What equipment do you need for home fitness?

To be honest, there is no equipment that must be purchased for home fitness. Even relying on your own weight can cover most of the training needs from novice to advanced stage. When I rented a 15-square-meter north-facing second bedroom two years ago, I didn't even bother to buy a yoga mat. Instead, I spread out old washed sheets and practiced bodyweight squats, kneeling push-ups, and planks for three months. My body fat rate dropped steadily by 4 points, and my shoulders and neck, which were stiff from sitting for a long time, became much more comfortable.

If you really want to buy something to enhance your training experience, don’t just follow the trend and stock up on big items from Internet celebrities. At least seven or eight people in my circle of friends have shown off the rowing machines and elliptical machines they bought. When I asked about them six months later, 99% of them were used as storage racks for hanging winter coats, and even the plug-in area was covered in dust. There are also adjustable dumbbells that cost hundreds of dollars. If you can’t even train three times a week, you might as well just use the 5-liter bottle of mineral water at home and a backpack filled with thick books. The effect of weight-bearing training is not much different, and it saves space.

There are still two factions arguing fiercely on the Internet. One faction says that you must have professional equipment to practice well, and the other faction says that as long as you are willing to use it, you don’t need to buy anything. In fact, both sides of the argument are valid. If you have already been training for one or two years and your goal is to increase muscle mass or strength, then you really need to arrange equipment such as adjustable dumbbells and folding bench presses. I have a buddy who is obsessed with building muscle. He has been practicing at home for two years without going to the gym. Now he can bench press 80kg steadily with a set of adjustable dumbbells and folding benches that cost more than 1,000 yuan. Calculated, it is cheaper than a two-year gym membership. But if you just want to exercise every week to reduce the fat on your waist and improve the back pain caused by sitting for a long time, it is really not worth spending money. A girl in my department showed off to me last month. She spent 29 yuan to buy a medium-resistance elastic band. She can stretch her shoulders while sitting at work and do hip exercises while standing at home. After using it for three months, her waist is no longer sore, and the obvious false hip width has been restored.

You also have to consider your own living environment when choosing things. If you live on the first floor or have a private courtyard, buying a skipping rope for more than ten yuan is too good. The consumption of jumping for 10 minutes is almost equal to half an hour of jogging, which is more efficient than anything else. But if you live in a high-rise building and don’t have thick shock-absorbing mats, don’t join in the fun. A while ago, the little girl above me skipped rope at home for three days, and the man downstairs came straight to the door and argued for half an hour. The skipping rope is still collecting dust on the top of the cabinet in the entrance hall of her house. There are also many people who are confused about which price yoga mat to buy. I bought an imported non-slip mat for 199 before. It is really not much different from the thin model that I later bought for 19.9. The only difference is that when my cat scratched a hole in the expensive one, I felt distressed for a long time.

To put it bluntly, the core of home fitness has never been the equipment, but whether you can actually move. Before you really place an order, you should ask yourself whether you can guarantee to take it out at least three times a week and use it for half an hour each time. If the answer is not sure, it is better to try doing 10 squats with bare feet. It will be more effective than any fancy equipment.