5 Amazing, Effective & Inexpensive Pieces of Exercise Equipment Everybody Should Own!
I'm sure you've all seen the adverts on TV showcasing the latest piece of exercise equipment that claims it will revolutionize you life.
And right along with that we all think it's a lie but secretly hope it might just be true! Well there are pieces of exercise equipment that can make a world of difference to your workouts, but they aren't advertised on TV because they've been around since the dawn of time (and they don't cost "89.
99 plus postage and packing!" as so many of those ads say).
Simple additions can make your workouts more effective, fun, varied and challenging.
Here's a list of a few that you might be interested in: 1) Jump Rope Jumping rope is one of the finest forms of cardio exercise you can do.
It burns up to 150 calories every 10 mins and it will help improve your balance, co-ordination and explosive strength.
It will also engage your nervous system in a way that few other exercises can.
It can bring a new dimension to all kinds of workouts, from warm-up & cool-downs to circuit training and beyond.
When getting a rope its worth spending a little extra to ensure you get one that has quality and durability.
A good speed rope will cost no more than a few pounds or dollars but if you are willing to spend a little more try to get a rope that has good bearings and can be quickly adjusted (without tying a knot in it!).
There are literally thousands of places to get a good jump rope, check out the search engines and you'll usually land in the right place.
2) Swiss Ball You've all seen that big inflatable ball in gyms right? Well that's one of the most versatile pieces of kit ever conceived and you should really own one.
A swiss ball can be used for literally thousands of exercises.
Primarily it is most effective in training the core muscles but it is also a great way of bringing extra challenge to exercises you might already know.
Try doing a bench press with a ball underneath you instead of a bench, you'll be engaging 50% more muscles by doing so, turning a limited upper-body strength exercise into something much more functional and integrated.
The ball comes in 3 different sizes- 55, 65, 75cm.
When seated on a fully but not over-inflated ball with your knees over your ankles your hips and knees should be flexed approximately 90 degrees, positioning your thighs approximately parallel to the floor.
Your hips should be level with or slightly higher than your knees.
If you are 4'8"-5'5" you should go for a 55cm ball, 5'6"-6'0" is a 65cm ball, 6'0" and over you'll want a 75cm.
Swiss balls are usually no more than ten pounds and are pretty standard across manufacturers.
Just pick a colour you like! 3) Dumbbells It's essential to bring as much variety to your strength and conditioning workouts as possible.
You can go a long way with your own bodyweight and plyometric (jump based) exercise.
But to give you the broadest landscape available, dumbbells are a great piece of kit to add to your workouts.
They'll open up literally thousands of different exercises to you, this will bring variety, challenge and most importantly progress to you and your goals.
When buying a set there are a number of options, you can go with a "spin-lock" set, which tends to be cheaper but can be a little time consuming when altering the weight.
Then there's "fixed" dumbbells, these are basically complete sets that you might see in a gym.
Very nice but they take up a lot of room and are very expensive.
A good midway point between these two is a "selectorized" set.
These are a little more expensive than a spin-lock set but cost far less than a fixed selection.
They take up very little room and allow you to quickly change the overall weight, thus saving you time during your workout.
Check out as many options as you can and decide which is the right choice for you.
4) Music! This is perhaps one of the best exercise tools you have available to you.
Good music is a great motivator, it can help you to workout harder, longer and faster and it can be the difference between a good training session and a great one.
The music that motivates you is all about what you like, there is no right or wrong.
I usually like to put together playlists of music for my own workouts to give some variety (my current favourite workout tune is "Clear Blue Sky" by Followed by Ghosts, great for those uphill sprints!).
For an easy example of how effective music can be just check out any gym when "Eye of the Tiger" comes on.
Suddenly every man in the building is training like a demon because of the obvious "Rocky" link.
So the next time you workout, grab your MP3 player, get downloading and put in your headphones to see the difference it can make! 5) You and you alone So here's the biggest secret of all, you already own the best, most versatile piece of exercise equipment on earth.
It's your body.
There is an entire universe of exercise out there that only requires your own bodyweight and nothing more.
Go and run some sprints at the beach to get your cardio up.
Perform some sets of push-ups, squats, lunges and burpees to see real gains in strength and shape.
Explosive plyometrics can be some of the toughest & most effective exercise you'll ever do.
That's just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what's out there.
With a little creativity and imagination you can get a workout that will challenge every aspect of your fitness and you won't have to spend a penny to achieve it.
Each of these ideas will help to broaden your health and fitness and to achieve your short or long-term goals.
The key here is variety, if you have plenty of options open to you, you'll be able to keep your body guessing as to what the next workout will bring and prevent your head from getting bored.
The simplest things can make the biggest difference.
Enjoy your health Chris
And right along with that we all think it's a lie but secretly hope it might just be true! Well there are pieces of exercise equipment that can make a world of difference to your workouts, but they aren't advertised on TV because they've been around since the dawn of time (and they don't cost "89.
99 plus postage and packing!" as so many of those ads say).
Simple additions can make your workouts more effective, fun, varied and challenging.
Here's a list of a few that you might be interested in: 1) Jump Rope Jumping rope is one of the finest forms of cardio exercise you can do.
It burns up to 150 calories every 10 mins and it will help improve your balance, co-ordination and explosive strength.
It will also engage your nervous system in a way that few other exercises can.
It can bring a new dimension to all kinds of workouts, from warm-up & cool-downs to circuit training and beyond.
When getting a rope its worth spending a little extra to ensure you get one that has quality and durability.
A good speed rope will cost no more than a few pounds or dollars but if you are willing to spend a little more try to get a rope that has good bearings and can be quickly adjusted (without tying a knot in it!).
There are literally thousands of places to get a good jump rope, check out the search engines and you'll usually land in the right place.
2) Swiss Ball You've all seen that big inflatable ball in gyms right? Well that's one of the most versatile pieces of kit ever conceived and you should really own one.
A swiss ball can be used for literally thousands of exercises.
Primarily it is most effective in training the core muscles but it is also a great way of bringing extra challenge to exercises you might already know.
Try doing a bench press with a ball underneath you instead of a bench, you'll be engaging 50% more muscles by doing so, turning a limited upper-body strength exercise into something much more functional and integrated.
The ball comes in 3 different sizes- 55, 65, 75cm.
When seated on a fully but not over-inflated ball with your knees over your ankles your hips and knees should be flexed approximately 90 degrees, positioning your thighs approximately parallel to the floor.
Your hips should be level with or slightly higher than your knees.
If you are 4'8"-5'5" you should go for a 55cm ball, 5'6"-6'0" is a 65cm ball, 6'0" and over you'll want a 75cm.
Swiss balls are usually no more than ten pounds and are pretty standard across manufacturers.
Just pick a colour you like! 3) Dumbbells It's essential to bring as much variety to your strength and conditioning workouts as possible.
You can go a long way with your own bodyweight and plyometric (jump based) exercise.
But to give you the broadest landscape available, dumbbells are a great piece of kit to add to your workouts.
They'll open up literally thousands of different exercises to you, this will bring variety, challenge and most importantly progress to you and your goals.
When buying a set there are a number of options, you can go with a "spin-lock" set, which tends to be cheaper but can be a little time consuming when altering the weight.
Then there's "fixed" dumbbells, these are basically complete sets that you might see in a gym.
Very nice but they take up a lot of room and are very expensive.
A good midway point between these two is a "selectorized" set.
These are a little more expensive than a spin-lock set but cost far less than a fixed selection.
They take up very little room and allow you to quickly change the overall weight, thus saving you time during your workout.
Check out as many options as you can and decide which is the right choice for you.
4) Music! This is perhaps one of the best exercise tools you have available to you.
Good music is a great motivator, it can help you to workout harder, longer and faster and it can be the difference between a good training session and a great one.
The music that motivates you is all about what you like, there is no right or wrong.
I usually like to put together playlists of music for my own workouts to give some variety (my current favourite workout tune is "Clear Blue Sky" by Followed by Ghosts, great for those uphill sprints!).
For an easy example of how effective music can be just check out any gym when "Eye of the Tiger" comes on.
Suddenly every man in the building is training like a demon because of the obvious "Rocky" link.
So the next time you workout, grab your MP3 player, get downloading and put in your headphones to see the difference it can make! 5) You and you alone So here's the biggest secret of all, you already own the best, most versatile piece of exercise equipment on earth.
It's your body.
There is an entire universe of exercise out there that only requires your own bodyweight and nothing more.
Go and run some sprints at the beach to get your cardio up.
Perform some sets of push-ups, squats, lunges and burpees to see real gains in strength and shape.
Explosive plyometrics can be some of the toughest & most effective exercise you'll ever do.
That's just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what's out there.
With a little creativity and imagination you can get a workout that will challenge every aspect of your fitness and you won't have to spend a penny to achieve it.
Each of these ideas will help to broaden your health and fitness and to achieve your short or long-term goals.
The key here is variety, if you have plenty of options open to you, you'll be able to keep your body guessing as to what the next workout will bring and prevent your head from getting bored.
The simplest things can make the biggest difference.
Enjoy your health Chris
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