When you are looking into purchasing equipment for your home gym, you may find yourself on a budget. Fitness equipment can be expensive, and it can be hard to prioritize what you want to invest in without compromise.

At the end of the day, if you are looking to cut money on cost, you will need to make compromises to your home gym setup. However, this doesn’t mean you should settle for cheap equipment that is not reputable, unsafe, or has a considerable amount of wear and tear.

At Akfit, we focus on quality. We aren’t in the business of selling worn down, unstable equipment that may not give you the investment on your return. However, we do provide a variety of alternative options to help you create an affordable setup for your personal workout environment.

Since 1989, Akfit has been specializing in fitness and helping our clients reach their fitness goals. This also includes tips on how to design your home gym, and being able to meet with our fitness representatives one-on-one to help you narrow down the choices you need to make to fit within your budget.

The purpose of this post is to help provide you the tools you need to narrow down your options on alternative equipment for your home gym that may fit within your budget.

In this article…….

1. Affordable Cardio Equipment
2. Affordable Strength Equipment
3. Affordable TRX Training Equipment
4. Flooring Options for your Home Gym
5. Yoga and Pilates Equipment
6. Purchasing Equipment for your Home Gym

Affordable Cardio Equipment

Horizon 7.0 AT Folding Treadmill

Compared to the majority of treadmills on the market, the Horizon 7.0 AT Folding Treadmill is sold at a modest price of $1598. While this isn’t exactly pocket change, the treadmill is the most common piece of cardio equipment found in home gyms. If you are looking for a treadmill that is good for beginners and intermediate runners that can withstand vigorous workouts and won’t break the bank, then this is a great option for you.

Built with a steel frame, the Horizon 7.0 AT Folding Treadmill runs with an ultra-quiet 3.0 HP motor that is capable of supporting a variety of workouts including walking, jogging, running, and even sprinting.

While this treadmill doesn’t feature a video console, it does feature a 7 inch LCD screen that will help you track your progress during your workout. This Horizon model does include speakers that are Bluetooth compatible with your personal devices and features a shelf to place your device so you are able to simulate the experience of working out on a treadmill that would have an HD console included.

Finally what makes this treadmill great for your home gym is that it is a folding treadmill. When it comes to purchasing equipment or planning your home gym it is always important to take space into consideration. With the ability to fold up vertically, the Horizon 7.0 AT is very portable and can be moved away when not in use.

Frequency S20 Friction Spin Bike

If you are a cardio enthusiast but also don’t want to invest in the high price of a treadmill, one option to look to for a great cardio workout is a spin bike. These types of fitness equipment on average are generally easier on your wallet compared to the treadmill market.

One spin bike you may want to consider is theFrequency S20 Friction Spin Bike. This particular spin bike is actually one of ourtop 5 selling spin bikes so you know that you are investing in a quality piece of equipment when it’s one of the most popular among our clients.

This Frequency Fitness model features a chain drive system and has a mechanically balanced flywheel with a weight of 42 lbs which is slightly heavier than average. As for the S20’s resistance system, the levels are adjusted by a knob on the bike. There is also an emergency stop press knob featured on the S20 as well.

What makes spin bikes great again for home gyms are the portability. Spin bikes take up less space in your home gym than a treadmill, elliptical, or even a rower. They’re also on average much lighter equipment to move around as well. If the S20 isn’t the bike for you, but you also may not want to invest in the heftier price of treadmills, you can check out our selection of spin bikes here.

Affordable Strength Equipment

At Akfit, we house a very large inventory of strength training equipment. From strength machines, to racks and cages, and even bars, plates, dumbbells, and more, it can be hard to decide what may work for you within your budget.

Powerblock Adjustable Dumbbells

If you are looking into weight training, buying a strength machine can be a huge investment. But that’s not the only category of strength training that can cost you money. A full set of dumbbells can become quite expensive as well, and that is not including your racks or shelving units you store your dumbbells on.

A 5-50lbs hex dumbbell set at Akfit sells at $1198. If you want to make life easier on your wallet a good compromise to your dumbbell style workouts could be to invest in powerblocks. Our 5-50lbs pair of powerblocks sell at $788.

Powerblock adjustable dumbbells that are great for Olympic lifters and will save you money. The adjustability of these weights also make them easier to store in your home gym and more portable to bring them with you on the road.

The downside to investing in these adjustable dumbbells compared to hex dumbbells however is that it is more difficult to adjust the weight on an adjustable dumbbell than to just swap out your hex dumbbell for another one of a different weight. Another downside compared to hex dumbbells is the potential interference from the handle since your hands are essentially in a cage when lifting Powerblock adjustable dumbbells. This can make some movements more difficult to achieve than others.

Akfit sells three different sets of Powerblock dumbbells, and they all come in at a different price. If you are looking to save money and make some compromise to your weight lifting routines, then adjustable weights may be a great option for you.

Weight Lifting Benches

At Akfit, we sell a large inventory of benches. A bench is a fantastic alternative for your strength training routines with your free weights compared to investing in a strength training machine.

One bench that we sell at Akfit is the Fit505 Heavy Duty Flat Bench. This bench is currently priced at $189 and is an affordable and entry level bench for your weight training routines and stands at a height of 17" so you can comfortably engage in heavy weight lifting as well.

With a flat bench you can easily work your chest by mimicking bench presses with a barbell. You can also use your bench for different push up routines to work out your chest. By placing your hands on the floor and your feet on the bench you can work out your upper chest. While the reverse position targets your lower chest.

With the Fit505 Heavy Duty Flat Bench you can also easily workout your triceps with close grip bench pressing workouts, and similar to using your bench for push ups, you can also perform dips on your flat bench to workout your triceps.

You can even use your bench as a platform to train your legs. You can comfortably hold your free weights in your hands and do steps onto your bench.

There is no shortage of affordable and effective routines to perform on your flat bench to help you work towards your fitness goals. Some benches are even adjustable and those usually cost more but provide more versatility to your workouts. But weight benches in general are very light, easy to store and move, and are common pieces of home gym equipment.

TRX Suspension Training Equipment

Total body resistance exercising (TRX) is an activity that uses body weight and gravity as resistance to help provide you with a variety of full body workout options. Since you’re only using one training tool with suspension training, it’s very easy to switch to different workouts on the fly and is very ideal for a home gym.

Akfit’sTRX Pro Suspension Trainersells for $269. This product features textured rubber handles with antimicrobial treatment to prevent bacteria build up and odor.

The Pro Suspension Trainer also features padded and fully adjustable foot cradles to help compromise for a variety of foot sizes.

TRX training requires you brace and stabilize your abs, lower-back, and obliques so you can leverage your own body weight as resistance, this ultimately helps you increase your overall core fitness and can be set up in a variety of settings which makes the TRX Pro Suspension Trainer a great cost-efficient option for a home gym.

Flooring

An important but sometimes overlooked element you’ll need for your home gym is appropriate flooring. Proper gym flooring is not only protective of the floor within your home, but also helps protect your equipment and provides you with a higher level of safety when working out. You’ll want a floor or mat that can absorb the movements of your workout.

Depending on your fitness routine, it’s important to consider the thickness of your gym floor. Essentially the thicker it is, the more expensive it becomes. But also, the thicker the floor, the more durable it is for heavy duty workouts.

At Akfit we sell interlocking rubber tiles for as low as $12.99 per tile, but we also sell rubber mats, and mats your treadmill if you happen to own one. We encourage you to check out our selection of flooring options for your gym and consider what you will be investing in based on the equipment and routines you perform in your home gym.

Yoga and Pilates Equipment

Yoga and pilates classes are very popular forms of working out. You can even participate in the classes from your home gym, and with the uncertainty of the Covid-19 pandemic, it might be worth bringing your yoga and pilates routines to within your own walls.

Yoga provides physical and mental benefits to people of all ages. It’s also a low-impact routine that may be your desired workout if you are recovering from an illness or injury. With a variety of different poses to practice, yoga can improve your strength, balance, and flexibility. Yoga is also known to improve your heart health, help with back pain relief, and can even help ease symptoms of arthritis.  

Pilates are another low-impact exercise that is performed to strengthen your muscles while improving flexibility and postural alignment. These types of workouts tend to target your core, and like yoga, doesn’t take a lot of equipment to engage in.

At Akfit, we sell a wide range of yoga and pilates equipment, which include mats as low as $12, yoga straps as low as $6, yoga blocks as low as $6, and weighted pilate balls as low as $13. All of these are affordable, and easy to store options that make them an ideal portion to setting up a home gym.

Purchasing Equipment for your Home Gym

Since we are a specialty store, Akfit can help you design your home gym. Our fitness experts pride themselves on helping their clients achieve their fitness goals within a budget they are comfortable with.

We recommend when you are looking to invest in equipment for your home gym on a budget to reach out to us. You can always visit us in store and speak with one of our representatives or book a virtual meeting.  We will help walk you through your decision making process to investing in the proper equipment for your home gym.