The Overlooked Benefits Of Having a Well-Equipped Home Gym
Minimalistic training dictates that we only need a barbell and a few weight plates to train effectively. While true to some degree, having more options inside your home gym allows you to do more exercises, train your muscles in new ways, and have more fun.
Can you build a solid back with the deadlift alone? Sure, it’s possible. But that approach increases the risk of overuse injuries, overtraining, and losing the enthusiasm to train. Variety is the spice of life, but it’s also the spice of effective and fun training.
Lat pulldown attachments, a preacher curl, battle rope, and other items might seem unnecessary, but each contributes to your training experience. Together, these items widen your options for building a home gym, making it easier to switch it up, stay motivated, and train in a more balanced way.
Plus, some of the items are only there to make the training experience organized and more pleasurable. For example, do you need a dumbbell rack to build muscle? Well, no. But having one allows you to organize your weights and keep everything in the same place. The flooring tiles are similar. They don’t directly improve your workouts, but they make your home gym more stylish, protect your floor, and reduce the noise from dropping weights.
Putting together a home gym is exhilarating, but it can also be frustrating because of the sheer choice. To that end, we’ve put together a list of six must-haves for your gym if the budget isn’t a concern. Let’s dig in.
1. Flooring Tiles
You could do without flooring tiles if you’re on a tight budget. But if money isn’t that big of a concern, you should get tiles. Having them is essential for protecting your floor, preventing noise from dropping weights, and providing a surface with good traction for safe training.
The great thing about flooring mats is their durability. You buy them once, and they serve you for many years, even decades, under normal training conditions.
2. Preacher Curl Bench
A preacher curl bench comes with a seat and a pad for placing your arms over. The idea is to sit down and position the back against the back of your upper arms. As a result, you can genuinely isolate your biceps and prevent other muscles from helping you lift the weight.
3. EZ Curl Bar
An EZ curl bar might seem redundant if you have a standard barbell, but that isn’t the case. EZ bars typically weigh much less, making them more beginner-friendly and providing greater flexibility for exercise selection. For example, a beginner could comfortably do bicep curls, tricep skullcrushers, and barbell rows with an EZ bar.
Thanks to the unique gripping angle, an EZ curl bar is also beneficial because it places less stress on your wrists.
4. A Battle Rope
A battle rope station is a must-have in your home gym if budget isn’t a concern. These long ropes provide outstanding resistance and challenge, making for an excellent tool for metabolic conditioning training.
Having a battle rope at home is great because you get to have intense cardio sessions and train your upper body musculature. As a result, you improve your endurance, strength, power, and coordination.
5. Lat Pulldown Attachments
Lat pulldown attachments are by no means essential, but they carry fantastic benefits. Most notably, these attachments allow you to do many exercises in unique ways and stimulate your muscles more effectively.
Cable attachments include:
- Triceps rope
- Double D handle
- V handle
- Straight bar
For example, the triceps rope is excellent for doing extensions and emphasizing the medial tricep head. A straight bar also allows you to do tricep extensions and use more weight. But you can also use it for lat pulldowns and other similar movements.
6.Trap Bar
The trap bar is another versatile but non-essential piece of equipment. Having a trap bar in your home gym is beneficial because it allows you to do fantastic exercises like:
- Trap bar deadlifts
- Trap bar shrugs
- Trap bar carries/walks
And much more. For example, if you’re not the biggest fan of barbell deadlifts, a trap bar offers a great alternative. The deadlift variation is great because it has smaller mobility requirements, allows you to lift a lot of weight, and effectively builds up your lower body, back, and arms.
Check out RitFit products to get everything you need for your home gym:
