Minimalist Home Gym?

We went from working out at the gym 3.5 years ago to it being shut down in the middle of March 2020. We had a few things at home -- I used to workout from home when my husband travelled for work and it was just the kids and I. But we did NOT have a lot and have purposely decided to keep things pretty light (no pun intended) even though we've been solely working out from home now for all this time. We could always head back to the gym and we certainly will one day (I miss the heck out of the barbells and heavier weights!) but for now we're in this nice routine and saving a bit of time with it. I've also come to really enjoy the kids hanging around as I workout. They used to just know I went super early to the gym and came home. Now they see me plan my workouts, challenge myself, and they like to join me too!

I'm asked fairly often on instagram (where I share my workouts often on my feed but even more up in stories) if I'm doing workouts at the gym and just showing home workout options for people. It seems that many people are surprised that one could accomplish what they need to without tons of equipment. But you can! And of course this is one of the things we dive deep into in week 2 (fitness week) of TRANSFORM: Body + Mind -- my 28-day metabolism-boosting course. So if you've taken that course or you will be joining us in September, you'll know exactly how to make it work with even less equipment.

You could start with body weight, use things around the house, check out Craigslist or Facebook Marketeplace for people getting rid of exercise equipment for free or cheap. That being said, if you'd like to build a small, minimalist-type home gym like we have to reach your goals a bit better, here's what I recommend you consider getting:

1) A pair of adjustable dumbbells. While they are pricier than 1 standard pair of dumbbells, adjustable dumbbells are really many-in-one. Ours were a gift from a friend and have no brand name on them, but they seem very similar to these.

2) Straight, long resistance bands. These can be used for all kinds of exercises. These are the ones I have. Grab an empty toilet paper roll too so you can make your own 'cable machine' like I talk about in this post.

3) Thick, loop resistance bands for some spicy leg work! If you follow my workouts at all you'll see I use them ALLLLL the time. They stay in place well and don't flip or slide. The ones I use are from a brand that no longer exists but they're almost identical to these ones.

4) A yoga mat ... and a little corner of your home that you can dedicate to fitness, if possible. If not possible, then a place you can convert into a fitness area within a couple of minutes so it doesn't feel like a hurdle to gettin' 'er done. I have no specific yoga mat recommendations ... you should be able to find one pretty easily with a quick search.

That's a pretty awesome start! You can get a lot done and make a lot of progress on metabolism / muscle-building / "toning up" / fat loss goals with those items.

Happy August,
Tara