Apartment Amenities: How to Supplement a Small Gym

A gym is one of those amenities that’s nice to have, but apartment gyms often lack a lot of the equipment you need to complete your workout. You may need to supplement it with your own, and there are a few basic equipment that you should consider buying. You don’t want to go overboard, because you will have to move out some day and lugging around heavy equipment is a pain. Consider these lightweight choices instead:

Exercise Ball

There’s so many ways to work out with an exercise ball, and you can tone up in many places using one. It’s excellent for abdominal work, but also to strengthen your leg muscles. You can even use it for cooling down and relaxation after a tough workout. Exercise balls do take up space, but when you’re ready to move out, you can just deflate it, pack and go. Don’t buy one that is not resistant to bursting. Any exercise ball can get a hole in it, but you don’t want it to pop suddenly. A ball that’s burst resistant will leak out air at a slow rate.

Dumb Bells

Many apartment gyms have stationery weight lifting equipment, but few have dumb bells. It’s one of those amenities that landlords are weary of because of the risks of liability lawsuits. Dumb bells are easy to store in your apartment, and once you learn how to use them, they can meet most of your weigh lifting needs. You should buy pairs of various weights, and choose vinyl coated ones for safety.

Door Knob Exerciser

One home exercise equipment that is designed to help you strengthen your abs, back, arms and legs all at once is a door knob exerciser. It’s a loop that has four grips: Two for your hands and two for your legs. You put the loop around the door knob, and pull down with your legs to lift your upper body. Then, you push down with your abs, which lifts your legs. You can complete eight to 10 full range motions in between rests, to get a good work out. You can throw the loop underneath your bed or elsewhere for easy storage.

Exercise Mats

You don’t want to lay down directly on your carpets when you’re working out. Trapping your sweat in the carpet will make it dirty and it will smell. Using a towel is doable, but it’s not comfortable, and you may dread doing a workout because of it. Invest in an exercise mat, and you’ll solve the floor problem. You can buy a folding mat or a basic one that you can roll and store in a carrying case. It’s best to invest in a mat with double thickness for the best comfort. The mat can also cushion your knees and bones during your workout.

When you’re searching around for apartments and comparing amenities, don’t dismiss an apartment because the complex or building has a small gym. You can supplement it with these affordable home exercise equipments.