When I look at homes for my future-self, there are two things that are on my must-have list. 1) A spacious kitchen with tons of counter space 2) A 2-car garage (if a garage is not available, a large shed will do). Now, Anthony has pretty much found it – his kitchen is great, but the real gem is the garage. Matted floors, Olympic platform, squat rack, bars, plates, pull-up bar, and just about anything you need for an amazing home gym. This garage has become the Team Chalk Up gym, and while it is not MY personal home gym, I put in some hours helping to build things, set things up, plan things out, etc…so I am taking a little bit of pride in how amazing it is.
But here’s the thing. I am not ready to have a full on house all to myself, so a garage is kind of out of the realm of possibility, at least for now. I live in a 5-floor walk up condo, with neighbors downstairs and that share a wall with me. This is not conducive to a high intensity workout (just ask my downstairs neighbor when I’ve tried to do burpees in my living room). So my dilemma was this: “How do I get a great workout in if I can’t get to the gym, and I am stuck at home?” Yes, there are a million body weight exercises I could do, and have done. But there came a point when I wanted more variety in these workouts. So TCU sat down and put together a list of gym equipment that not only is relatively inexpensive, but that is multi-purpose, giving you the most bang for your buck! Now, I assume many of you city-dwelling athletes are in a relatively similar situation as I am. So below, we have put together a list – all together, the items are under $60 give or take a few bucks depending on what you choose to put in it.
(All found on Amazon – most are Prime eligible too!!)
WODfitters Resistance Band (Red): $12.99
Phantom Fit Resistance Band (set of 4): $7.95
Iron Gym Pull-up Bar: $18.99
CAP Coated Hex Dumbbell 15lb/20lb/25lb: $13.99/$19.99/$24
.99
With these four pieces of equipment, the options are nearly endless. Just to list a few of the basics:
Banded Thrusters
Band Pull Aparts
Pallof Presses
Banded Seated or Bent Over Rows
Banded Front Squats
Band Resisted Push-ups
Overhead Squats
Band Walks
Glute Bridges
Clamshells & Reverse Clamshells
Pull-ups
Bar hangs
Ab work
Curls
Overhead Press
Chest Press
DB Ab work
DB Snatches
DB cleans
DB Thrusters
DB Windmills
Single Leg RDL
Weighted Lunges
Goblet Squats
TGU
Etc etc etc…you get the idea.
The other great thing about most of these, is that you can use them at home, or can bring the DB & resistance bands to a park and get your workout in while it’s still nice out! And USE YOUR SURROUNDINGS! Open your eyes and look around – your local park will have benches (read: box jumps, step ups), monkey bars (read: pull-ups as well as their actual purpose), they have low bars used as balance beams (read: burpees over bars, lateral jumps). There is a great little spot over on Memorial Drive that has an outdoor workout space! GO THERE! Use your imagination and let us know what creative ways you have used your neighborhood to get a great workout in!
