Money doesn’t grow on trees, and we are all well aware of this little fact. So why would you waste money on exercise equipment that doesn’t work?
Getting in shape and keeping the pounds off has become a focus for many people, but it is becoming more and more difficult to find the time to go to the gym and dedicate hours to working out. Many are opting to work out at home. While this might certainly be a time saving idea, it can also lead to you spending way more money on exercise equipment than necessary.
Many companies out there have picked up on the “Work out at home” trend and have started making all sorts of gadgets and tools to get you back in shape. The problem is that many of them simply don’t work. The end result is you losing barely any weight while filling up your attic with crazy looking contraptions that are closer to resembling torture devices than workout equipment.
However, while there are many gimmick products out there, there are also some products that really truly work. One clear example of an amazing workout machine would be the Bowflex system. While this is a fantastic piece of equipment that can single handedly replace a whole gym, there is just one little problem: the price. Even the least advanced Bowflex products start at a whopping $500, not cheap by any means.
Luckily, there are also products out there that are capable of helping you lose that extra belly fat at an affordable price. Read on and find out which fitness equipment we have discovered to be affordable and effective.
List Of Best Cheap Workout Equipment:
1. The Jump Rope
The jump rope is one of the most effective workout tools you will ever encounter. Used across many different categories of fitness, this simple yet super effective tool should be in everyone’s home gym or workout room. This amazing device is designed to put your body to the test. Get ready to work your endurance, stamina, and body control.
One of our favorite workout types is simply choosing a short set of songs, usually about 5 or so, with varying BPM tempo. Start at a lower BPM (Beats Per Minute) of about 120 and work your way up to roughly about 160 BPM. Of course, if this tempo is too fast for you, you can always start at a slower speed and work your way up from there. We promise you that after your 25-30 minute jump rope workout, you will feel like you’ve been at the gym all day.
Choosing the right jump rope can be somewhat difficult, but in reality it doesn’t really matter which one you decide to use, as long as it’s durable and effective and you put it to good use, the results will be clear. Our favorite jump ropes are those designed for boxers, as they are usually made much tougher than other jump ropes and perform a lot better. The product we suggest is the Survival and Cross Jump Rope. This jump rope is designed for continuous use.
It comes with comfortable handles which are about 5 inches in length, a 10 foot long steel cable which is coated with rubber, two sets of screws which allow you to adjust the length of the cable for your specific height, and two additional rubber end caps if you decide to cut the extra cable to keep it looking neat. This jump rope is the number one seller on Amazon for jump ropes, and it has one of the best ratings and the most reviews we have ever seen.
At this moment there are over 4,600 reviews about this wonderful exercise tool with an average rating of 4.4 stars out of 5. Most of the reviewers stated that this was a quality product. Most of the negative reviews were due to shipping issues or odd concerns.
Overall, the Survival and Cross Jump Rope is definitely one of, if not the, best jump rope we have seen out there. The overwhelming feedback from its users and the amazing reviews are definitely a huge sign that this product not only works as intended but also lasts a long time.
Currently, this item can be bought on Amazon or directly from Survival and Cross for just $10. If you ask us, this is an excellent and inexpensive investment for a piece of equipment which is not only versatile but will also last you a long time.
2. The Yoga Mat
Let’s face it, no matter who you are and what your exercise goals are, you can benefit from a yoga mat. Yoga is a wonderful form of exercise and practicing it without a yoga mat can be excruciatingly painful. Trust us, we know. The wonderful thing about yoga is that there are many different types of it out there and you can choose the right type for yourself depending on what you wish to accomplish.
Are you seeking to increase your endurance and flexibility? Yoga can definitely help with that. Do you want to shed that extra weight through cardio exercises? Yoga can also help with that. If you are planning on adding yoga to your already well defined workout, then we suggest doing it after your workouts and on your off days.
Here is the good news: Even if you are not planning on doing yoga at all, purchasing a yoga mat is still a great investment. You don’t have to practice yoga to get use out of your yoga mat. Any floor exercises you do, such as sit ups, abdominal crunches, or leg lifts, can put immense strain your back or knees depending on the exercise if done on a bare floor. This is where your yoga mat comes into play.
The additional cushioning should provide enough impact reduction to keep your body safe. Furthermore, many of the exercises, stretches, and yoga postures require complete stability. This is sometimes hard to achieve on slippery surfaces like hardwood floor or linoleum flooring, which is yet another reason to use a yoga mat.
We looked at many different types of yoga mats as well as similar exercise mats that are available and decided that we should focus on ones that are portable for one simple reason: what if we want to work out outside today? If we get an indoor workout mat and plant it in our workout room, we are stuck to that location. However, if we choose a portable mat, we can take it anywhere.
Imagine a cool, sunny day and you are stuck inside doing your workouts rather than enjoying the outdoor weather. A portable yoga mat gives you the ability to enjoy the outdoors and even take it with you if you are planning on vacationing or spending time abroad for a while.
Out of all the different options out there, the best yoga mat we have come across seems to be the BalanceFrom GoYoga Exercise Yoga Mat. This mat seems to be ideal for our purpose.
It comes with a carrying strap and is made out of extra thick half inch material which is water resistant and can be washed with soap and water. This mat is also equipped with an anti-tearing net which will ensure that no matter how frequently you use this mat it will maintain its shape and will not tear.
An additional benefit that you get when purchasing this specific product is a 2-year warranty and a 100% BalanceFrom Satisfaction Guarantee. This mat also comes with double sided non slip surface, which will ensure that you are perfectly stable throughout your exercises and reduce the chance of injuries.
There have been a lot of reviews about this product, over 5,000, with an average rating of 4.3 out 5 stars. Most people stated that the mat provides excellent cushioning for the body parts that bear the most weight. Some people did mention slight concern about the mats durability and that they were worried if the mat will hold up overtime.
It is often difficult to find extremely high quality products with an acceptable price point. However, it seems we were able to locate just the right yoga mat for just the right price. Considering this mat has over five thousand reviews, most of which are positive, we think it is an excellent choice for your workout adventures.
The price for the BalanceFrom GoYoga Yoga Mat ranges from $10.92 to $19.95, depending on which color you decide to get, of which there are six: black, blue, grey, green, pink, and red. This mat is an inexpensive investment with fantastic benefits. Purchasing a yoga mat will almost certainly change your floor workouts for the better.
3. The Door Mounted Pull Up Bar
Exercises that target a whole section of your body all at once are simply irreplaceable. Pull ups are among these irreplaceable exercises that can greatly improve the way your body looks and how it feels. We know that pull ups can be extremely hard to master, but we urge you to stick with it and keep working on improving your pull up game.
This simple and yet very effective exercise holds many benefits that will improve your health. You can increase your forearm strength and your grip capabilities immensely with pull ups.
Furthermore, nearly every single upper body muscle is engaged whenever you do a set of pull ups, including the biceps, traps, the lats, and the rhomboids. If you are looking to target a specific set of muscles, then you can even adjust the type of pull ups you do to maximize the growth of each specific muscle. For example, simply widening your grip or narrowing it will change the type of muscle you are working out the most while doing pull ups.
So now that we know how beneficial pull ups are, how do we add them to our workout routine, especially if we are at home? The answer is actually pretty simple: get an over the door pull up bar! This fantastic exercise tool will give you the bar you need to do your pull ups whenever you see fit, as long as there is a doorway in the area.
You can also use these over the door pull up bars to do other exercises besides just pull ups. You can do push-ups with the help of one of these bars as well as dips and even crunches. It’s a truly versatile piece of equipment.
We looked through a few different types of over the door pull up bars, but decided to ultimately focus on the one that got the most reviews and the best overall rating. The Iron Gym Total Upper Body Workout Bar has received over 3,400 reviews with a rating score of 4.2 out of 5 stars.
In most cases, this bar received positive reviews. There were some concerns about missing pieces when shipped from the distributor and a few customers had issues fitting this bar onto their door frame.
However, most people were happy with the sturdiness and the quality of this pull up bar. Many were happy with the ability to use this bar for a variety of different pull up exercises and other non-pull up exercises. Correct installation of the product is stressed by many users, so make sure to read the manual carefully and install this bar in a secure location.
The Iron Gym Total Upper Body Workout Bar offers versatility at an excellent price. You can expect this pull up bar to cost roughly $23.65 on Amazon. Although this is nearly twice as expensive as some of the other equipment we listed here, we still think this is a great investment for those who need to work out their upper body and don’t have access to a gym.
Keep in mind that this pull up bar will only fit doorways 24″ to 32″ wide with doorway trim or molding up to 3 ½ inches wide. If your doorways exceed these measurements, you might have to search for a bigger sized bar.
4. The Medicine Ball
Remember that yoga mat we mentioned earlier? Well, we have another piece of exercises equipment that you can use alongside your yoga mat. The medicine ball is a wonderful piece of equipment that should be in everyone’s home gym. The main reason why it’s so popular is because of its versatility. There are dozens of different exercises that incorporate the medicine ball, which can help you with whichever goal you are striving for.
The wonderful part of using a medicine ball is that you can target specific muscles, but at the same time you can also simply use it as additional weight to increase the difficulty of even the simplest exercises. This effectively increases the amount of muscle you gain or weight that you lose. Our favorite way to use the medicine ball is during abdominal muscle building exercises. Simple crunches can be taken to a whole new level with the addition of a medicine ball.
Furthermore, using a medicine ball can increase the speed of your movements as well as your coordination. There are no boundaries to what you can do with a medicine ball, as long as you get creative with it.
For example, if you need to practice throwing a ball for your sport of choice, a medicine ball can help you increase your throwing power as well as produce more control throughout each throw. This medicine ball application can be used for many different sports.
Hands down the most important aspect of using a medicine ball is choosing the correct weight for the exercise of your choice. If you are planning on using your medicine ball with a partner to do chest passes to improve your hand-eye coordination and reflexes, then chances are you want to stick with a lighter ball.
On the other hand, if you are looking to increase your muscle strength and overall core stability, then a heavier ball is in order. You should determine the primary way in which you will use your medicine ball and purchase the correct size. Alternatively, you could also get a few different ball sizes so that you can switch them out depending on the type of exercise you are planning on doing.
We looked at a few different types of medicine balls and decided that the best choice among all of them is the Valeo Medicine Ball. Although these balls are priced somewhat on the high side, we completely understand why they are the most expensive item on our list. Unlike other exercise equipment, medicine balls have to be extremely durable and can’t be made out of super strong material like steel.
While you can make things like dumbbells out of hard metal, the same can’t be done with a medicine ball. So the durability has to come from other materials which are somewhat difficult and expensive to manufacture.
Additionally, the shape of the material on the outside has to be ridged to produce as much grip power as possible. The Valeo Medicine Ball has all of these benefits to offer for whoever chooses to buy it. The outside is made out of rubber which can be bounced off of hard surfaces and is also textured in order to provide as much grip as possible. You can purchase five different sizes: four pound, six pound, eight pound, ten pound, and twelve pound.
The Valeo Medicine Ball received wonderful reviews, with an average rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars. We looked over 1,000 reviews and most of them were complementing the product. Many customers gave praise to how easy the ball is to grip even when they are covered in sweat. The only negative comments we observed were regarding the reseller of the product and not the product itself.
Overall, the Valeo Medicine Ball is an excellent product which offers a ton of different options for anyone, no matter what their exercise goals are. Depending on the size of the ball that you choose, this product will cost between $17 and $43.
We know this is a somewhat expensive price, but we want you to remember how beneficial a medicine ball really is. Nearly all of your free form exercises can be improved with a medicine ball. We think it’s still a really good investment, simply because of all the things you can do with a medicine ball and the versatility it offers.
5. The Shoe Insole
Technically, shoe insoles aren’t really exercise equipment, but they are an absolutely vital part of everyone’s workout. Think about it: you spend nearly 8 to 10 hours on your feet every day. Add that amount of time to your workouts and you end up putting a ridiculous amount of stress on your feet. The solution is better insoles. The right pair of insoles will make a major difference in how you feel after a long workout or work day.
Furthermore, replacing the insoles in your shoes with those designed specifically for working out or long days on your feet can drastically reduce your chance of injury, and the last thing we want is to hurt any part of our body.
We looked through dozens of different insoles that received good reviews, but we decided that Powerstep Pinnacle Shoe Insole Orthotics is one of the best choices for all your walking, running, training, and workout needs. With nearly 3,000 reviews and an average rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars, these insoles are definitely an excellent choice.
These insoles offer a fantastic amount of impact resistance, which makes them perfect for workouts and those on the run. The deep heal cradle also offers maximum impact protection whenever you are running or walking. The fabric which is used for manufacturing these insoles is antimicrobial and is able to reduce friction and heat during strenuous activity, which results in your feet being more comfortable throughout your workouts.
Customers who have reviewed these insoles have said that they are a fantastic choice for those who walk, run, or exercise a lot. Many customers mentioned buying more than one pair, for their hiking shoes and their casual shoes. Some had issues with the packaging that these insoles came in and lack of instructions, although we are somewhat baffled by the fact that people need instructions to use insoles.
Overall, the response has been positive and the majority of people have liked this product. Keep in mind that it is possible for these insoles not to be a perfect fit for you. If you have any type of foot deformation condition, this product might not be comfortable for daily use.
The price of these insoles is pretty acceptable, and you can expect to pay between $20.83 and $34.15 for these insoles. Although this might seem to be a pricey investment for your workout needs, consider that these insoles aren’t only going to be used throughout your workouts but also throughout your whole day. The amount of relief that these insoles offer is certainly more than enough to consider them a good purchase.
If you suffer from shin splints, back ache, or foot ache, we definitely suggest getting a pair or two of these insoles.
6. The Kettlebells
Sometimes a medicine ball just isn’t enough. That’s when the kettlebells come into play. If you are looking to gain some major increases in your power endurance, then kettlebells are the perfect choice for you. Traditional exercises which use the kettlebell like Snatch and Clean & Jerk have to be performed quickly. This means that your body has to produce fast muscular contractions throughout an extended amount of time.
Generally, power endurance training is what determines the winners in sport activities, and it is also the perfect way to lose fat and condition your body. Because medicine balls don’t have a handle, achieving these fast muscle contractions is somewhat difficult, and the kettlebell is the answer. Additionally, because kettlebells usually have a thicker handle than traditional barbells and dumbbells, you are able to generate a lot more forearm grip strength.
You can use kettlebells to improve your cardio and breathing. Standard cardio movements can be improved with the use of kettlebells, and the overhead movements that are often associated with kettlebell excesses force the muscles which are usually responsible for your breathing process to engage. This results in an improvement of your breathing muscles.
There are definitely plenty of different kettlebells out there, but our favorite choice was the CAP Barbell Enamel Coated Cast Iron Kettlebell. With nearly 2,000 reviews and an average score of 4.5 out of 5 stars, this kettlebell is the perfect choice. Ranging in weight between 10 to 50 pounds with 5 pound increments, you have the option of choosing the perfect size for your workout needs. Each kettlebell is made from solid cast iron with a black machined finish.
Nearly all customers were happy with the item and its durability, as expected of a cast iron item. The only complaints we saw were due to poor packaging and logistics issues. You can expect to pay anywhere between $16.99 up to $68.46 for this kettlebell depending on which size you choose.
We expect most of you to choose the mid to lighter weight kettlebell, which won’t end up costing too much, making these kettlebells an excellent investment.
Best Cheap Workout Equipment Final Words
Everyone deserves to have access to the equipment they need to stay healthy, but what do you do when you can’t afford to pay hundreds of dollars for the equipment you need? These inexpensive items are affordable and can be an asset to any home gym.
