5 Simple Fitness Must-Haves

Almost everyone in America wants or needs to be in better shape. By the time you’ve gathered your exercise clothes and driven to the gym, however, you could have finished a perfectly good at-home workout. A few basic and inexpensive supplies can make this very easy. Once you’ve used them, you may choose to never go back to the gym!

Pre- and Post- Workout Supplements

First, let’s talk about nutrition and hydration. For many people, using Gundry md discounts to get pre- or post- workout shakes, smoothies, or vitamins can be extremely helpful to achieving their fitness goals. It’s especially important to remember to keep hydrated before, during, and after a workout. Drinking plenty of water and replenishing electrolytes is crucial.

Resistance Bands

Moving on to actual exercise equipment, many people swear by resistance bands. Resistance bands are essentially stretchy bungee cables with handles attached that can be used to work isolated muscle groups or even full body exercises. The concept is simple: position yourself onto the resistance band and leave room to push or pull it away from you. Performing several repetitions or these sorts of exercises can do wonders to help sculpt your physique, especially the upper body. Just be sure to buy high-quality bands that won’t snap and expand and contract slowly.

Adjustable Hand-Weights

We need different weights for different muscle groups, but most people don’t have room in their homes to store hand weights of every possible size. Even if you have the room, stocking a weight tree with dumbbells ranging from ten to fifty pounds could easily set you back thousands of dollars. This is where adjustable hand-weights come in! By allowing you to add or remove weight with the simple turn of dials or pins, usually in five to ten pound increments, you can quickly flow from one exercise or muscle group to another. Be careful to err on the side of caution, and start your lifting routine light, and build from there. Even if it feels like light lifting at the time, your body may tell you otherwise the next morning!

Yoga Mat

If heavy lifting doesn’t appeal to you, you may be interested in lower impact exercise disciplines like Yoga or Pilates. These practices apply your body’s own strength to create resistance and emphasize the importance of stretching and deep breathing. Yoga is an ancient technique dating back thousands of years that teaches focus and flow. Pilates was developed by a prisoner of war to keep himself fit while confined. Yoga centers more on holding poses and moving between them, while Pilates relies on higher numbers of repetitions and sets. Once you have an understanding of the basic moves, you can perform a self-lead Yoga or Pilates routine using just a ten to thirty dollar-priced yoga mat. This mat will be helpful even if you choose to focus on less structured routines, but still want to have a safe and soft place to perform push-ups, sit-ups, or lunges.

Fitness Tracker

One of the reasons self-guided workout regimens have experienced a renaissance is the rise of fitness trackers. It started with simple pedometers that could measure the number of steps a person took over the course of a workout or day. Eventually, this technology graduated to heart rate monitors, which could calculate your body’s heartbeats per minute by measuring your pulse. It would then consider pre-programmed variables like the user’s height and weight, and them read out what their target heart rate should be and keep some sort of tabs as to whether the person exercising is over- or under- doing it.

Today’s smart watches combine both concepts, with robust arrays of tracking tools and fitness guidance programs. They can help you log exercise, track calories, and customize recommendations.

Humans need exercise to survive and thrive. Sometimes, going to a gym is great. Sometimes, it’s simply not possible. This equipment will give you the chance to get a great workout done in less time than it would take to get to your closest gym. Give them a try!