You don’t need a lot of exercise equipment to get a good workout, that goes for everyone, whether you’re new to training or you’re more advanced. With minimal kit you can still hit all of the muscle groups and make progress. All it takes is a little bit of imagination.

Welcome to the world of home fitness made easy. In this blog, we'll explore the wonders of compact exercise equipment that can transform your home gym into a space-saving powerhouse.

Soft Touch Kettlebells

Soft Touch Kettlebells are one of the most versatile pieces of equipment that you can find. Not only are they great for building overall strength, but they are also important if you want to improve your functional fitness. This means moving in a way that will be beneficial to your everyday life. Because the weight isn’t in the centre of your grip, it requires more muscular stability when performing an exercise.

The comfortable, soft touch outer coating protects the kettlebells from scratches and general wear and tear, and the inside is made from cast iron, making it durable and long lasting. Kettlebells range from 6kg-32kg, so you can easily progress in weight with minimal equipment.

Beginner Kettlebell Exercises

• Kettlebell swing

• Goblet squat

• Kettlebell deadlift

• Shoulder press

Intermediate/Advanced Kettlebell Exercises

• Upside down kettlebell shoulder press

• Suitcase deadlift

• Kettlebell front squat

• Kettlebell windmill

Mini Exercise Step

The five level Mini Exercise Step can be adjusted to vary the intensity of your workout. This piece of equipment is small, compact, and excellent for high intensity cardiovascular work which gets your heart rate up and burns calories. Plus, it’s fitted with an anti-slip rigid top so that you feel safe stepping on and off the box at speed.

Exercise steps are commonly associated with aerobics style workouts. Whilst they are great for this, it can also be utilised for more traditional strength training. You can use the step for incline and decline push ups, or also as a ledge for rear foot elevated split squats. There’s a lot you can do with this basic piece of kit.

Beginner Step Exercises

• Step ups

• Side steps

• Incline push ups

Intermediate Step Exercises

• Step burpees

• Decline push ups

• Dumbbell rear foot elevated split squats

• Dumbbell step ups

Hex Dumbbells

Hex Dumbbells have a knurled steel grip for a secure hold and the rubber coating that protects your floor from damage. This is especially important if you’re training at home without proper gym flooring which can easily be scratched or dented. The hex design also means that the dumbbells don’t roll on the floor, making them less of a trip hazard.

Dumbbells can be used for a full body workout. It’s an all-purpose piece of equipment and they are also handy if you want to work on unilateral strength. Many of us will have one side that is stronger than the other (usually our dominant side), using dumbbells allows you to work on each side individually to reduce muscle imbalance and potential injury.

Beginner Dumbbell Exercises

• Dumbbell reverse lunges

• Goblet squats

• Standing shoulder presses

• Dumbbell rows

Intermediate Dumbbell Exercises

• Single arm snatches

• Dumbbell walking lunges

• Dumbbell renegade row push-ups

• Rear foot elevated split squats

Folding Weight Bench

This is a nifty piece of equipment if you’ve not got much space, as it can be easily folded and stored away when you aren’t using it. This weight bench has an adjustable back rest so you can perform flat and incline exercises.

The Folding Weight Bench is suitable for both bodyweight and weighted exercises such as a bench press. You can use the adjustable setting to regress and progress exercises as you go along.

Beginner Weight Bench Exercises

• Flat dumbbell bench presses

• Single arm dumbbell rows

• Seated dumbbell shoulder presses

Intermediate Weight Bench Exercises

• Incline dumbbell bench press

• Dumbbell reverse flyes

• Seated lateral raises

Wrist Roller

You might not realise it, but weak wrist and grip strength might be a contributing factor to not making progress in the gym. Several exercises such as horizontal and vertical pulls and deadlift variations require good grip strength. Therefore, if this is a weakness of yours then you might need to try using a wrist roller.

The Wrist Roller is portable and comes with a thick nylon strap and carabiner so that you can attach a kettlebell to the roller to load the exercise. Simply grip onto either side of the roller and twist with both hands until the weight lowers, then reverse the movement. Start light and load the roller with more weight as you advance.

Fabric Resistance Bands

Fabric Resistance Bands have been designed as a light and compact way of building lower body strength, especially in the glutes and hips. They make bodyweight exercises harder with limited equipment, making them perfect for a small space, or if you want to workout outdoors.

Fabric resistance bands come in a pack of three; light, medium and heavy for beginner to advanced workouts. Here are some examples of resistance band exercises that can be made more difficult by choosing heavier bands.

Fabric Resistance Band Exercises

• Crab walks

• Squats

• Glute bridges

• Lying clams

Small 10" Medicine Wall Balls

If you still want to create high intensity workouts with minimal room, you can save space with the 10 inch Mini Wall Balls. Wall ball exercises have become increasingly popular with new cardio-strength workouts such as CrossFit and Hyrox where wall balls are a main component of the workout.

While our standard wall ball comes with a 33cm diameter, this smaller 25cm diameter wall ball is more suited to a small home gym environment where space is limited, however, they can still be used in a commercial gym. Our mini wall balls are available from 3kg up to 10kg in weight, making them suitable for various exercises and different experience levels.

Beginner Wall Ball Exercises

• Wall ball throws

• Lateral wall ball throws

• Overhead marches

Intermediate Wall Ball Exercises

• Switching push ups

• Mountain climbers

Ab Roller

The Ab Roller is going to be your best friend and your worst enemy. There is no burn in your core like it when you perform an ab rollout and it's a surefire way to improve your core strength. However, it’s also an exercise that many people get wrong. The key is to make sure you’re using your abdominal muscles to maintain a neutral position in the spine. This prevents your lower back from dipping, which would place unnecessary load on your back.

Because it’s so small (and can be taken anywhere), the ab roller is the perfect piece of core equipment to use in a small space at home, or even to be used for outdoor exercise sessions.

Glute Ham Roller

The Glute Ham Roller is a portable piece of equipment that has been designed to strengthen the posterior chain, in particular the glutes, hamstrings and core muscles. However, you can also target your arms, chest and back by using the roller with your hands.

This is an important tool to have in your home gym, especially if space is limited. If you’re looking to advance from bodyweight exercises, but you don’t have space for a full rack of dumbbells or kettlebells, the glute ham roller can help you progress in your training.

Beginner Glute Ham Roller Exercises

• Hamstring rollouts

• Reverse lunges

• Ab rollouts

Intermediate Glute Ham Roller Exercises

• Pike planks

• Single arm ab rollouts

• Single leg hamstring rollouts

Wall Mounted Pull Up Bar

Pull ups are the ultimate back bodyweight exercise, and they don’t take up floor space when stored away. If you’re new to pull ups and struggle to do them, you can use a resistance band to assist during the movement. As you progress, you can use lighter resistance bands until you can do the exercise bodyweight. Once you’re comfortable with doing pull ups for reps, you can include more advanced exercises such as pause pull ups and muscle ups.

Our Wall Mounted Pull Up Bar has an open ended design to allow for linking multiple brackets and has two adjustable positions depending on how far away you want the bar to be from the wall. When fitting the pull up bar, ensure that it is being attached to a safe and sturdy wall.

Beginner Pull Up Bar Exercises

• Chin ups

• Assisted pull ups

• Pull ups

Advanced Pull Up Bar Exercises

• Muscle ups

• Weighted pull ups

• Skin the cat

In conclusion, compact exercise equipment is a game-changer for your home gym. There are many space saving, convenient solutions that allow you to break a sweat without sacrificing square footage. Whether it's a folding bench or a versatile set of resistance bands, these tools make fitness accessible, enjoyable, and efficient.

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Tags: Misc > Gym Planning