A lot of patients I speak to ask me about starting strength training at home.  They haven’t considered starting before because they don’t want to go to a gym.

This can be for several reasons:

• Inconvenient to get to
• Cost of memberships
• Don’t know where to start
• Worried about being judged by others
• Queuing for equipment
• Feeling intimidated

The main fear on that comes up is the fear of being judged by others and worrying about looking clueless.

I understand that gyms can feel intimidating. I can assure you that they aren’t as scary as you might think.  In my experience most gym staff are more than happy to help. They will welcome someone asking for advice. 

The others in the gym that you think are judging you are probably just as worried about you judging them.  We all have our insecurities.

Strength Training at Home

However you do not need to go to a gym. You can start strength training at home.  This post aims to give you some ideas of how to set up your own home gym with a few pieces of equipment.

Where?

• A small area in the living room
• In the garage
• A room that isn’t used for anything else

If it’s in the living room you need to think about where you’ll store any equipment.  It shouldn’t be a hassle to get it all out and prepared.  You need to take out as many barriers as you can to getting started.

Equipment

People often think you need a lot of expensive equipment to get stronger at home. You’ll be surprised about how little you need to get started.

You actually don’t need anything at all to start, you can just use the weight of your own body.  It’s amazing how difficult you can make exercises by creatively using gravity.   

However this can limit your choice of exercises and also limit how strong you can get without additional resistance.

Below are some ideas of the basic equipment you can get from Amazon to start building your own home gym.  You can also find these (and some other ideas) on the Resources page.  There are obviously lots of options out there so feel free to research alternatives.

Some of the links below are affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, I will earn a commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you. Please understand that everything I recommend is because I honestly believe they are all helpful and useful to assist you in achieving your goal in becoming stronger, not because of the small commissions I make if you decide to buy something. Please do not spend any money on these products unless you feel that you need them or believe that they will help you achieve your goals.

Click on the pictures of the products below to find them on Amazon.

Mat

I would start with a mat for your comfort when doing exercises on the floor.

Mini Band

One of the easiest ways you can begin to add resistance is with the use of a mini band.

Resistance Bands

You can also use these thicker resistance bands attached to something solid to introduce pulling movements.  You can buy these in different thicknesses, providing varying levels of resistance.

Weights

You then need to consider using something that you can use to add load to exercises.  This could be in the form of a kettle bell or dumbbell.

Kettle Bell

The advantage of a kettle bell is that is doesn’t take up much space. It is more versatile in how it can be used due to the shape of it’s handle.  The disadvantage is that you can’t vary the weight.  This means it is likely that you would need to buy multiple kettle bells.

Please note that when buying kettlebells online that you tend to only get a single weight which you have to select from a drop down menu.  The kettlebells listed below also have an option in the drop down menu to buy a set of 2 or 3.  I have been disappointed before when I thought I was ordering the whole set only to find one kettlebell turn up.

I have this great set of kettle bells that will get you started. It contains 2kg, 4kg, 6kg and 8kg kettles that are all included in the same price and delivered together as a set.

Dumbbells

The advantage of  adjustable dumbbells is that you are able to vary the weight of them to create an appropriate challenge for each exercise.  There are two types that can be adjusted.

This includes ones where you are required to take a clip off either side of a bar to allow you to slide weight plates on/off.

The other option is one where you can easily and quickly change the weight of the dumbbell simply by turning a dial on the side which results in only the appropriate number of plates remaining on the bar.  This results  in quicker change overs which saves time.  Also means there is less storage space required as you do not have left over weight plates cluttering up the area when they are not in use.  Unfortunately this does come at a higher price.

Clothing

You’ll want some workout clothes and trainers to get started.
Given much of it is down to personal preference I won’t even try to recommend any particular items.  If you’re unsure of where to start to then I can highly recommend Wiggle.  Given that I also run and cycle, it is my go to website to buy most of gym clothing and accessories.  Click the banner below to see their latest offers.

Affordable

If you get a mat, a mini band set, a resistance band and a set of the cheaper dumbbells, you would only spend as much as you would on 1-2 months of gym membership.  That is not much of an investment to make in the grand scheme if you are then able to continue doing the things you love.

There are plenty of other items of equipment that are available to buy.  I won’t go into it here but you could get a barbell, a bench, a squat rack, a TRX and lots more.  But for now the above is more than enough to get you started.

In future posts we will explore some idea of exercises you can do with each of the pieces of equipment.

I’d also love to hear any feedback, you can comment below or email me by going to the contact page. 

I love to see a picture of your home gym once its set up. Post a photo on Facebook so others can get in idea of how to arrange theirs. 

This post was written by myself, Chris Tiley, a physiotherapist based out of Movement Therapy Clinics in Harborne, Birmingham. For more information on how I can help you visit christileyphysiotherapy.com