5 Ways To Build A Home Gym On A Budget

How to keep to your fitness goals during the pandemic without breaking the wallet

As a personal fitness trainer for more than 8 years, I often get asked this question, “Hey Yan, what exercises should I do at home on my own? And what equipment do I need? I am so confused with the number of options out there!” I understand the overwhelming feeling that many of them have, after all, I was once a “noob” beginner in the fitness world.

Fast forward into our current global pandemic situation, where uncertainties still loom, wondering whether is it completely safe to going back to gyms and fitness studios or if there is going to be another round of lockdown restrictions. Many of us are tired of waiting for some kind of “normal” to return and want to get back on our routines to achieve our much-coveted fitness goals in this new year of 2021.

Since becoming a fitness trainer, I have always visualized the idea of having my own “home gym”, living in a small apartment of just about 12 sqm. And the lockdown that happened last year gave me the chance to experiment with building one.

I admit I am one who gets bored easily with fitness, (which is why running is not my favorite thing ever), and I like to get creative and play around with physical movements. There are times when I like to strength train, others I like to just connect my mind-body with Pilates; sometimes I enjoy the fluidity of Taiqi/Qigong or simply relish in that amazing feeling of working out with just my own body weight.

So how do I go about keeping my mind and body sane in the midst of this pandemic instability, without breaking my wallet?

Here is a list of tools and programs I gathered to build my own home gym on a budget, according to the top 5 worldwide fitness goals in 2021 (via ACSM’s Journal: 1/2 2021 — Vol 25, Issue 1, p 10–19)

Fitness goal 1: Bodyweight Training

It is not a surprise that bodyweight training, also known as calisthenics, came in 3rd and also for the first time, as an upcoming fitness trend in 2021, according to the ACSM Journal.

Because the main resistance is your own body weight, calisthenics training requires almost no or minimal equipment, which is perfect for our current pandemic situation, where space is limited at home.

At the advanced level of calisthenics, practitioners start to execute highly demanding gymnastic-like skills such as handstands variations, planche variations, dragonflag, splits, and back handsprings.

With calisthenics, as you get more advanced, usually a good pull-up doorway bar, an Olympic wooden rings, a dips bar station, and a set of thick resistance bands will do the trick. If you like, you can add a pair of L-sit parallelettes (optional, as you can use the dips bar) too.

Total estimated budget: $233.41 or free, if you are just starting out to use your own bodyweight

Fitness goal 2: High-Intensity Interval Cardio (HIIT)

HIIT cardio-style workouts still remain popular. While some enjoy the high intensity of these, not all are able to reach that fitness level. As a general rule of thumb, I like to group them all under the umbrella of “cardiovascular exercises”, i.e. they are targeted at improving our heart health and stamina/endurance.

The thing with cardio workouts is that they can get a little monotonous with the usual running, swimming, or cycling for some of us, well, people like myself. And while I know cardio exercises are imperative for my heart muscle as I age, I also do enjoy my body dripping with post-cardio sweat and endorphins.

I found a perfect solution to this. Enter jumping! But not just any jumping, though you can go with this cordless digital jump rope if you do not want to break any delicate objects at home. But I am referring to rebounding on a mini-trampoline.

These mini-trampolines (with handlebars) are great for me to break into a sweat, without too much impact on my knees.

I also feel a surge of positive as I jump like a kid again, knowing that my lymphatic system is also having a great workout due to the rebound effects.

By the way, did I mention that I felt my pelvic floor muscles working hard since I started jumping?

There are also numerous studies on the positive effects of embarking on a mini-trampoline rebounding exercise program on reducing bodyweight amongst overweight women, improved quality of life for those with Parkinson’s disease, and improved overall bone density improvement to elderly with osteopenia.

Total estimated budget: $74.99 or free, if you prefer running

Fitness goal 3: Weight Training for Strength and Muscle gains

Training with free weights, such as dumbbells, barbells, and kettlebells has always been popular among those who truly desire to sculpt their bodies, whether is it for vanity or performance sake.

And we know that weight training is the way to go for those who want to build some muscles and gain strength. The only issue is that, unless you have a mansion like the Rock (Dwayne Johnson) or a huge backyard, it is quite challenging to build a fully-equipped free weight training station at home for less than $500. Such a gym will need racks to store dumbbells and barbells, also benches, and a power rack for all the big compound lifts.

I think of all the fitness goals mentioned, powerlifting and weightlifting are still best performed in a fully equipped gym.

But for the purpose of maintaining as much muscular size and strength, let’s just say, we can go with the adjustable dumbbells-barbells set, which ranges from 20lb to 100lbs. Not bad to begin with for most of us anyway.

Adding a couple of premium gym flooring thick rubber mats will be a good idea to prevent your floors from getting cracked or complaints from your neighbors if you start to “throw” them. And if you have additional budget and space, go for the full squat rack and bench for the win.

Total estimated budget: Varies from $338.99

Fitness goal 4: Functional Training

Functional training, also known as movement-pattern training, has become increasingly popular and well-received by many over the last decade as these exercises emphasize training the entire body as a unit, mimicking our daily movements such as walking, climbing the stairs, pushing, and pulling doors at malls or even reaching for a bottle of sauce at the top shelf at the grocery store, which we rarely do these days we become increasingly desk-bound.

In functional training exercises, the focus is less on the equipment but more on actually mastering the movements and their combinations. This also includes core training. That being said, usually, suspension training with TRX and a full set of resistance bands are great companions to improve one’s functional movements.

Stick mobility sets are also great to add to the functional training arsenal, as they really work the tight kinks around our bodies.

Total estimated budget: $156.94

Fitness goal 5: Yoga / Pilates

Mind-body exercises such as yoga continue to thrive in the fitness industry, thanks to their mindfulness focus and benefits to one’s mental well-being. These exercises also tend to focus on being minimalistic which fits perfectly as a juxtaposition to our consumerist society.

There are literally thousands of online yoga instructors on YouTube to follow. It is no wonder that yoga is popular especially when practiced regularly, given how the poses look pretty impressive when beautifully executed. And the greatest advantage is all one needs to get started is literally a good quality thick anti-slip yoga mat and a small decluttered space.

For those whose wrists tend to ache when planking or struggling to get into a downward dog pose, add yoga jellies, yoga wedges or yoga blocks to the yoga kit will help with the practice too.

Personally, I don’t practice yoga but Pilates instead, as I like the emphasis on the deep core awareness, strengthening, and multi-directional movements on the mat. I will also use a Pilates ring to add varying resistance to my Pilates routine, thus sculpting my muscles into that dancer-like toned body.

Total estimated budget: $61.96

Parting Thoughts

Though my current “home gym” is not as fancy as Equinox, I am pretty proud to say that I managed to build one versatile enough to match most of my fitness goals at any given time. And the best part? All that for less than an annual gym membership price!

I hope my experience shared here will inspire and motivate you to get creative with your own fitness goals right at home. Covid or not, there really seems to be endless ways to get our workouts in even while indoors. You can also play around with the sequence of workouts throughout the week if you start to feel stuck.

Do it, your body and mind will thank you.

If you like to receive bite-sized actions and stories, check out Yan’s The 3Min Club, where twice a month, you receive 3Ms (movement, mindfulness, mantra) you can do in 3 minutes.

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