I became a successful personal trainer without an expensive gym or luxurious gym equipment. I did it with minimal, affordable equipment and in the combines of my own location and I want to help other personal trainers achieve the same thing!
Personal Trainer Equipment List
There are too many personal trainers who are preoccupied with spending so much of their time and money on personal training equipment because they believe having it is essential to be a great personal trainer. A great personal trainer begins with knowledge and knowing how to apply that knowledge in a way that is easy for other people to understand! Here is a list of all the essentials, in my opinion.
1. Kettlebell
A kettlebell is a piece of essential equipment and a must-have for any personal trainer. When I became fully independent a 20lb kettlebell was one of the only pieces of equipment that I had for my clients. It allowed me to get creative and think outside of the box with my workout programs. Believe it or not I actually have a few clients who prefer doing only kettlebell type workouts because they are simple yet challenging and easy to learn and do on your own at home. The best part is how affordable they are for you and your clients! I purchased my kettlebell set on Amazon Warehouse. For the absolute best deals you will be able to find a kettlebell set for under $1 a lb. which is a great deal!
The kettlebell is so versatile. I am able to create 1hr workouts that involve only a kettlebell! Above is an example of one of MANY workouts I have programmed for my clients. You can program workouts for strength training,(upper body, lower body, core work) mobility work to increase flexibility, and even full body blast cardio! The options are endless and the results from the workouts you can do are phenomenal. As a successful/independent personal trainer I would say that this is the most important piece of equipment you should have.
2. Dumbbell
Just like the kettlebell the dumbbell is versatile. I’m sure if you googled it right now there would be 50+ workouts you can do with just dumbbells. Here I did it for you and this article called “The 49 Best Dumbbell Exercises aka Weight Exercises You Can Do At-Home” from Women’s Health is only one of many fantastic articles you can find on the crazy amount of workouts you can do with dumbbells. Dumbbells are used in every category of fitness, weight lifting, cardio, strength training, mobility, etc.
The great thing about dumbbells is that they are small enough to store anywhere and to travel with(if you travel to some clients). They even have an adjustable dumbbell that you can adjust from 5lb weight all the way up to 50-60lbs. If you are trying to save money your best bet would be to buy individual sets of dumbbells ranging from 5-50lbs from Facebook marketplace, Offer up, or eBay. It doesn’t matter where you are or where you live someone is always trying to get rid of some dumbbells they bought and never used and the great thing is they usually sell them for a great price. If you like to be clean, neat, and have the least amount of equipment possible get the adjustable. You might be able to find those on the local market place pages but in my opinion if you go that route you are better off buying a new one off Amazon.
3. Iron gym pull-up bar
I believe that pull-ups should be in the top 3 movement goals you should have for all of your clients or this should be a goal for anyone on their fitness journey. Pull-ups are beneficial not only for those sexy back muscles but every day life strength! Every time I bring up the importance of pull-ups everyone goes straight to that scenario of falling off a cliff and needing to pull yourself up… But that’s not what I am talking about!
Pull-up benefits
- Grip strength- Yes I’m talking about helping you one trip all of those groceries from your car to the house type of strength
- Works multiple muscles- Back, arms, chest, and core! Strengthen more than one muscle at a time
- Every day things- Pulling yourself out of bed, the pool, the couch, etc., lifting your baby, your grandma, etc.
- And of course in the event that you do fall and catch yourself you will have the strength to pull yourself back up
Every client I have had has also mentioned that being able to a pull-up has been a staple in their life and makes them feel strong, confident, and powerful!
Over 9,000 Amazon customers have chosen the Iron Gym pull up bar because you can put it anywhere as long as there is a stable ridge/doorway. I always recommend buying from amazon or amazon warehouse(as stated before in this post) because they will have the best prices but I am 90% sure you will be able to find this product on the Facebook marketplace. The prices on amazon are amazing as is but you’ll most likely be able to find one at an even cheaper price here.
Despite the fact that some of the parts are made out of plastic, these bars will support up to 300 pounds. Pull-ups, push-ups, chin-ups, dips, crunches, as well as other exercises, can be done via the door frame or on the floor. Also, it doesn’t demand any tools to install if the door size is correct.
4. Ankle & Wrist weights
According to the American College of Cardiology, running with one to three pounds of wrist or ankle weights can raise your pulse rate by 5 to 10 beats per minute. A greater heart rate is detrimental to your cardio days. I specialize in boxing/kickboxing basics and I absolutely love incorporating wrist weights in the warm up of these type of workouts. Shadow boxing with wrist weights allows the body to warm up quicker and it helps activate the muscles that are going to be used during the workout.
Wrist and ankle weights are a perfect modification for injuries. Example) I have a client who has an injury that prevents them from being able to grip things which prevents them from being able to use dumbbells, kettlebells, pull up bars, etc. wrist weights allow for the same effective workouts but without having to grip anything!
The best places to shop for this product would be Facebook market place, TJ Maxx, or Ross!
6. Resistance bands
Believe it or not there is actually a very compelling debate on weather resistant bands are useful or useless. Not only do I use resistance bands with my clients, I myself use them on every single leg/glute day. My opinion is very strong toward these being so useful for numerous things. This equipment is in the top 3 of important things to have as a personal trainer.
Resistant band benefits
- Glute Activation- Seated abductor, standing lateral leg raise, kickbacks, side shuffles, etc. adding the band to these movements allow proper glute activation/warm up before your workout to ensure you are activating and working the glutes and not using other muscles(hamstring, quads, lower back, etc.) One of the hardest muscles to activate is the gluteus medius (that huge muscle on the side of your hip/leg)
- It’s in the name. Resistance- It is the perfect tool to use to add resistance to your workouts without using weights
- Warm ups- Example) Lat pull downs help activate and warm up the back for a stronger deadlift. Single arm shoulder abduction warm up to help with your bench press.
- Stretching- Chest stretch, kneeling quad stretch, hamstring stretch. When not flexible enough to reach the resistance band allows that reach and the ability to pull into a deeper stretch.
This along with a kettlebell would be the top, TOP equipment you should have as an independent personal trainer. This item I wouldn’t risk getting used, I would get this brand new on Amazon. If you click the link it will send you to the exact ones that I use for my clients and myself.
