You can start a home gym on pretty much any budget. In fact, a simple but effective home gym can be had with as little as a $100 investment. This type of gym won’t have a barbell and power rack as it’s main features, but you some creativity in your equipment choices and workouts can lead to solid gains on a low budget. These recommendations will also set the stage for future growth for you home gym. So, let’s start building our $100 home gym.
Note: You might be able to find even better deals on Facebook Marketplace, Ebay, Kijiji and similar second hand markets. Be careful if you buy through there – be sure to check the equipment quality before you use so you don’t get hurt.
The key is to think outside the box and be creative with your training. All you need is:
- A weight vest
- Resistance bands
- A medicine ball
- Gymnastic rings
- Skipping rope
Based on my calculations, you can get the above equipment for just over $100.
If you have a few extra dollars kicking around, check out my $400 home gym suggestions here.
So, let’s get into the equipment.
| Equipment | Recommended Options |
| Weight Vest | Cap Barbell 20-150lb Adjustable Weight Vest |
| Prosource Fit 20lb Weight Vest | |
| Resistance Bands | Resistance Bands on Amazon |
| Medicine Ball | Amazon Basics 12lb Medicine Ball |
| Valeo 10lb Medicine Ball | |
| Gymnastics Rings | Prosource Fitness Gymnastics Rings |
| Rogue Echo Rings | |
| Skipping Rope | Master of Muscle Speed Rope |
| Rogue Licorice Jump Rope |
Weight Vest
Weight vests are such a versatile tool in a home gym setting. They are vests (glad I could clarify that) that have pockets in them for weights. Depending on how much you want your vest to weigh, you either add or remove the little weight packs.
The 24lb CAP barbell adjustable weight vest (that you can buy here on Amazon) comes with 2.5lb weight packets. Being able to add or subtract weight at 2.5lb increments gives pretty awesome flexibility to your workouts.
I’m a huge fan of using weight vests for large, full body movements. I regularly use a vest for high repetition (link to sets/reps) squat or lunge workouts. It’s great because for high rep work, you don’t need a ton of weight on your back. But having the vest ups the difficulty pretty considerably.
I also like weight vests for pull ups and push ups. Like squats or lunges, sometimes you need a bit extra weight to really feel your workout. A weight vest, especially like the CAP vest that has 2.5lb increments, allows for the progression of difficulty that is needed to continue improving.
Plus, you can also wear the vest for a walk or run – though I don’t do that personally. (Mostly because I don’t run).
Resistance Bands
Resistance Bands, like these from Amazon, are a game changer for budget home gyms. A set with different thicknesses of bands allows you to apply load (or resistance) to pretty much any exercise for about $20.
I always travel with resistance bands because they are easy to pack away and they are super versatile. Bands can provide the perfect amount of tension, whether you are using them for squats, bent over rows or triceps extensions.
A little bit of creativity, or searching on Youtube/TikTok, can provide you with inspiration to attach the bands to railing, chairs and other furniture so that you can mimic the machines and movements you would normally see in commercial gyms.
Medicine Ball
As I wrote about in my $400 home gym essentials list, a med ball is a fun way to mix up your workouts.
I find that a 10-12lb ball is the sweet spot for weight. Any lighter and you probably won’t be able to use it for core work or as extra weight in a squat/lunge. However, any heavier and you won’t be able to throw it effectively for power-based workouts. So, that 10-12lb range is probably key.
For instance, I would buy this 12lb Amazon Basics med ball or the Valeo 10lb med ball.
As mentioned above, you can use med balls as extra weight (in addition to a weight vest) for lower body movements. This is an instant of how having equipment that you can ‘stack’ can add to their versatility. You can also use med balls for core workouts, including things like Russian twists, sit ups or planks with ball passes.
Or, my personal favourite is to use med balls for power-based exercises. This typically includes a variety of throws, like shown in the video below.
Gymnastic Rings
If you have been following me for a while you know that I am a huge fan of gymnastic rings. I think that bodyweight exercises on rings are so overlooked in the strength and conditioning world.
All you need to do is take a look at an Olympic gymnast to see why I say that. They’re absolute jacked and so aesthetic. There is no doubt that you can get really strong by training on rings.
But on top of that, rings are also very versatile. You can do your traditional ring work (pull-ups, (attempted) iron crosses, dips and so on. Plus, you can do things like push-ups and horizontal rows. Although most people don’t do it, rings can also play a huge role in lower body movements (hamstring curls or rear foot elevated split squats) and core workouts (archer push-ups, ring roll-outs).
For that reason, rings like the ProSource Rings available on Amazon are a must-have in a budget home gym. They’re not expensive and can be used to work every body part – a pretty good combination.
Skipping Rope
And up last, is the trusty skipping rope. The go-to piece of conditioning equipment for decades. Everyone from 10-year-old kids to Olympic Champions skip rope. Skipping ropes are simply effective, whether you them for conditioning, for low level plyometrics or for coordination.
Plus, they are CHEAP. You can get a skipping rope from Rogue for less than $10 – and we all know that Rogue is expensive.
I think everyone should skip. It’s such a great workout. You can use it to build your hand-eye coordination by skipping normally, changing your cadence or by incorporating double-unders. Or you can do intervals for conditioning. And all the while you’re building stiffness (the good kind) through your lower body so that you can better absorb energy.
With skipping, there are endless possibilities to continue to progress too.
On top of the Rogue licorice jump rope, I would also suggest you check out this Master of Muscle speed rope available on Amazon.
If you’re a bit more advanced, I’d go with the Master of Muscle rope. It’s more geared to people that will be jumping for longer periods of time and doing double-unders. On the other hand, the Rogue rope is a super introductory jump rope – as is reflected by the price.
Minimal Equipment Home Workout
CrossFit gets a lot of flak in the fitness world (and sometimes it is warranted). But CrossFit’s tendency to have a ton of workouts using very simple or no equipment is something to be celebrated.
Some solid weight vest workouts can be found here on WODwell.
A great jump rope only workout is the CrossFit Workout Regionals 10.4:
- 50 Double-Unders
- 10 Burpees
- 40 Double-Unders
- 10 Burpees
- 30 Double-Unders
- 10 Burpees
- 10 Double-Unders
- 10 Burpees
Final Thoughts
Life is expensive, home gyms don’t need to be.
A $100 home gym can allow you to reach many of your fitness goals. Plus, these pieces are main components to larger, higher budget gyms. So, by starting with the basics you are really setting yourself up for future success too.
Have fun building your new gym!