How to Get a Beach Body with a $100 Home Gym

Summer is rapidly approaching and so is the day when you’ll have to pull on your swimsuit. Get in shape without leaving your home with the help of free online workouts and about $100 in equipment.

Jump Rope, $6.99 Jumping rope can burn around ten calories a minute according to the health calculator at Glamour.com. That makes it a great at-home cardio booster. Pick up a jump rope for your home gym for around $6.99 at MuscleandStrength.com.

Sandbag, $35
It may have been decades since you’ve played with a sandbag but they’re making a comeback among home gym enthusiasts. That’s because they are very versatile and can be used in a variety of strength exercises. You can also easily add or remove weight to fit your changing needs. Plus if you drop it on the floor it won’t leave a dent. The Rage Fitness Sandbag Insert is $35 and shipping is free at bigfitness.com.

Stability Ball, $20
Stability balls can be great for stretching, strength training and abdominal workouts. Pick one up on Amazon that includes a workout DVD for as little as $20.

Exercise Mat, $20
You probably won’t want to lay your sweaty body down on your plush carpet and if you have hard woods you’ll need something soft to stretch and do ab workouts on. Fortunately exercise mats are an extremely affordable addition to your home gym. A basic foam mat is around $20 after shipping from Healthdesigns.com.

Resistance Bands, $18
Rather than invest in an expensive set of free weights, try out a selection of resistance bands. Popular workouts like P90X and yoga use them regularly. A set of five different bands is $18 at Technoearth.com. They range from very light resistance of 5-6 pounds to an extra heavy band with about 22 pounds of resistance. Another benefit is that if you’re traveling the resistance bands are very easy to stuff in a suitcase so you can get in a last minute workout before your trip to the beach.

By Alison Storm

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