Best single piece of home exercise equipment?

December 28, 2015 9:33 PM

So, I'm looking to lose a little weight, get healthier and tone up. I'd also like to do it in the comfort of my own home. What's the one item of equipment most likely to achieve this? It has to be one only, I don't have space, money nor the inclination for an entire home gym. The plan is to set it up in the open living area of the home where I can squeeze some workout time in whilst I watch my two young kids. (For time and convenience reasons, I won't be joining a gym. Also, I hate gyms.) Ideally, I will be hiring the equipment initially. What are your thoughts?
posted by Jubey to Health & Fitness (22 answers total)

Gotta give you two, but they're cheap: pull-up bar and jumprope. (You said 'hiring', so 'skipping rope', I guess).
posted by mr_roboto at 9:48 PM on December 28, 2015 [4 favorites]

Only ONE item?

25 pound kettlebell.

It would be nice to have a pair. Much nicer to have a few in different weights from 15 pounds to 65 pounds or so.
posted by littlewater at 9:49 PM on December 28, 2015 [6 favorites]

Best answer: Recommendation: check out Beachbody programs. Great workouts you can do in your own home without anything like a treadmill or elliptical machine. Some programs do use resistance bands or weights but a bunch don't use any equipment. I promise I am not a BB coach, but I've tried and liked the programs.
posted by treehorn+bunny at 10:32 PM on December 28, 2015 [6 favorites]

+1 for treehorn.

The goals you're describing sound perfect for the beachbody programs.

Equipment really targets specific things. The beachbody programs are sort of all-around fix uppers.
posted by Sonic_Molson at 10:47 PM on December 28, 2015

I think if I were in your position I would get a proper rowing machine or erg machine that actual rowers use. The Concept 2 Model D has great reviews. (I just looked them up - didn't realize they were so expensive. If you prefer, a second hand authentic erg shouldn't be hard to find.)
posted by little eiffel at 11:01 PM on December 28, 2015 [5 favorites]

You Are Your Own Gym: The Bible of Bodyweight Exercises . Exercises of 4 different levels of intensity with notes on how to make most either more or less difficult. Some require common household items, eg, towel, door, chair, book. I hate gyms. This worked for me.
posted by Homer42 at 11:31 PM on December 28, 2015 [5 favorites]

hope this isn't a derail, but I gotta say, at least in the US, it's almost never worth it to buy exercise equipment machines brand new...people get rid of them all the time, check craigslist or something similar.

weights are a different story, but they can also sometimes be found much cheaper secondhand.
posted by leemleem at 12:05 AM on December 29, 2015 [8 favorites]

DVDs or YouTube vids focusing on low impact movements, strength (dumbbells or bodyweight), and intervals are probably the best for short and long-term success at burning fat while hanging on to muscle. You need some resistance training for overall health and injury prevention, and the more muscle mass you have, the more you burn at rest. (Would avoid high-impact cardio - risky for injuries.)

If you're injury prone, stationary bike. (I've biked safely during rehab with simultaneous lower and upper body injuries, holding on with one hand.) You can also get a killer workout on the bike if you do sprints. The main thing is the bike fitting properly, grading up / not overdoing it, and switching it up with another cardio activity with more varied movements - ideally, a weight-bearing activity, for your bones' sake.

You'd probably get the highest calorie burns within a single session - on average - from the rower or a treadmill (if running), then elliptical. But, those are risky for overuse injuries if you're only doing the one kind of cardio, also, not easy to use when something's gone wrong, same for bodyweight stuff. Less scope for muscle retention, which you want if you want to be "toned". But, one of these might be better for you if you really like it, because motivation's important. Ellipticals can be enjoyable to some [high heart rate, lots of swinging around]; rowers and treadmills are good for people who like to zone out a bit. If you do one of these, you should mix it up with something else.)

My personal pick (tie) would be bike + low impact video with dumbbells (no bike if injury free). If you want to try a machine, I think it'd be best to get a few day passes at your local (diverse, usually low-stress for a gym) community rec centre, and try out different machines. Maybe over a month, so you can see how you feel on different ones over at least a bit of time.
posted by cotton dress sock at 12:32 AM on December 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

Way back in the 50s the 5BX exercise program was developed especially for people (in the Canadian airforce) who were assumed to be at home with minimal space. limited time and no additional equipment at all. It was massively popular in that era. I wrote an FPP about this several years ago.

The toe-touches and sit ups used as part of the program are now considered to be deprecated. So I'd look to swap them out with some other stretches and some crunch alternatives.
posted by rongorongo at 12:50 AM on December 29, 2015 [2 favorites]

I would get a nice set of adjustable dumbbells and maybe a bench or ball. I have been following Fitnessblender for a few months now. All of their videos are free. They are all hosted on youtube. They have tons and tons of body weight only exercises as well as many videos using dumbbells. I love their lower body workouts with dumbbells. I feel very sore the next day and my butt and thighs have been rocking lately.
posted by Nicole21 at 1:29 AM on December 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

And while you're mulling over which equipment to buy, do burpee pushups. Quickly done, utterly horrible, rather effective. http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/dirty-jobs/videos/burpees/
posted by monocultured at 2:27 AM on December 29, 2015 [2 favorites]

Truth be told, most home exercise machines blow. At one point we had a secondhand treadmill from Craigslist, figuring we'd use it when the weather was bad outside. It gathered dust. I continued to run at the treadmills at the gym twice a week, but I hated the home treadmill.

Start with a workout that involves only bodyweight exercises and maybe dumbbells (and ease into it slowly so you don't injure yourself) - it's a much more efficient use of time, money, and space than getting a bike or treadmill.
posted by Metroid Baby at 3:33 AM on December 29, 2015 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Spin bike (this is a stationary bike but is adjustable and feels like riding an outdoor bike.)

I think the point of having a piece of equipment is that the kids will be less likely to crawl on/get in the way/interrupt the exercise while in progress?

Anyway, spin bike.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 5:23 AM on December 29, 2015 [2 favorites]

Seconding a spin bike. You can adjust it to get the workout you need, and then watch the kids or watch tv while getting in a good workout. A lot safer with little kids around than swinging a kettlebell.
posted by galvanized unicorn at 6:46 AM on December 29, 2015

Pullup bar!
Seriously only thing you need. Between that and pushups you have a good upper body workout.
posted by pravit at 7:45 AM on December 29, 2015

Certainly try the bodyweight workouts first; if those work well for you, they're free and pack down to nothing. But mostly, try to take a good look at what you'll actually stay motivated to keep doing. It may be helpful to spend some time just trying everything at a gym or rec center to see what you like. For me, it was rock climbing, so I built a climbing wall (actually more of a cave) in my basement.
posted by craven_morhead at 8:15 AM on December 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

Resistance bands.

Having said that my husband has used the 5bx program mentioned above (and watching his food portion sizes) to loose 40lbs and gain some rather nice muscles. He found an old copy of the book in among a box of second hand books I bought at a garage sale. He was however coming from a very sedentary lifestyle.
posted by wwax at 10:52 AM on December 29, 2015

I would get either olympic rings or TRX-type bands. You can do pushups, pullups, planks, yoga, a whole bunch of other stuff with them.
posted by Brittanie at 11:08 AM on December 29, 2015

The best piece is the one you will actually have fun using. Personally I ended up buying weights, bar and squatting rack, but dammit weightlifting is fun and waiting at the gym for people to let me have my go on one wasn't. I bought it all second-hand/new on Craigslist for a steal. You mention you don't have much room, so think of exercises you could or already enjoy doing. Are you into yoga? A mat or yoga bands. Pilates, a pilates wheel? Weightlifing, an adjustable dumbell (doesn't take up much space, though pricey). Bodyweight exercises? TRX bands (I bought VOSS bands on Amazon for $25 and they are great). Cycling? A stand to use the bike you already have, indoors.

Good luck!
posted by xicana63 at 11:25 AM on December 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

I think something like an elliptical or spin bike might work best, as you don't need to focus on the exercising itself and are free to actually keep your eyes on the kids as you do so. Has the reverse benefit of, while watching your kids, you won't be focused on the drudgery of the exercise.

I personally like elliptical machines, but I would go to a store and try out the different options. You might be more comfortable with a bike or treadmill.
posted by Vaike at 11:42 AM on December 29, 2015

Best answer: 2nd'ing everything xicana63 said. I was formulating an answer saying almost exactly the same thing.

I think everyone can benefit from some good strength training using heavy weights and compound lifts (squats, dead lift, bench press, overhead press) but really, the best exercise is the one that you'll stick with.
posted by VTX at 11:50 AM on December 29, 2015

take a good look at what you'll actually stay motivated to keep doing

Nthed times one hundred. Everyone has their favourite machines, but for general fitness, the equipment you will actually use is the best. Most gyms have 30 day or one week trial memberships. I would recommend grabbing one for free and heading to the gym for several days and just seeing what you like. You can get an effective work-out that raises your heart rate with everything. The key is exercise is some is better than none; more is better than less.

Some people respond best with weights, others like the treadmill, others the elliptical or the rowers, or the bike. Note, the latter three are probably cheaper, and ellipticals and bikes tend to be a little harder to injure yourself on. But if you'd never use them, maybe a treadmill will be better for you.

Do remember, though: exercise is best for fitness; diet is best for weight. Have fun!
posted by smoke at 2:18 PM on December 29, 2015 [1 favorite]