage scales, blood pressure cuffs, heart rate monitor, agility ladder, cones, football, skipping rope, whistle, stopwatch, tape measure and loads of others goodies; but the three things I've detailed above are my favourites!