Everyone has heard all the jokes about lifetime memberships at gyms and because of the trickery, the mirrors or the crowds many people decide to opt out of using a gym membership to help them lose weight. The good news is that avoiding the gym no longer means using cans to tone your biceps because you can purchase gym equipment for your home.

The bad news is that gym equipment can become a huge expense if you’re not smart about your choices. Be realistic about what you need and what you can afford and you can have the gym equipment you need to get an effective workout each day.

[The right gym equipment can make all the difference for your fat loss.]

Keep reading to learn more about losing weight at home.

Dumbbells

Dumbbells are an essential piece of equipment for any home gym. A pair of dumbbells can help you work your upper body using a wide variety of grips and exercises. Getting a pair or two of dumbbells doesn’t have to cost you a lot of money either. You can start with one pair or buy a pair of a lower weight and then a heavier set once your muscles begin to develop more.

Don’t worry about heavy weights giving you giant bodybuilder arms because they won’t. What they will do however is make sure your workout remains challenging so you constantly burn calories and build muscle. The good thing about dumbbells is that you can test them out so you find just the right size.

Here are a few exercises you can do with your dumbbells;

• Chest flies: Lying flat on an exercise mat or bench, hold the dumbbells above your chest in front of you and bend elbows slightly. Open your arms out to the sides but don’t go all the way to the floor. When your arms are parallel to the ground, return to starting position and repeat.
• Arnold presses: Sit on a bench or stand up straight with your dumbbells over your head. Lower dumbbells down to your shoulders. When your elbows are at an 90° angle, press the dumbbells back up above your head and repeat.

Resistance Bands

Resistance bands are the perfect home gym equipment because you can do tons of different exercises and you can take them with you anywhere. Resistance bands are inexpensive and they come in different colors reflecting the different levels of tension. This will help you get an intense workout to fit your goals.

[Resistance bands can provide a full body workout on the go!]

If your goal is bigger muscles then you’ll want a band with greater tension, while if your plan is to simply tone you can get a resistance band with less tension. Whether you travel or simply need to get some exercise in during the day you can toss your resistance band in your briefcase and do a few sets during lunch.

Try these resistance band exercises to get your started:

• Bicep curls: stand on resistance band with the ends in your hand and perform basic bicep curls.
• Chest Presses: Lie down on the floor with resistance bands under your back and the ends in each hands. Press one arm at a time towards the ceiling and return to starting position and repeat with the opposite arm.
• Lunges: Stand in traditional lunge position and place resistance band under the front foot with ends in each hand. Lower your body down by bending at the tip and knee until your front thigh is parallel with the floor and return to start position. Finish repetitions on one side and switch legs.

Jump Ropes

If running isn’t your thing and you’re looking for a way to get in enough cardio, then consider jumping rope. First of all you should add a jump rope to your home gym equipment because it is an amazing calorie burner! One hour of moderate paced jumping will burn 931 calories, and because you can take the jump rope with you anywhere you can break it up into 15-minute increments for a massive amount of fat burning.

Take a look at this HIIT video with a jump rope so you can see just how easy it is to use a simple piece of gym equipment can help you burn plenty of calories:

Jump ropes are inexpensive, easy to transport and provide you with the most convenient way to get cardio exercise without leaving the comfort of home!

Exercise Mat

An exercise mat is an essential piece of home gym equipment because it allows you to perform exercises easily on carpet. So if you like yoga, pilates or sweating to exercise videos you’ll need an exercise mat to make sure you can perform them correctly. No more gym shoes skidding against carpet as you try to do basic jumping jacks, because now you have an inexpensive and easy to transport exercise mat.

If you don’t have carpet in  your home, use an exercise mat to do floor exercises like crunches, plank exercises and push ups. If you prefer circuit training to traditional cardio and strength training exercises then you’ll need an exercise mat to help you complete your floor exercises as well as any movements that require foot movements.

Medicine Ball

Medicine balls are a great way to improve flexibility as well as core strength. Similar to resistance bands, medicine balls come in various weights that range from 2 pounds up to 25 pounds. It is up to you to decide the ball that best suits your exercise needs.

If you need to improve your range of motion for sports, better flexibility or even physical therapy a medicine ball is just the type of gym equipment you need at home.

These are cheap and easy pieces of gym equipment to get you started so that you can workout from the comfort of your home. When you’re able to workout regularly you will experience greater weight loss results and a well toned body. Only when you’ve put this inexpensive gym equipment at home to good use should you consider more expensive equipment.

Instead of an expensive treadmill, stationary bicycle or elliptical machine, take a run or use your jump rope to help you get cardio. There’s no reason to spend a lot of money developing a home gym when there is inexpensive gym equipment that can help you get the job done.

Now that you have a shopping list for your home gym, it’s time to learn how to eat for weight loss. Read our review of Eat Stop Eat to learn more about intermittent fasting for weight loss.