It’s kind of ridiculous that the day we decided to quit the gym in order to save money, I decided to start a fitness routine that relies heavily on gym equipment. There were a few reasons why we decided to close our membership, besides saving money.

slowed my use when I started Body Rock workouts in July
stopped going for weeks when my foot injury flared up
Chris was working a lot of long hours and didn’t have time
only having one car, which is occupied for 10-12hrs each day

So right now, I’m making things work at home. We don’t have much space and don’t have much equipment, but I’m not letting that stop me.

The equipment you see below was purchased over the past 3+ years. Nothing cost more than $30 [minus the bike trainer], and we’re slowly starting to make a decent at-home gym.

Weights – Chris bought these a few years back. Nothing special about them. Right now we have 10’s, 15’s, 20’s and 25’s. I would love to add a set of 8’s, 12’s, 27.5’s and 30’s to the lineup at some point soon. I am really careful with them on our wood floor, which also makes it a bit frustrating. I can’t just drop the weights on the floor if a set becomes too hard to complete. Because of this, I feel that I’m not always lifting quite as heavy as I could. I have my eye on an interlocking rubber floor [$20 at Target] but am holding off for now.

Bike Trainer – This was also a Chris purchase that we both use all of the time, when it’s not possible to ride outdoors. We have this CycleOps trainer. Works great for us but is definitely on the noisy side.

We are thinking of training for a metric century ride this spring but aren’t 100% sure. The rides inColorado are quite intense!

Yoga Mat – I just bought this, after not having a yoga mat for the past year. My old Jade mat wore out, and I finally replaced it after getting really annoyed with a cheap Reebok workout mat. I scored this Prana Eco mat 40% off for $28. It doesn’t get the best reviews, but I thought it was the best bang for the buck. I’m not doing any intense studio yoga, so for home purposes it should be fine. It’s not the stickiest mat but it will do.

Foam Roller – A life saver. Ithurts so good.

Ab Roller – The latest addition to our home gym, that cost a whopping $8. This is the most intense ab workout ever and it works your lower back and upper body as well.

Seat – Our dining chairs fold, so they’re not stable enough to use for working out. This little bench/seat was $20, and recently purchased for Chris to play his Mandolin on. I end up using it in almost all of my workouts.

Hard Surface – I use the concrete desk surface [salvaged from our first concrete counters that had a defect with the sealer] with the stool for bench dips, which works the triceps.

Stability Ball – Such a versatile piece of equipment to have in your home gym. This does much more than just working your abs. Make sure to get the right size ball for your height.

Pull Up Bar – This was purchased 2 years ago from Target. No fastening to the wall is needed! I think you can put it on the floor and use it for different types of pushups as well.

There are multiple grips, which work all different muscles. I place the stool under the pull-up bar and push up minimally with my feet for “assisted” pull ups.

I can only do about 2 without the assist!

Dog Trainers – I walk the dogs almost everyday for an hour!

Woof.

If you’re also doing Jamie Eason’s 12 week program at home and looking for modifications, click on each exercise link, then click “ view full details,” which will usually have 1-3 modifications. Typically, one is with free weights. But if not, I just head to google and type in something like, “leg extensions free weights.”

How To Do Leg Extensions With Free Weights [video]

I can’t always find an at-home match, but about 90% of the time I do. Sometimes you just have to get a little creative!

Hope you enjoyed the peek into our home gym! It can be frustrating at times, but gets the job done!

Ashley