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You’ve listed the wellness trends you want to try in 2017 and you know the Tone It Up challenge moves by heart. But when it comes to squeezing in a workout at home, what equipment is worth investing in so that you get the most out of your sweat sessions? With literally thousands of products online — from yoga mats to treadmills — it can be overwhelming to figure out where to put your cash. So we asked personal trainers and fitness coaches across the country to share their can’t-live-without-’em pieces of home exercise equipment, some of which are awesome for travel too. Here are their seven top picks.
<b>BOSU</b>
“This acronym stands for ‘Both Sides Up’ because both surfaces can be used for a total body workout, cardio included. Some of my fave moves with the BOSU include planks, squats, burpees and pushups on the flat side, plank variations, toe taps for cardio and side-to-side squat-jumps on the dome side.” — Trinity Perkins, personal trainer at Fitness All WaysTRX Suspension Trainer
“My favorite piece of equipment is the TRX Suspension Trainer. It’s extremely mobile and compact and can be used anywhere. There are nearly limitless amounts of movements you can do and you get to dictate the resistance level by simply changing the degree of angle. Because it’s using your own body weight, it’s far less impact on your joints and ligaments. Plus, it can be a great tool for the very beginner or the most elite of athletes.” — Christian Koshaba, owner Three60fit<b>An Olympic Barbell</b>
“By just using the barbell itself, a person can accomplish a full body workout in the comfort of their home. It can also be used as a mobility tool and a roller for the legs, so it’s multi-faceted. It’s easy to store by the wall and it will last you for a lifetime!” — Stephanie Hohn, personal trainer and health coach<b>Vertical Climber</b>
“The vertical climber, like this Conquer Vertical Climber ($125), is at a 75-degree tilt and offers no impact, which relieves the joints. As a result, it allows greater range of motion, utilizing push-and-pull movements that work the shoulders, torso, hips and legs. In fact, the vertical climber burns more calories than any other cardio machine out there; I estimate between 600-800 calories for a 30-minute session.” — Jason Walsh, celebrity trainer and founder of Rise Nation(Photo via Conquer)
<b>Resistance Bands</b>
“Despite all of the different options, I have to choose resistance bands. For under $20, you get enough equipment to perform an entire gym-caliber workout at home. Bonus: Bands are easy to pack, so I often take them with me on trips.” — Scott Levy, founder of Daily Spot<b>Gliders</b>
“I really like using gliders as part of my signature at-home 15-minute workouts. (Note: You can use towels for hardwood floor or paper plates on carpet.) Gliders are a fun way to work on balance and stability and they really help work all the little stabilizer muscles. They are excellent for challenging your core, because adding a sliding motion increases the level of difficulty. They’re small and portable, as well, meaning you can even bring them with you on vacation to keep up your fitness routine.” — Lydia Di Francesco, certified personal trainer and founder of Fit & Healthy 365<b>Kettlebells</b>
“I keep a 35-pound kettlebell at home, because it’s light enough to do most upper body work with, but also heavy enough to be challenging for high reps of swings, squats, deadlifts, etc. Kettlebells are incredibly versatile tools. You can strength train with the usual free-weight moves like curls, presses, squats and lunges, and you can cardio train and get total body explosive strength simultaneously with moves like swings and snatches. The design of kettlebells, with the handle on top and most of the weight down below, helps swings, cleans and snatches have more of a natural flow to them than you’d get with dumbbells.” — Tyler Spraul, certified strength and conditioning specialist and head trainer at Exercise.com
