How to Create a Cheap Home Gym for Under $75

Working out at home doesn’t have to be as hard or as expensive as you think. This is especially true if your intention isn’t to be a competitive lifter. Maybe you just want to get into better shape but aren’t able to get to the gym or feel more comfortable at home. There is so much expensive home gym equipment out there so I just decided to boil it down to the basics which will allow you to create a cheap home gym and work your whole body for under $75. This will also be a gym that you can have anywhere and put away when you’re done.

What you need to do when purchasing home workout equipment is to think of how you can properly work each part of your body with only a few different tools. So you want tools that are versatile and can be used for multiple body parts. Let’s start with our list.

#1 Resistance Bands With Handles and Door Anchor ($23.99)

These are a must-have when it comes to an affordable, portable, and lightweight home gym. A set like this with handles where you can adjust the load is crucial. This will simulate many things that you can do with a traditional cable machine at the gym. And you need a set like this with bands that vary in tension since every muscle handles a different range of weight. You’re not going to put the same load on your deltoids as you would your biceps for example. These adjustable bands allow you to combine lighter and heavier bands to increase the load to the point that would be sufficient for muscular growth. If you put them all together you can get 150 lbs. of resistance! A typical range to shoot for is muscle failure at around 8-12 repetitions. My favorite movements with these bands are curls, lateral/front raises, triceps extensions, and chest flies. Plus, they weigh pretty much nothing and fit in a small bag. I highly recommend it!

#2 Over the Door Pull-Up Bar ($26.94)

My next recommendation would be a pull-up bar that installs in your doorway in seconds. You need one like this that curves over the frame, not just a straight bar that is held by tension. I’ve seen too many videos of those falling off mid-workout. You need this because the bands fall short when it comes to lats training. Unless you are very new to working out, it will be difficult to get a good back workout with bands just because your lats need a pretty high load. 

With this pull-up bar, you can use an underhand, overhand, wide, or neutral grip which affects how the load is distributed between the lats and biceps. Overall, a wide overhand grip is most commonly used for good back development. 

If you can’t do a pull-up yet or you can’t do very many, you could do the negative or eccentric portion of the movement. So you just jump up to the top position of the pull-up or stand on something to help, and while dangling your feet, slowly lower your body back to the start position. You could also tie your bands to the bar and place your foot in the handle so that it reduces your weight and makes the pull-up easier.

Another application is for push-ups or sit-ups. When placed on the ground you can use the different grips to get a deeper range of motion on your pushup and the neutral grip is easier on your wrists. You can also place the bar on the ground in your doorway and use it as an anchor for your feet to perform sit-ups.

So there are multiple applications for back, chest, and abs but it would be primarily used for back/lats development.

#3 Yoga Mat ($18.62)

A yoga mat would be another good addition to your home gym. This is especially useful for floor workouts like push-ups or ab exercises. Maybe you have carpet or hard floors but either way, a mat makes a much more comfortable workout. You can also use it to stretch outside of your workout. This yoga mat will help you to have a comfortable surface to work out on and create a space that’s temporarily dedicated to exercise.

Optional Upgrades

Now I have given you what you need for a cheap home gym. But that doesn’t mean there are not other things that would be good to have as well. Here are a few more products you could add if the budget permits.

#1 Adjustable dumbell ($110.00)

Now if you are wanting to take your gym to the next level, having some free weights is great as well. However, to avoid having to buy a whole rack of dumbbells of varying weights, you could do an adjustable dumbbell which allows you to alter the weight of a single dumbbell. The one dumbbell is the equivalent of having a 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 lbs. dumbbell. You could even get one that goes up to 55lbs.

This takes up barely any space and there are so many exercises that can be done with it. Biceps curls, triceps extensions, bench press, one-arm row, lateral raise, front raise, shoulder press, and the list goes on. So it has a similar application to the bands but hits the muscle slightly differently and is easier to implement and perform. If you have a little more money to spend, this is an awesome and versatile product.

#2 Adjustable Bench ($135.00)

This is the last product that I will mention as an optional upgrade. It is certainly always nice to have an adjustable bench as long as you have somewhere to put it. This will help support you for seated exercises or exercises performed on your back. This way, you don’t have to use the floor. You want one that is adjustable so that you can match the angle to the muscle you are wanting to work. For example, the position shown in the picture is for an incline bench press or fly. This difference between this angle and a flat position is that it will place more load on the deltoids and upper portion of the chest. The bench is also helpful support for a dumbell row and you could use it to perform sit-ups and other ab exercises. So again, if it’s in the budget, a bench is definitely something you would want to have.

Conclusion

I hope you realize by now that it doesn’t take a lot to create a cheap home gym. For $75, you can have the equipment to work every muscle in your body, not to mention the plethora of body weight and calisthenics exercises that you can do with just a yoga mat. So for those that can’t make it to a gym, try starting out with this equipment and get working. There are no excuses when it comes to your personal fitness. And physical fitness is so crucial when it comes to creating total wellness in your life! For those just starting their fitness journey, check out this article as well as my review on my most recommended workout supplements!

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