With summer right around the corner and spring already in full swing, you might be wanting to get out in the garden to work on your fitness with various pieces of equipment.
In 2024, the idea of working out can be overwhelming for some, largely thanks to complicated routines and equipment with a hefty price tag. Though a gym membership is always an option, not everyone can afford to shell out between $40 and $70 a month. In a bid to keep your purse full and your abs tight, we spoke to our personal trainer and qualified physical therapist, Dr Jasmine Marcus.
Resistance bands
For the first piece of budget-friendly and easily movable summer fitness equipment, Jasmine recommended investing in some resistance bands.
“One of the best pieces of equipment that don’t take up a lot of space is resistance bands. These can be used to strengthen almost any body part you can imagine, come in different levels, and take up very little space,” she said. “They can be moved around your house and offer a chance to strengthen your muscles without needing to have a variety of dumbbells or other weights.”
Resistance bands are the jack of all trades when it comes to fitness as they are able to perform a number of functions.
Suspension training
Jasmine also suggested purchasing a suspension training kit, which was initially designed as part of the Navy SEALs training program. Using nothing but your own body weight, you can complete 100s of workouts for just about every muscle in your body.
Though the equipment can be fairly pricey, with TRX’s pro system coming in at $289.95, there are more budget-friendly options online around the $30 mark.
Home workout enthusiasts also report glowing results from suspension training, as Amy Packham wrote about in her Huffpo review in 2016.
“My body fat decreased from 15.2% to 14% (it might seem small, but seeing as my body fat was at a healthy stage before, any more loss wouldn’t have been healthy), I increased my muscle mass and – although it wasn’t what I set out to do – I lost 2.5cm around my waist and stomach,” she revealed.
Ankle weights
Though they might seem relatively simple, Jasmine said that ankle weights are the perfect garden fitness equipment for the summer. They are also the simplest inclusion on this list as all you need to do is strap them to your ankles or wrists.
Ankle weights can either be used alongside other workout methods, perhaps TRX, or by just wearing them as you go about your day. Healthline recommends 20-minute sessions for three times a week.
On a Reddit thread dedicated to fitness, users raved about ankle weights while offering others alternative workouts and ways to use them.
“Ankle weights are amazing for your knees. If you have arthritis hang your legs so you can swing them and put the ankle weights on. This allows the knees to be decompressed so brings blood flow and healing to the joint,” one person wrote.
Another said: “Love ankle weights and I started with them when I first embarked on my fitness journey. I use them mostly for core work though, they are not as effective for glutes, need heavier weights for that.”
