Trying to spot the best home gym equipment for small spaces can feel like trying to find Big Foot and take a clear picture of him once you spot him. When you’re standing there in the tiny area you have to dedicate to a workout, it can be difficult to imagine using anything at all there to get your sweat on.
The Best Home Gym Equipment for Small Spaces Challenge
Looking for the best home gym equipment isn’t always easy, and when you’re working with a small space, it only gets more challenging. Still, I’ve always told my clients that there is a workout for every space. I’ve been known to do a full routine in a hotel room. It can be done. You just need to choose the right moves and the items that will suit the amount of space you do have.
How Much Room Do You Need for a Workout?
Whether you have a tiny apartment or just don’t have a lot of space to dedicate to your workouts, it’s still possible to complete a solid workout using great equipment. If you’ve only got a few square feet to work with, you’re clearly not going to be adding a treadmill to the room any time soon. Still, you have options. My best home gym equipment choices for small spaces will show you exactly that.
Naturally, you’ll need more space than a broom closet to get a workout. You will need to be able to move around. I tend to tell people that it’s more important to have clearance from the waist up than the waist down. Ideally, you should have enough room to lie down on the floor like a starfish. If you don’t have quite that much, there’s still room to work with. Aim to have enough room to sit on the floor with your legs extended and to stand up with your arms fully extended. From there, you can make stuff happen.
My Top Choices for Best Home Gym Equipment for Small Spaces
One of the great things about home gym equipment for small spaces is that even the best ones aren’t nearly as expensive as what you’d spend if you had more real estate to work with. This gives you a bit of wiggle room for getting a good quality item. After all, even the highest quality mat isn’t as expensive as a low-quality machine!
- A Yoga Mat – This is great for floor work of all kinds, whether it’s yoga or weightlifting. Consider your flooring before making your choice, as mats come in different thicknesses. If you’re working on carpet, a thinner mat will do. If you’re on wood or laminate, you’ll want a thicker mat. If you’re on tile, you might even double-up with a thick mat on top of a thin one. Alternately, get a thick mat and yoga knee pads.
- Resistance Bands – Get a set of resistance bands with different resistances. You’ll want at least three of them ranging from light to heavy so you can best match this home gym equipment to any workout you’re doing in your small space. These alone give you a huge spectrum of workouts from cardio to strength training and flexibility
- Yoga Ball Chair – Turn your home office into a bit of a workout space by getting a yoga ball chair. This will replace your desk chair and engage your core and leg muscles while you type away at your computer or chat in your latest Zoom meeting.
- Hand Weights – Hand weights take up a small amount of space both to store and to use. Some moves can be done while sitting on a chair! Try a few moves at the store to decide which weight you need and add some lighter and heavier options over time as you learn what you need.
- Foldable Vertical Climber – This option is the most recent addition to my list of the best home gym equipment for small spaces. It has a tiny footprint, gives you a whole-body workout, and collapses for closet or under-bed storage.
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