YES! FINALLY! That’s EXACTLY what I want when I'm exercising: Complete comfort and ease! While watching TV to kill time!
Here’s Re-Nest’s recommended shopping list for starting your very own super-chill home gym on a budget:
- Hand weights – Savasa Hand Weight Set with Workout DVD. $14.99 - $24.99
- Body ball – Savasa Eco Body Ball. $14.95 - $24.00
- Exercise Mat – Natural Fitness Eco Yoga Mat. $29.99
- Gym storage – any bench, basket, chest, or cabinet: West Elm Nailhead Upholstered Bench. $349.00
- Free online exercise demos – sparkpeople.com. $0.00
- Free online fitness videos – Spark People's Youtube channel. $0.00
That bench makes me want to put on some Coldplay and curl up in a Snuggie with a soothing cup of fucking chai latte. It does not, however, make me want to work out. I daresay that if you plan on using an upholstered ottoman in place of an exercise bench, you’re pretty much committing to either NOT sweating or investing in a Costco-sized pallet of Scotchgard.
And if you hate exercising so much that you need to stare at something on TV to distract you, just buy a Wii Fit. It won't get you in better shape, but at least it'll only set you back a hundred bucks or so.
Don't get me wrong. I’m not saying you have to accumulate a crapload of equipment to outfit your home gym. But if you have $400 burning a hole in your pocket, and you want to buy some stuff to enable you to ACTUALLY WORK OUT, consider these options instead:
Option A: P90X
What to buy:
- P90X DVDs. $139.80
- A door-frame pull-up bar. $38.00 (But feel free to upgrade.)
- A yoga mat. $13.95 - $19.95
- A bunch of resistance bands. $24.44
Option B: Insanity
What to buy:
- Insanity DVDs. $144.80
- A box of ShamWow towels to mop up your sweat. $15.61
Option 3: CrossFit Bodyweight Workouts
What to buy:
- A pull-up bar. This time, let’s splurge on something nicer – let’s go for the StudBar. $139.45
- Olympic rings – prices on Amazon range from $39.95 (for rings by XFit Equipment) to $84.24 (for EXF Rings – I have a pair and love 'em)
- A kettlebell. Kettlebell King -- the cheapest KB seller I could find online -- sells them for about a buck per pound. For our purposes, let's start with a 35-pound kettlebell. $34.65
- Jump rope – I like Buddy Lee’s Aero Speed Hyperformance rope ($39.90) but you can get a basic speedrope (like Valeo's) for much cheaper ($7.74).
Option 4: Run (Barefoot or Close to It!)
What to buy:
- The Barefoot Running Book by Jason Robillard. $14.95
- OPTIONAL: A pair of Vibram FiveFingers. $75 - $100
Keep the change.
