Losing weight is not easy, it takes a lot of dedication and hard work to get to your goal weight. One of the best decisions that you can make to help get you there faster is to set up a gym at home! With the right equipment, you can make achieving all of your goals much easier for yourself. No more worrying about making it to the gym before it closes, or dealing with a full gym when you get there. So let’s talk about the best home exercise equipment for weight loss.
Benefits Of Starting A Home Gym
As someone with a home gym of my own, I can’t overstate enough how helpful it is to have a home gym. There are so many benefits to it and I want to give you a few before we get started.
You Don’t Have To Break The Bank
There is a misconception that you have to spend a ton of money to build a great home gym. This is not true! Of course, if you want to spend the extra cash to get some great machines and higher-end equipment you absolutely can. But there is so much equipment that you can buy for less than $100 that will get your heart rate up, make you sweat, all without breaking the bank!
Additionally, the investment in your home gym can pay its self back in comparison to a gym membership. I pay my local gym about $60/month and let’s say I spend $500 on a home gym. That means in about 8 months, the costs even out. But think of all those unused days at the gym, and the fact that if you ever want that money back you can always sell your equipment, you cant get your money back from the gym!
It’s Extremely Convenient
We live busy lives. Chances are you’re at your job from 9-5, have to deal with rush hour traffic on the way home, and maybe you have to make dinner for your kids or run errands after work. When all that adds up, it can be tough to find the time to make the trip to the gym and spend the hour or so there. Having a home gym gives you the flexibility to squeeze in 45 minutes of exercise while dinner is cooking for example!
Confidence
A common struggle for people is the issue of confidence at the gym. When it comes to what to wear and worrying about people staring while you workout, a home gym is amazing because you get to work out in a completely judgement-free zone all by yourself or with a spouse!
Best Home Exercise Equipment For Weight Loss Under $100
Let’s get started by building a home gym with some great low-cost options!
Jump Rope
Not only is jumping rope great for burning fat, but it’s also a great cardio and full-body workout. Depending on your body size, jumping rope can burn about 10-15 calories per minute!
It’s a very convenient piece of equipment due to its size. Storage is a piece of cake and jump ropes are super affordable. You can find quality jump ropes for less than $30! Some other great benefits of jump ropes include:
- Builds stamina
- Improves coordination
- It’s great for building calves
Resistance Bands
One of the most underrated additions to your home gym has to be resistance bands! They come in varying materials from latex to fabric, and varying resistance levels from extra light to extra heavy. Pretty much ANY bodyweight workout can be intensified with the addition of a band, so they’re a great way to progress your simple home workouts. Using bands can help you burn up to 400 calories per hour, and are perfect for injury rehab & prevention. Compared to free weights, bands are a much more versatile and cost-effective option. Not to mention, you can easily fold them up for storage, or take them with you while you travel. Bands are hands down one of the best additions to my home gym.
In fact, I love bands so much that I decided to create my own line of high-quality & durable resistance bands! If you would like to check them out, here is the link!
Yoga Block & Yoga Straps
While the primary benefit of doing yoga isn’t necessarily to burn calories, that doesn’t mean you won’t. Yoga equipment can still be a great addition to your home gym and practicing can help you lose weight. Depending on a variety of factors from your body, the length of class, and the type of yoga, you can burn up to 500 calories per hour. Vinyasa, ashtanga, and power yoga are great workouts for burning calories.
I love yoga as a home workout because of how easy it is to get started. You can get both a yoga block and strap for less than $40 combined. Once you have that equipment you can load up a YouTube video and follow along with some great instructors from the comfort of your own home. You have total control of what type of yoga workout you want to do and what level. So it’s perfect for total beginners right up to advanced yogis!
Battle Ropes
Battle ropes might be one of the best home exercise equipment for weight loss out there. Battle ropes are low-impact and high intensity which is great for anybody trying to lose weight.
According to this study, battle ropes produced the largest acute metabolic response in comparison to 12 other exercises from bench presses to deadlifts. After a 10-minute workout of double-arm waves for 15-seconds followed by 45-second rest, an average heart rate of 163 beats per minute was recorded! (10 sets total were performed). In addition to getting your heart pumping, a solid battle rope workout can get you burning around 400 calories an hour!
Other great benefits of battling ropes include:
- Affordable and easy to store
- Sculpt muscles in addition to burning fat and calories
- Low-impact so less stress on your joints and low likelihood of injury
Kettlebells
If you’re looking for equipment that you can use for weight loss, strength training, power endurance, balance and flexibility, kettlebells are a great choice. They’re another addition to this list that’s extremely versatile and affordable.
A good kettlebell workout will have you burning upwards of 20 calories a minute. According to a study by acefitness, the reason for this is that a movement like a kettlebell snatch is a total-body movement performed very quickly. Due to its interval-training format, it can be extremely intense. This is what makes kettlebells such a great addition to your gym for weight loss. Other great benefits include:
- Core strength + stability
- Improves balance
- Improves grip strength + posture
Best Cardio Machine For Weight Loss At Home
If you’re looking to spend a bit more cash on your gym, then a cardio machine is a great investment. There are some strong options when it comes to what the best cardio machine is for you. Whether you’re looking for a low-impact or high-impact machine, or one that’s size appropriate for your space, there is an option for you!
Treadmill
Surprise! This wouldn’t be much of a cardio machine list if we didn’t mention treadmills. Treadmills are extremely popular, every gym has rows of them, and for many people, it’s their go-to purchase when buying cardio equipment. For good reason, a solid treadmill workout can have you burning anywhere from 700-1000 calories per hour.
There are so many different options available to you with a huge price range from $500 to $3000 on the high end. With so many, you can almost become plagued by choice. But all I would recommend is to make sure the treadmill you choose has an adjustable incline and a good selection of workouts. This makes it super easy to hop on your treadmill, choose a weight loss workout and start sweating. No worrying about adjusting the speed and incline, the program does it all for you! If space is an issue, then consider a treadmill that can fold up.
One last point on treadmills, they are considered high-impact. It’s not as hard on your joints as running outside on the pavement would be, but keep this in mind. The constant pounding from running on a treadmill may be problematic for people with injuries or other medical conditions. If you already have joint issues in your knees, hips, or ankles then consider some of the lower impact machines on this list!
Elliptical
An elliptical is a great choice for one of those low-impact cardio machines we’re talking about! An elliptical “significantly reduces weight-bearing as compared to other common functional and sporting activities” according to this study. What this means is the elliptical training in comparison to running and jogging is way easier on your joints. So if you’re recovering from an injury or just looking to avoid one altogether, an elliptical is a great choice.
On top of all that low-impact goodness, the elliptical is amazing for calorie burning and weight loss! Depending on your body and the intensity of your workout you can burn anywhere for 300-500 calories per half hour. My recommendation is to add interval training to all of your elliptical workouts. It’s a fantastic way to burn even more calories, even if you only increase your intensity for 30 seconds at a time!
One of the downsides to keep in mind when thinking of buying an elliptical is its size. Unlike a treadmill, most ellipticals aren’t foldable. They’re quite clunky and can be difficult to move around. So make sure your space is big enough to accommodate the size of an elliptical.
Ellipticals have a huge price range. You can expect to spend anywhere from $500 on the low end, to $3000 on the high end. According to ellipticalreviews.ca, the average buyer will spend around $1000-$2000 for good quality and durable machine.
Rowing Machine
The last entry on our list of the best home exercise equipment for weight loss is also one of my favourites! A rowing machine has a lot of the same benefits as an elliptical. It’s low-impact, shreds calories, and is a full-body workout. About 70% of the rowing stroke is lower body while 30% is your upper body. You’ll be doing a great aerobic workout while targeting:
- Your upper back
- Abs
- Arms
- Quads
- Glutes & More
In addition to that amazing low-impact workout for your muscles, you burn an average of 600 calories in an hour while rowing. So when talking about great machines for weight loss, the rowing machine is the total package!
A feature that I love about rowing machines is that some of them are foldable. This is perfect if you need a compact piece of cardio equipment for your home gym! Personally, it’s a reason I prefer the rowing machine to an elliptical for example. It allows you more room to either work out or for additional equipment!
Rowing machines are also a little cheaper in comparison to ellipticals and treadmills. This is because there are a few options for you to choose from when buying a rowing machine. You can choose from a few different resistance options including magnetic, air, and water to name a few. A quality magnetic rower can be anywhere in the range of $300-$600. If you’re set on a water rower, which is my favourite resistance type, then you’re probably looking at north of $1000. If you need further assistance making a rowing machine purchase, this is a great read for you
Finals Thoughts On The Best Home Exercise Equipment For Weight Loss.
There Is A Lot Of Great Equipment Out There
This list is a great starting point, but for the sake of brevity, there’s some great equipment I didn’t include. Things like
- Stationary bikes
- Heavy Bags
- TRX
- Fitness Sliders
- Dumbbells
I will be writing more about all this equipment I missed, so make sure to follow me so you don’t miss out!
Local Buy & Sell
The last tip I want to leave you with is to check your local buy & sell when building your gym! Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, Kijiji to name a few can all be great places to shop and get some great deals!
As a trainer who works from home, almost all of the equipment I purchased was bought off buy & sell and let me tell you it saved me thousands!!
Turn on notifications for certain search results like “treadmill” for example. Then you can get notified anytime a new listing is made. This is great for spotting a great deal first.
Sometimes you can get lucky and the seller might even be able to deliver the equipment right to you! This is especially great when buying something like an elliptical. No worrying about securing transportation!
Be sure to add buy & sell to your list when shopping around, you won’t be disappointed.
I hope this list was helpful to you. Once you buy your equipment and are ready to start, remember you’re not alone. Some people can struggle with what to do once they have their equipment. You can always reach out to me on social media or my website if you have any questions. Or there are thousands of videos on YouTube that you can follow along and work out too! It’s time to get after your weight loss goals, I know you can achieve them!