When designing House of Balance, I wanted the workouts to be ones that you could do from anywhere at any time. I want to help you stay balanced even if you’re out of your normal routine on vacation or traveling for work.
For the House of Balance workouts, I recommend having a set of light dumbbells and a kettlebell, but only on certain days is resistance training required. Most days are body weight exercises!
The great thing about this program is that you don’t have to have all of these to complete these workouts.
If you don’t have dumbbells available, you can use anything to add weight such as full water bottles, cans of food, or anything that adds a little resistance. If you don’t have any of those things, you can absolutely still do the exercises, or switch them out for a body weight exercise.
Most of House of Balance workouts are body weight, however, I enjoy adding resistance to some exercises to make them a bit more challenging.
- I LOVE THESE WEIGHTS!! In this set, there is a 3 lb set, a 5 lb set and an 8 lb set. I use them all! They’re great because you get three different sets of dumbbells for a really low price! Plus, it includes a little rack to keep them organized! Check them out here.
- The yoga mat that I swear by is here. It’s super durable, soft enough to support your back/body but stable enough to stay in place during your workouts.
- If you only want to buy one set of dumbbells, I recommend this 5 lb set. They have a great grip so if you’re sweaty, you won’t drop them! I LOVE having light weights to use for my shadow boxing workouts. It increases the difficulty but also really helps to tone your arms.
- I also keep these around if my arms are really tired but I need the resistance. I love this set of 2 lbs (they also offer a 1 lb if you want lighter).
- When it comes to kettlebell swings, deadlifts, single-arm row, etc… this is the kettlebell I want to use. It’s a cast iron, classic kettlebell so it’s durable and it has a textured handle so you can have a secure grip. I recommend having a kettlebell that weighs anywhere from 12-25 lbs (depending on where you are in your fitness journey…I currently use a 20 lb.)
- Medicine balls are a fantastic way to add an extra challenge to your workouts, while they aren’t required for this program, I still love having one in my home gym! If you don’t have a medicine ball, use dumbbells for Russian twists or sit up press exercises. This ball comes in SO many different weights, go with the one that will challenge you but that isn’t too heavy (we want to avoid injury!) I personally haven’t tried this one, but it’s a bit cheaper. It comes in 6 lb, 8 lb, and 10 lb sizes.
- When I don’t feel like using weights or if I don’t have them while traveling, I always have my workout bands with me. They are light and fit easily into a purse or suitcase. These are another great way to add a challenge to your workouts and build resistance. There are endless exercises to do with these. Here are two sets (here and here) that are fantastic and they both come with great little storage bags:
- When it comes to warming up and cooling down, stretching is SO important. This foam roller really helps me work out my soreness and gets those tight spots moving again. I can’t get enough of this one.
Again, please remember that not all of this equipment is required to be able to complete a HOB workout. There will be strength days where weights will be used, so I do recommend having these handy.
I hope this list helps you build your home gym and start building your House of Balance!