Top 6 equipment to set up your home gym

At present, there are more than 500 gyms in Dhaka and probably a lot more throughout the country. However, setting up a gym at home could be a fantastic idea to embrace fitness. 

Firstly, users enjoy the convenience of not giving up on the comfort of their home. Secondly, being a beginner and working out with the tiniest weights while the 'gym freaks' do the same exercise with triple digit weight can be intimidating for many. 

Finally, there's always the inconvenience of needing to wait for others to finish using the equipment, which can interrupt the pace for both beginners and intermediate trainees.  

Hence, opting for a customised home gym could be a good investment for anyone, especially beginners looking to achieve their fitness goals. Here are six equipment to purchase to set-up your very own gym at home: 

JOEREX dumbbell and barbell set

A pair of dumbbells and a barbell are probably the easiest equipment to set-up a home gym. These can be used to train almost all types of muscle groups from the biceps, triceps, forearms, back, shoulder, chest to even the legs. 

JOEREX Dumbbell sets are probably the most widely used dumbbells and barbells due to their adjustability. 

While commercial gyms have a full set of dumbbells with a range of weights, it usually isn't feasible to allocate so much space at home for dumbbells and neither is it cost effective.

The JOEREX eight-piece dumbbell set includes eight 1.25kg plates, a couple of 10-inch dumbbell rods and a 3-feet barbell rod. 

Although 10kg weights might not be a lot for beginners, it's still a great start for them. Besides, given the adjustability, users will be able to purchase more weighing plates in the future as well.

Price: Tk2,550

Shop: Daraz

Exercise mat

An exercise mat is the most fundamental, yet the most overlooked equipment when setting up a home gym. An exercise mat can provide cushioning from the hard floor that can significantly reduce strain on the muscles. 

The yoga mat from Sports House could be a great addition to your home gym. Various forms of exercise can be carried out on top of an exercise mat such as yoga, stretching and core workout including abs. 

Given it's a one time purchase, we suggest opting for the one from Sports House as it claims to be made completely of eco-friendly rubber and is available in a range of fancy colours, which will help to make your gym look more vibrant as well. 

Besides, it's thick enough at 8mm to ensure proper cushioning and friction with the floor, for stability, without being too heavy to move around.

Price: Tk750

Shop: Sports House, Daraz 

Wall-mounted pull-up bar and chin-up bar

The wall-mounted pull-up and chin-up bar sold by Citizen Sports in Daraz has a weighing capacity of 200kg.

A pull-up bar can be a great addition to a home gym, although not a must, unlike the other ones. Pull-ups help to strengthen the shoulders, shape the back as well as target the forearms and chest.

I have personally been using it for the last two years and I'd say it's pretty well built for the Tk1,600 price it's offered at. The pull-up rod is slightly bent near the edges, allowing for improved grip and ease of use for users of any height.

It's also one of the few options to offer both pull-ups and chin-ups at the same time. One should make sure that the bar is mounted properly to the wall to avoid injuries.

Price: Tk1,600

Shop: Citizen Sports, Daraz

Oma Yoga Ball

The yoga ball or gym ball can be a very simple and easy to use tool to work on various muscle groups, mostly related to the back and core. 

Exercise using the gym ball can help to target and strengthen the lower back and spine, enhance core strength by increasing stability, improve flexibility through muscle stretch, increase balance, fix the posture while also tackling back pain. 

The yoga ball sold by Oma in Daraz Mall has a diameter of 75cm and is made of burst-resistant PVC material, designed specifically for home gyms. It can be deflated and inflated with the dedicated manual pump that comes in the box, thus increasing its portability.

There are too many muscle groups that can be worked on using gym balls, which makes it a good addition to a home gym with space and budget to be taken into consideration.

Price: Tk870

Shop: Fitness Mart, Tejgaon
 

Adjustable bench 

A bench is used for exercises like bench press, incline and decline press, step-ups, seated shoulder press, back and many more.

The adjustable bench from JJ Fitness & Sports takes it one step further to even include a stand for dumbbell and barbell curls, including cables. It's foldable and can be disassembled into the compact box it comes with, making it great for portability.

It's well-built, light, is of good quality for the price and is another one of those items which frequently gets missed out on! However, it provides support to the back, allowing to lift heavier weights while also helping to increase the range of motion compared to doing it in a yoga mat, making it a must-have for a home gym.

Price: Tk8,650

Shop: JJ Fitness & Sports, Daraz

Abdominal exercise roller

The abdominal exercise roller, as the name suggests, is designed to specifically target the muscle in and around the abdomen, thus helping with various belly trimming exercises and to also to improve the core strength. 

The abdominal exercise roller from Body&Fitness in Daraz Mall, unlike other options, is made of high quality material and looks more premium. 

The stainless steel shaft is wrapped around its dedicated grip, making it easy and safe for users. It's also light and compact enough to be used to carry it to the gym as well. 

Apart from abs, it can also be used to train the shoulders, arms, while reducing overall body fat as well. 

Price: Tk700

Shop: Body&Fitness, Daraz Mall