Kitting your house out on a budget? Check out our pick of the best cheap home gym equipment…
Looking to kit out your home with the best cheap yet effective gym equipment? Whether you have a dedicated gym space in your loft, garage or spare room or a collection of dumbbells at the end of your bed, it’s useful to have gym equipment at home to add some regularity to your workouts. The closure of gyms during lockdown reinforced the importance of being able to keep training at home.
And more and more people are doing it. Just look at companies like Athlo – which enables irregular gym-goers to rent out their memberships. It’s more difficult that ever to justify forking out for pricey membership plans every month.
But even if you have nothing at home but your gym shoes, considering the best cheap home gym equipment is the ideal way to get started.
You might want to invest for the long-term, but premium gym kit can be prohibitively expensive, especially during a cost of living crisis. Not many of us can justify spending thousands of pounds on an exercise bike, treadmill or rower. A set of adjustable dumbbells can easily set you back £800.
What home gym equipment do you need?
Fortunately the best cheap home gym equipment can make a big difference to your home training. From foam rollers for recovery, and exercise mats and balls for mobility, there are plenty of options to kit out your home gym to cover your needs.
The key to any effective training routine is regularity, and that means easy access. As long as you tailor your home gym kit to focus on your goals, the only thing that’s stopping you from achieving them is you. You’re more accountable for your training as you can’t blame lack of access to a gym for skipping sessions.
Of course, there’s also a wide range of inexpensive home workout apps that can facilitate your home training regime, and most are under £50.
For quick home workouts, these are the best resistance band exercises
We’ve put together the best budget picks to equip your home gyms so you can keep making gains without making a sizeable hole in your bank account. All of our best cheap home gym equipment on this list is £50 or less, including dumbbells and kettlebells.
So for price of your monthly gym membership you can start creating a fitness suite at home that will last for years to come.
And if you feel like splashing out, or are looking to invest in a particular dedicated piece of kit, check out our best home gym equipment guide.
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Our pick of the best cheap home gym equipment
- Resistance bands – Myprotein 11-Piece Band Set ($64 / £50)
- Foam roller – Myprotein Muscle Roller ($36 / £28.99)
- Dumbbells – Domyos Corength Hex Dumbbell 16.5lb / 7.5kg (£24.99 each – not available in the US)
- Skipping ropes – Freeletics Jump Rope (£24.50 – international shipping available)
- Gym balls – Body Power Exercise Ball (£19.99 – not available in the US)
- Exercise mats – Body Power Never Quit Fitness Mat (£19.99 – not available in the US)
BEST RESISTANCE BAND SET
Myprotein 11-Piece Band Set
BUY IT NOW:
$64 / £50, myprotein.com
OVERALL RATING: 4/5
Resistance: 10lb (4.5kg), 20lb (9.1kg), 30lb (13.6kg), 40lb (18.1kg), 50lb (22.7kg) | Colours: Black | Number of bands: 5 | Features: Leg straps / door anchor
If you’re looking for cheap home gym equipment, the Myprotein 11-Piece Band Set is one of the best resistance band sets available for beginners. It’s big on bands and value, and ships with five tube bands, two handles, two leg straps and a door anchor, tucked away in a breathable net bag.
The five different-coloured bands range from 10lb (4.5kg) to 50lb (22.7kg) in resistance. Each end of each band features a carabiner (clamp), which can latch onto either a handle, a leg strap or the door anchor. Wrap the leg strap around your ankle for abductor, adductor and glute exercises, or use the handles on both sides for shoulder and chest presses.
The Myprotein 11-Piece Band Set might not be as high resistance as some of the competition, but for constant tension and high rep range conditioning, the five bands – which can be doubled up for extra resistance – are good value and work a treat.
Read our full Myprotein 11-Piece Band Set review
Pack on upper-body muscle with this home workout
BEST FOAM ROLLER
Myprotein Muscle Roller
BUY IT NOW:
$36 / £28, myprotein.com
OVERALL RATING: 4.5/5
Gym kit doesn’t get much simpler than the humble foam roller. Yet pound for pound it’s one of the most effective pieces of equipment you can buy. Offering deep tissue self massage, it’s a key warm-up and cool-down weapon in the fight against muscle soreness and injury and a key part of the recovery process.
You might think all foam rollers look and feel the same but this one from Myprotein has just the right balance between rigidity and softness with a good mix of grooves and bumps to deliver effective deep tissue massage where you need it most.
BEST CHEAP DUMBBELL SET:
DOMYOS Corength Hex Dumbbell 16.5lb / 7.5kg
BUY IT NOW:
£24.99 each / decathlon.co.uk (not currently available in the US)
OVERALL: 4.5/5
This fixed dumbbell from Decathlon wraps a hexagonal iron frame up in rubber for a more stable design than round plates, and a pair of 16.5lb (7.5kg) weights will set you back just £50. It’s a cheap and space-saving setup for dedicated weight training and functional workouts.
The knurled metal handle is a good size to wrap your hands around. Weight options range from 5.5lb-50lb (2.5kg-22.5kg), so it sits at the lighter end of the weight spectrum. The hex plate design makes it ideal for floor-based dumbbell exercises like renegade rows and dumbbell press-ups, because the flat sides of the weights will stay put as you work away.
The all-black design gives it an attractive, low-key look and despite being cheap, the Corength Hex feels built to be used and abused, making it some of the best home gym equipment you can buy.
For regular strength training sessions these are the best dumbbell sets for home workouts
BEST SKIPPING ROPE
Freeletics Jump Rope
BUY IT NOW:
£24.50, freeletics.com (international shipping available)
OVERALL: 5/5
Materials: Steel rope core, polyurethane rope shell with aluminium handles | Handle weight: 3.7oz (105g) | Thickness: 1in (2.5cm) | Length: 9ft 10in (3m) | Features: adjustable length, anti-slip handles, high-speed bearings | Included: Training with Jump Rope – Fundamentals ebook and carry pouch
High-speed bearings, a lightweight construction and an ultra-thin rope make the Freeletics Jump Rope a top choice for speed work.
The 6.7in (17cm) long aluminium handles are svelte but remain easy to grip thanks to their anti-slip coating – even after an intense 20-minute session. There’s far less pressure on the forearms, due to their low weight, so they’re perfect for double-unders.
You can discover various jump rope exercises with the Freeletics app, and nail your technique with the included Training with Jump Rope – Fundamentals ebook.
Read our full Freeletics Jump Rope review
BEST CHEAP GYM BALL
Body Power Exercise Ball
BUY IT NOW:
£19.99 / fitness-superstore.co.uk (not currently shipping to US)
OVERALL: 4/5
Size: 25.6in (65cm) | Weight limit: 660lb (300kg) | Pump included: Yes | Colour: Red | Warranty: 12 months
If you’re looking for an exercise ball for weights-based exercises, the Body Power Exercise Ball is a robust choice. Its anti-burst material can withstand up to 300kg – which will cover you whatever you bench-press. Its 25.6in (65cm) diameter is a good all-round size for most users. Plus, its surface feels a little tacky, which helps grip most surfaces. Despite that it rolls well during dynamic exercises.
This firm and stable ball is an effort to inflate, though, even with the included foot pump. A 12-month guarantee makes the Body Power Exercise Ball excellent value for money.
Read our full Body Power Exercise Ball review
BEST CHEAP EXERCISE MAT
Body Power Never Quit Fitness Mat
BUY IT NOW:
£19.99, fitness-superstore.co.uk (not available in the US)
OVERALL: 5/5
Materials: Nitrile butadiene rubber | Dimensions: 71.7 x 24in (182 x 61cm) | Features: 10mm cushion / carry strap | Colour: Black
When it comes to finding the best cheap equipment to kit out your home gym, an exercise mat is essential. The Body Power Never Quit Fitness Mat is one of the cheapest mats available but you wouldn’t know it. Its generous 0.4in (10mm)-thick nitrile butadiene rubber construction has a luxurious, comfortable and foam-like feel.
Its non-slip surface is textures for plenty of grip. Plus, that 10mm cushion feels plush under foot and will absorb impacts from more dynamic workouts. It has a carry strap and is double-sided too, making it even more versatile.
The Body Power Never Quit Fitness Mat is a robust and affordable option that will hold its own in the company of exercise mats over five times its price.
