By Joe Stankowski


The gym will always be a great place to get in shape, but it’s not for everyone. Some people simply don’t want to display shortcomings in front of strangers. Others use gym-phobia as an excuse not to work out at all. We’re here to help with an effective program you can do at home, which will allow you to save money (no gym dues) and time (your home is always open), and spares you the parade of nakedness that is a health-club locker room.
Most guys don’t have the cash or the space to outfit a high-end home megagym, so start small. (Our home “gym” will set you back less than $350.) Whether you’re looking to begin a fitness routine for the first time, or you’re a devout gym rat who just wants to squeeze in an occasional quick workout at home, you only need to have a few things on hand. The following is our list of essential home-training gear, and some suggestions on how to put it to use. Follow this guide and you’ll end up in better shape than most guys who spend hours at their local pumping ground.

JUMP ROPE

It’s perhaps the most deceptively simple piece of fitness equipment you can buy, not to mention one of the cheapest and most easily stored. Jumping rope takes care of virtually all your cardio needs. You can jump at a steady pace to imitate a jog, or alternate intervals of fast jumping with slower bouts for a more intense conditioning workout. You can also integrate the rope into all kinds of other training. Try running sprints in your driveway, and then lightly skipping rope in between for an active recovery. Make up your own circuits, doing a set of pushups, pullups, and then rope jumping for a total-body blast that works your muscles as well as your heart. Yet another advantage is the quick footwork you’ll develop, which will serve you any time you play a sport.
Best of all, the rope is a hard toy to get bored by. With all the jumping variations you can do—such as crossovers, one-legged jumps, and jumping with alternating legs—it’s not likely you’ll over master the rope. One downside is that jumping rope does require a certain amount of space, particularly overhead. If you don’t have a spacious room or garage (or it’s too cold to go outside), you could invest in a “ropeless” jump rope. Handles with light weights attached by a short string simulate the movement of a rope, allowing you to work out without whipping a vase off the shelf. You won’t build the same kind of coordination and cardiovascular fitness you would with a real rope, but it’s not a bad substitute, especially if you’re brand new to exercise.
Most jump ropes go for about $10; the ropeless kind (which also counts calories, jumps, and workout time) is $50 @ jumpsnap.com.

VALSLIDE

Imagine working out on a Slip N’ Slide, and you’ll get a sense of what using the Valslide feels like. This equipment is so simple, you’ll wish you came up with it (and were reaping the fortune that it’s already generated). Invented by L.A.–based celebrity trainer Valerie Waters, the lady behind such sculpted bodies as those of Jennifer Garner and Benicio Del Toro, these small plastic discs allow you to perform a wide array of weighted and body-weight exercises. Simply place one or both discs on a soft surface, such as a carpet, and then place one or more of your hands or feet on them and begin sliding. For example, you can do any variation of lunges by placing one foot on a disc and using it to slide into a lunge position and back. You can also do upper-body exercises, such as flys, by sliding both hands away from you and then back in front of your chest.
The Valslide recruits all your stabilizer muscles, including your abs, and makes the most of your body weight, if that’s all you have (though you could use dumbbells as well for moves like the lunge). One set comes with two sliding discs and an instruction book with sample workouts. $30 @ valslide.com.

LEBERT EQUALIZER

They may look a little like an old person’s walker, but there’s nothing decrepit about these pieces of equipment, created by Marc Lebert, a personal trainer and martial artist. You use these U-shaped iron bars as you would a gymnast’s parallel bars for pushups, dips, rows, and to steady yourself during one-legged squats (to name just a few exercises). If you’re new to training or don’t have the strength to perform these exercises from the conventional positions, you can grab the bars at different angles to do easier variations of each move. You can elevate the Equalizers on books, or widen your stance to make pushup and row variations easier. If you want to make an exercise harder, elevate your feet or narrow your stance.
The Equalizer can also be used for plyometric drills—explosive jumping exercises that athletes use to build power and reaction speed. For example, turn three of them on their sides and line them up a few inches apart from each other and hop over them in a straight line as fast as you can. Each week, elevate them with some books and try to jump a little higher. In addition, leaning on an Equalizer or hooking a limb around it will let you perform stretches.
Each Equalizer is 28½ inches high and 25 inches wide, and supports up to 400 pounds. While two is all you need for a great workout (they’re sold in twos), you can stack a bunch of them together for easy storage in any closet or basement. $99 @ lebertequalizer.com.

TRX SUSPENSION TRAINING SYSTEM

Designed by a Navy SEAL commander, these nylon straps with handles can be used everywhere from the home to on a submarine (should you happen to find yourself on one). Adjustable from six to 12 feet in length, you can loop them around a bar, beam, pipe, tree branch, or even a door to perform, or at least approximate, pretty much every gym lift you can think of. As with the Equalizer, the lengths you set the straps, along with the footing you use, will allow you to control the ease or toughness of every exercise.
A key benefit of TRX training is the individual handles, which force you to activate more core and stabilizer muscles to control your movement on an exercise than you would using a barbell. In that sense, it’s like working out with dumbbells, or more accurately, gymnastics rings. Most of the exercises you’ll perform with both the Lebert Equalizer and the TRX will have you moving your body weight around the apparatus, rather than the other way around. (This is the reason gymnasts are so incredibly muscular and strong—all their muscles are constantly firing and supporting their own load.)
Though a more expensive alternative to the Lebert Equalizer, the TRX offers a bit more versatility. If you were to use both in a single training session, you would get a similar effect to that of using barbells and dumbbells in a workout. The Equalizer would allow you to go “heavier” (in this case, using more of your body weight), and the TRX would do more to improve your coordination and prevent strength imbalances between the left and right sides of your body. You could also put them together to perform one exercise, such as looping the TRX handles over your feet to suspend your body in air as you do pushups on two Equalizers. $150 @ fitnessanywhere.com


Originally published on: April 1, 2008