Before you decide on your dorm room fitness solution, take stock of all your workout options.
You may be able to use your schools gym for free or cheap, for example.
Ready to go shopping?
Lets check out your best options.
Space Requirements:Since its just a set of straps, the kit folds up into a tiny package.
you’re able to also do pulling exercises likeinverted rows, and core exercises with your feet suspended.
Leg exercises are mostly variations on body weight squats, but that includes some killer one-leg versions.
Suspension trainers are among the most portable exercise kits out there, withtons of options for exercises to do.
The key is finding a good anchor point.
Youll be putting a lot of weight on your anchor, whatever it is, so choose wisely.
Space Requirements:The bands fold up small enough to fit into your pocket.
Any space that works for no-equipment exercises will be fine for resistance bands, too.
Exercises you might Do:Bands arereally versatile.
you’ve got the option to even use them to add resistance to a push-up.
Bands come in different thicknesses, typically color-coded within a set.
Some sets come with clips, so you might attach the band to an ankle cuff.
Thats a good argument for picking out a workout to try, before going shopping for bands.
Dumbbells
Cost:Varies widely depending on the weight and pop in.
The more sets you have, the more space youll need to find.
Exercises you might Do:Nearly all your favorite free weight exercises from the gym!
Even if you usually do an exercise with a barbell, its not hard to use dumbbells instead.
Deadlifts and bench presses, for example, work fine with dumbbells.
The hardest part of buying dumbbells on a budget is deciding which weights to buy.
For me, that would be maybe a 15-pound set, and a 30-pound set.
Dumbbells are also a great way to add weight to lunges and squats.
And More
Still have some room in your mini home gym budget?
Rolled up, a yoga mat makes a great stand-in for a foam roller.
Use it forstrength exercisesor formassaging your sore muscles.
Illustration by Angelica Alzona.
Suspension trainer photo byThe U.S. Army.
Resistance band photo byDave Crosby.
