Essential Exercise Equipment for Your Home Gym

Gym memberships are expensive, and it can be inconvenient to try and get to the gym on a regular basis. That is why working out at home can be a great alternative to the gym. I personally almost always work out at home. The only thing about working out at home is you have to begin by stocking up on a few basics before diving in.


Essentials
These pieces are pretty much necessary in order to effectively workout at home and change up your exercise on a regular basis. Although body-weight training is effective, it is also important to change up your routine and these essentials will help do that.

1. Yoga/exercise mat. This is the most basic piece and probably what you'll use the most at home, even working out on carpet I find a good mat is unbeatable when it comes to maintaining some level of comfort while working out. A good mat can run a little high in price, but they last a long time as long as you take care of them.
2. Dumbbells. Getting a few different weights is a good idea. This way you can vary your reps with your weights and try different amounts to constantly challenge your muscles.  Weights can be a little pricey when buying a few at once, so build up your collection slowly.
3. Exercise DVDs. Getting a few DVDs is definitely a necessity. There are only so many moves I can come up with in my own head, and having a trainer on the screen telling me what to do gives that extra motivational kick. These are relatively inexpensive and you can pick up most for ten dollars or less on Amazon.

Good-to-have

These next few items are nice to have, but not totally necessary. I still don't have a stability ball because I don't know where I'd store it. But if you have the space, more power to you!

1. Resistance bands. These can challenge your muscles in an entirely different way then the free weights. They come in light, medium, and hard resistance levels and the price is pretty reasonable. I've seen them around fifteen to twenty-five dollars depending on your resistance level.
2. Stability ball. A stability ball can add an extra level of challenge to different moves. If you do pushups on it or try different ab moves. It challenges your core in a more intense way then simply doing the move on a mat. These are also relatively inexpensive, around thirty dollars. The only issue is that they are a giant ball that you need to store somewhere.
3. Heart-rate monitor. A heart-rate monitor will help you keep track of all kinds of different things such as steps, calories burned, and of course, heart-rate. It is an amazing piece of equipment that can really help track your workouts and help you understand exactly how much energy you are exerting. These can run really high in price, but a decent one can be found for about seventy dollars and up.
4. Cardio equipment. This is the most expensive of everything on this list, and the least essential. But again, if you have the space and the money, you probably wouldn't regret investing in a good treadmill or incline trainer. 

What are your home gym essentials?