Your Gym Membership Is Old News — Create Your Own Gym Easily With Amazon

Updated on Aug 4, 2021 at 7:05 PM

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Gym memberships are wonderful. They give you access to kick-butt equipment like the Stairmaster, kettlebells, and stability balls. But these memberships can be costly on your bank account. Even apps like Zeamo and FlexIt, which can cut the cost by letting you pay per minute at a wide range of facilities (in FlexIt's case) and purchase discounted passes while traveling (in Zeamo's case), might not be suitable for some people. Enter home workouts.

Finding the right equipment for your home can be hard. So, we wanted to help you out and give you a good place to start — the basics, if you will. Ahead, check out eight pieces of equipment that will bring the gym to you. No, this list doesn't include a Stairmaster — those are definitely on the expensive side (see?). And no, you don't have to buy all of these if you don't want to, but the following picks are great for building strength, perfecting stability, and training like a true fitness warrior.

— Additional reporting by India Yaffe

A Universal Piece of Equipment: Booty Bands

First thing's first: booty bands are great tools for adding resistance to glute (and even arm!) exercises. These Booty Bands ($17) won't move out of place or snap easily. Check out these trainer-approved booty band butt exercises for inspiration.

Booty Bands

From

$17

All Your Weights in One: Yes4All Adjustable Dumbbells

Dumbbells are essential for moves like bicep curls, shoulder presses, and more. Add weights to squats and deadlifts to build strength. These Yes4All Adjustable Dumbbells ($57, originally $64) weigh 40 pounds total and come with four five-pound and four three-pound plates, and you can take off plates as needed to adjust the weight of each dumbbell. Check out this arm and ab dumbbell workout to start.

Yes4All Adjustable Dumbbells

From

$57

A Makeshift Kettlebell: Kettle Gryp

Convert dumbbells to kettlebells with Kettle Gryp ($35), which is something that I wish I knew existed a long time ago! This piece of equipment is efficient and is said to be able to hold dumbbells up to 55 pounds. Check out this CrossFit kettlebell workout that takes just 10 minutes.

Kettle Gryp

From

$35

A Mini Cardio Machine: Sunny Health & Fitness Mini Stepper With Resistance Bands

This Sunny Health & Fitness Mini Stepper With Resistance Bands ($51) is cardio made convenient. It's in no way a Stairmaster, but it can help tone your lower body and brings the added bonus of resistance bands to work your upper body, too. Check out Halle Berry's resistance band workout for inspiration.

Sunny Health & Fitness Mini Stepper With Resistance Bands

From

$51

A Resistance Trainer: Xstrap Resistance Training Straps

Like a TRX, these Xstrap Resistance Training Straps ($50) are just what you need for upper body, leg, and core exercises like deltoid flies, pistol squats, and pikes. They'll take bodyweight exercises up a notch. Plus, these come with rubber booty bands (because you can never have too many booty bands!).

Xstrap Resistance Training Straps

From

$50

A Versatile Ball: UrbnFit Exercise Ball

This UrbnFit Exercise Ball ($15-$31) comes in a range of sizes and will challenge your balance and stability. Need ideas? Check out this five-move ab workout using an exercise ball.

UrbnFit Exercise Ball

From

$15

A Thick Mat: ProsourceFit Folding Exercise Mat

This ProsourceFit Folding Exercise Mat ($35, originally $39) is essential for ensuring that you can work out safely and comfortably in rooms that may not have carpet suited for floor exercises. Plus, you can even do yoga on it — like these superchill flows for stress.

ProsourceFit Folding Exercise Mat

From

$35

The Whole Package: Maxpro Fitness: Cable Home Gym

If you're starting from scratch, there's really no better place to start than this Maxpro Fitness: Cable Home Gym ($749, originally $849). This is like having a giant cable machine for not only half the price, but a quarter of the space. It connects to Bluetooth to monitor your progress and track your workouts.

Maxpro Fitness: Cable Home Gym

From

$749