When it comes to must-have workout equipment and fitness essentials, it seems as if there is often a hefty price tag in tow. However, this doesn’t have to be the case as there are a variety of game-changing fitness essentials that won’t cost you an arm and a leg.
Things like doorway pullup bars, yoga mats, and fitness armbands for phones are all relatively inexpensive pieces of workout gear that can make a massive difference.
That said, if you are looking for some top-notch fitness gear that will take your game to the next level without breaking the bank, then check out these six items.
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Game-Changing Fitness Essentials
1. A Foam Roller
While foam rollers aren’t a piece of exercise equipment, per se, they are a fantastic tool for muscle recovery, pain relief and improved flexibility.
The benefits foam rolling provides comes, in part, as a result of increasing blood flow to certain spots of the body and relieving tension. In a nutshell, foam rolling is a way to give yourself a massage — and who doesn’t want a massage?
2. A Heart Rate Monitor
When you are working out, particularly during cardio, monitoring your heart rate can help you to get the most out of your workout by ensuring that you are in the right target heart rate zone.
By wearing a heart rate monitor, you stand a better chance of optimizing your workout, thereby burning more calories while spending less time in the gym. Additionally, if your preferred form of cardio is swimming, you can opt to pick up a waterproof heart rate monitor instead of a standard one.
3. Sweat-Proof Wireless Headphones
In what turns out to be an earth-shattering revelation to absolutely nobody, music has a profound impact on physical performance. As Scientific American reports on the psychology of effective workout music:
“Music distracts people from pain and fatigue, elevates mood, increases endurance, reduces perceived effort, and may even promote metabolic efficiency. When listening to music, people run farther, bike longer, and swim faster than usual—often without realizing it… one could think of music as ‘a type of legal performance-enhancing drug.’”
Given music’s importance to working out, investing in a quality pair of sweat-proof wireless headphones can have a big impact on your routine. While any headphones can do in a pinch, a good pair of wireless headphones will stay out of your way, remain in place, and allow you to focus on your movements instead of that pesky wire or that one that wants to keep falling out of your ear.
Plus, it’s never a good look when you accidentally hook your wire and send your phone flying halfway across the gym.
4. Resistance Bands
Another game-changing piece of gear that won’t break the bank is resistance brands. Resistance bands are often thought of as something that is essential for beginners (which they are) but they can be added to basically any workout to up the difficulty just a bit more.
This is true for tons of weightlifting moves like deadlifts, squats, hip thrusts, and other movements.
Alternatively, you can also use resistance bands to warm up the muscle groups you plan on targeting for the day. Resistance bands are also great for improving mobility and flexibility.
Plus, they are really cheap, which is always a good thing.
5. A Training App
If you aren’t sure where to start with an exercise (particularly if you are a beginner), it can serve as an excuse to never get started at all.
Instead of giving yourself such an out, download one of the many popular training apps that will walk you through different movements, workout routines, and other foundational elements that will help you get on the road to fitness.
6. Adjustable Dumbbells
These are, without a doubt, the most expensive item on this list. However, if you are looking to get a taste of the gym at home or the office and you have a limited amount of space, adjustable dumbbells are an incredible thing to have handy.
This workout equipment allows users to adjust the weight of a single dumbbell up and down without having to add plates, thus making them super compact and versatile.
While you might need to splurge a bit to get these, they are certainly worth the cost.
Game-Changing Fitness Gear
While there are tons of expensive fitness gadgets and doodads, you don’t need to spend a ton of money on fitness technology to revolutionize your workout routine. The vast majority of the items on this list are inexpensive, don’t take up a lot of space, and can give you a considerable boost to your performance and gains.
Check out the workout gear listed above to see just how impactful each of these items can be for you.
