Cost Effective Fitness Equipment

Shopping for exercise equipment can be overwhelming when you don’t know what you’re doing. What’s the best quality? Bang for the buck? What will I actually use? Is the equipment versatile or is it just used for one thing? Not all equipment has to be expensive to get you a good workout. A lot of good options don’t even need a lot of space to store them. Let’s take a look at some of my most recommended and cost effective options for travelers or people looking to workout at home listed below:

 
 

Resistance Bands

You can go a loooong way with just a set of good resistance bands. These ones from Black Mountain fitness are at a great price point and hold up well. They are the ones I personally use when traveling. The Home Program I provide for my members use bands like these (though they don’t have to be from Black Mountain) because there are a limited number of exercises you can do for your back or pulling type exercises using your bodyweight only.

Having an option like these in your arsenal increases the exercises you can perform enormously for very little cost. They are the first thing I recommend to anyone who wants to workout at home or people who travel a ton.

Physioball, aka Exercise ball, aka yoga ball, aka whatever

Just like resistance bands, a physioball can really add a ton to the exercise library available to you. This one from Trideer is at the right price point AND it’s anti-burst, anti-slip, and comes with an inflation guide measuring tape; three qualities I highly recommend when shopping for a ball.

Two more tips when purchasing:

  1. Make sure you’re picking the right size for your height. Here’s a general guideline:

    4’8″ to 5’3″ - 45 cm ball

    5’4″ and 5’10” - 55 cm ball

    5’11” to 6’4″ - 65 cm ball

    Over 6’4″ -75 cm ball

  2. Don’t inflate the ball quickly to it’s full size in one go. Many balls (such as the one I’ve recommended) come with an inflation guide tape to loop around it while you’re filling up. Use this to inflate it to somewhere around 80% of capacity, then let it sit for several hours (or overnight). After that finish inflating it. If you inflate the ball all the way in one shot, or really quickly with an air compressor, it’s will become deformed. Filling up to 80% then letting it rest helps prevent the ball from filling up to an egg shape.

Exercise Loops (AKA Mini Bands)

These take up as little space as possible for exercise equipment, and as a result, are great to use for exercise during travel. My preferred brand is a little pricey for a simple pack of bands so I have a cheaper option listed below as well. Take a look at the pros and cons below and decide what works best for your needs. Any resistance bands will meet its end of life at some point (even if you don’t use them, they still decay on the shelf), so take that in to consideration as well.

  • Perform Better makes the best non-fabric mini bands I have come across. All bands will eventually wear out and break but these ones have the best staying power. I also find that all other brands I seen (including my economical option to the right) are sized larger, and as a result don’t give resistance at the start of movements (a lateral band walk with feet starting close together for example). So you need to start at a range where the slack in the band is taken out. Sometimes this isn’t a problem but other times it can affect the range of motion for the exercise. These definitely are my top pick.

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  • You can find a more economical mini band option from Fit Simply (linked here). They are wider, so the resistance doesn’t start as quickly and I find these are just lighter resistance in general. However, if you have larger legs or are just starting out, both those qualities might be to your benefit.

    All in all, these bands are a still a good option and about half the cost of the Perform Better bands.