6 Essential Items for Home Workouts

Good morning Semi-Healthy readers! My name is Sarah Pie and I blog over at my little slice of the internet Slices of Sarah Pie. I was super excited when Amanda said I could guest post because a lot of our health philosophy is the same 🙂

I’m a Gluten Free grad student with a tea obsession trying to survive Celiac, migraines, and clinical rotations! My blog is a collection of all things healthy, natural, and Gluten Free (like me). I post regularly about running, baking, reading, and my BF just to name a few.

Today I’m sharing from the health side of things. I’ve been doing my best to keep up with regular physical activity recently but as you all know life (and definitely grad school!) don’t make it easy. For me that’s where home workouts are key.

I don’t have a gym membership. It doesn’t fit my style (or my budget!) but I don’t let that stop me from getting in a good workout 3-5 times a week. Home workouts are great for a few reasons:

• You can do them literally whenever you’re home
• There are endless possibilities on Pinterest so you don’t get bored
• Your shower (which doesn’t require flip flops) is right down the hall
• You can have a dance party and call it a workout with no one the wiser… not that I’ve ever done that 😉

That being said I will admit home workouts are easier with a few supplies, and that’s what I’m sharing with you today. These are a few of my favorite things which I use on a regular basis. It’s by no means an exhaustive list but it’s enough to keep your home workouts fresh and exciting.

 

1. Medicine ball– mine is medium weight and squishy. I can use it to add weight to squats, V-ups, and Russian twists, and it’s soft enough to hold my feet down for sit ups. This runs $15-25ish at Target depending on the weight you get.
2. Dumbbells– these are light but they work perfect for easy arm exercises (especially for my weak triceps). These were like $15 at Target so they fit my student budget as well.
3. Adjustable weight dumbbell– I inherited this adjustable weight dumbbell (the plate screw on and off to adjust up to 50lbs) from the BF when he cleaned out his room. This is great for squats and the days when I really want to challenge my arms. I imagine this is expensive but you’d be amazed what you can find at garage sales or secondhand sports stores.
4. Balls- (I just had to slip my inappropriate sense of humor in here somewhere) Bad feet run in my family so I am vigilant about taking care of my arches. The littler one with the nubs is great for rolling all around your feet and ankles and I use the lager one (which is actually just a light up toy) to roll out my arches every morning and night. The nubby one was $10 on Amazon and the bigger one was $1 at the Dollar Store.
5. Foam roller– I know these are the bane of every gym rat’s existence but it really does make a difference (especially when I’m good about my running) if I foam roll my muscles after a hard workout. This one was $18 off of Amazon.
6. Yoga Mat– Great for allowing you to complete your workout no matter what surface your floor is. It can help cushion your spine from a harder floor and give you some stability on a slick surface. It’s also great for doing yoga 😉 Mine was $10 at the gym I worked for in college but you can buy them for about the same price at Target or online.

Those six things are all I have in my room and I’ve been working out at home for years. You’d be surprised the variety of ways you can come up with to use simple equipment and if you’re out of ideas Pinterest truly is a godsend!

Do you workout at home? What’s your favorite piece of equipment to use?

 

Linking up to:

Fitness Friday with Jill at Fitness, Health and Happiness

Did You Know a monthly nutrition/fitness/health-related link-up