10 Pieces of Workout Equipment for Women

It's vital that your equipment is easy to understand and use. If you struggle to just grasp the basic concept of the item you're getting, it's likely that you won't want to do it anymore, putting you off from the idea of exercising, which is never ideal! Luckily, every item we listed here is quite easy to use, and you'll understand what to do with them in just a matter of hours or days.

Let's go over the basics of every item we included. The first ones we should talk about are dumbbells. Dumbbells are a pretty standard piece of equipment, seen in every gym around the world. But they are easily overlooked, cast away in the favor of more modern machines. Give the dumbbells a chance though! They are extremely simple to use. All you have to do is just select the proper weight, learn some basic exercises and you're good to go. You can't really make big mistakes here, but you have to monitor your form. Remember to use only the muscles that were meant to be used, do not rely on your core or back to push you through the exercises! You will see how fast your arms will become sculpted.

Resistance bands are a newer tool, and they might be a little bit harder to use, but they still aren't so problematic. Their weight depends on the resistance they give you - the higher the band, the more you will have to struggle to use them! You just have to find a good anchor or a place to wrap them around, and pull them with all of your might! Resistance bands are also quite versatile, and you can definitely use them to work on your whole body. Just start out with the right resistance level and you shouldn't have any problems.

A chin-up bar is harder to install than to use! Remember to check what the producer said, and see if the bar can fit between your door frame. Most chin-up bars can fit between many standard doors, but some are specific, and you can easily overlook that. Chin-up bars are not for beginners though. You need a lot of upper body strength to manage to pull yourself up. If you can't do a chin-up, try placing one leg on the ground. If you still can't do it, it's time to utilize those dumbbells and barbells to become stronger!

Stability balls are something like a staple of every yoga workshop and pilates routine. They are large yet lightweight balls that you simply sit on and work on your balance. Once you get that down, using the proper form, of course, you can start bouncing on the balls. You can also grasp them with your hands and feet, and do some basic calisthenics with them. You can place the ball on a yoga mat, to keep it from slipping away. Yoga mats are also great when you need to do exercises on the floor because they are comfy and slip-proof.

A fitness tracker is an excellent tool that helps you monitor your fitness. If you know how to use a smartphone, and you probably do, then you already know how to use a tracker! Keep it out of the water if it's not water-resistant though. When you're not exercising, keep it one finger above your wrist for optimal readings, and when you're exercising just keep it two fingers above the wrists.

An Olympic bar is also one of the most important pieces of exercise equipment. And they're not just for men! They will sculpt your body, unlike any other tool. They are also great to be used for Crossfit. Just make sure your form is good, and that you've chosen the amount of weight you can safely handle.

Steppers are used for cardio, but they can also strengthen your muscles along the way. They are small and portable, and easy to use. Just strap your feet on the pedals, grab hold of the handles if you lack balance, choose your program and off you go!

And last but not least, we've got exercise clothing. We've chosen leggings and shoes as the more important bits. You can work out in any old moisture-wicking shirt really, but your pants must be stretchy, and your shoes must be made for the activity you're into. They make sure you stay properly protected, like weightlifting shoes - they give you the support and stability you need when tackling heavyweights.

Every piece of fitness equipment is effective in its own way. It wouldn't exist if it wasn't, right? You just need to make sure what you want to achieve and then choose your items accordingly. You can't expect to grow incredible muscle with steppers or lift some serious weights with resistance bands. The effectiveness of one item depends on what its final purpose is.

Dumbbells and barbells are tools that are extremely effective for muscle building, but they can be good for some forms of cardio as well, like CrossFit. They allow you to work slowly up the weight chart, and gradually build your muscles. Dumbbells are better for stabilizer muscles because you need to work with them by using individual arms, not by using them in unison. Barbells allow you to lift heavier weights though, and there are more exercises you can do with them. Resistance bands can sculpt your body too, and they are excellent tools for cardio. You can jump and move rapidly while holding them, giving both your heart and your muscles a challenge. Chin-up bars just give you a spot where you can effectively and safely perform, well, chin-ups and pull-ups. They require some serious strength though, so prepare accordingly before you attempt this. A yoga mat shields you from the hard floor, while stability balls improve your balance and strengthen your core. Fitness trackers are brilliant little pieces of technology that are quite accurate. The pedometer function tends to be the most accurate one, simple;y because it has been around the most. Heart rate tracking and GPS functions are great too, but they can be a little off sometimes. The only thing you need to take with a grain of salt with is the sleep tracking function. The technology to reliably measure it still doesn't exist, and use the numbers you see as a rough estimate. And of course, exercise equipment is very effective as well. It keeps your body stronger for a longer period of time. It supports you, aligning your joints and pumping blood into your muscles. You can't lift or run without a good pair of shoes strapped to your feet!

Everything revolves around money, and so does exercise equipment. Some items cost as little as 10 dollars, while others go well over the 500 dollar limit! There's no easy way to unify the value of every item we listed here though. They are very different in a lot of ways. The materials value, the technology and look too, and so do the brands that created them, and we all know that the brand name affects the price of the item as well.

Yoga mats and stability balls tend to be the cheapest. Don't get us wrong, there are pricey balls and mats out there, but they are generally not that scary. This is simply because they are made out of materials that are not so rare and hard to work with, and because not a lot of work, in general, is needed to create them. Do not buy the cheapest options out there though! A cheap yoga mat will tear quickly and it will be slippery, while a cheap yoga ball has the tendency to burst, leaving you injured and scared. The next two items on the value scale are the chin-up bar and the dumbbells. They are very much needed, and you won't need to shell out a lot in order to enjoy them. Again, make sure that the items you are getting are actually made well. Poorly made dumbbells cannot hurt you, they will just fall apart fast and they may not have as much weight as advertised, but a cheap chin-up bar may not be able to hold your weight up, and you risk falling down. Resistance bands and steppers are still reasonably cheap, and so are the leggings. Some steppers can be quite pricey though if they have a lot of fancy features that you may not really need, especially if you are a beginner. The price of resistance bands depends on what they were made out of, and how many features they have. Leggings are just leggins, their price doesn't vary that much. And then we have shoes. Sneakers can actually be pretty expensive, going for over 300 dollars! This all depends on how much features they have, if they have any specialized materials in their upper or outsoles, and whether a big brand made them on not. And the priciest items on our list are the fitness trackers and oly bars. Both of these items do not go for lower than a hundred bucks. You can find them, but they probably won't be that good. The bars may warp and bend, and the trackers might lack features, or they may not be as accurate. We're not saying you can't find any hidden marvels though!

Durable items are good items. The longer your equipment lasts, the greater its value will be! The durability of almost every piece of fitness equipment out there depends on how it was made, what it was made out of, how often you use it, and it also depends on your own shape and size.

Dumbbells and oly bars are quite durable. They are made out of metal, after all, and they don't have the tendency to break that much. Their protective coatings may chip away though, leaving you with a rusty piece. You will still be able to use them though, but they will be weaker and leave rusty stains on your clothes. Stability balls and yoga mats fall into the same category, although a stability ball may last longer than a mat. You can't ruin a ball in that many ways. You can only use more weight on it than recommended, causing it to deflate, or you can pierce it and cut it on sharp edges. It may lose its shape though. |A yoga mat is made out of some type of foam, and that foam can tear. It can also flatten and deform in a quite surprising tempo. Running shoes, if used diligently, tend to last about six months, no matter how great they are. This is why you must use them just for their intended purpose! Replace them when the time comes, or you risk injuries and pain. Leggings do not tend to last that long. After all, you will stretch them and bend them and flex them, and run them through plenty of washing cycles, so their fibers will weaken, and eventually rip. You can sew them back together though, but the seams will probably tear fast again. And resistance bands are not so durable either. You will pull them and tug them, and the cables will eventually tear, or just lose their tightness. And fitness trackers and steppers will last as long as the technology powering them up is good. As soon as one part starts failing, you can either replace it or kiss the product goodbye!

It's always good when you can use one item for more than just one purpose. You will get much more value out of it for the same amount of money, and one-piece may be used for multiple purposes, saving you the trouble from buying additional items.

Let's start with dumbbells and barbells again. Although they are used for just muscle building, that doesn't make them less versatile. You can do a lot of exercises with them, and they can firm up your body quite easily, especially if you get a full set. Resistance bands are quite versatile as well. They can be used for both cardio and muscle building. A yoga mat is generally used to be stood or sat upon, and that's pretty much it. It can be used for yoga, pilates, calisthenics, and much more, so it's still versatile in its own way. The same is true for stability balls, although they can be a substitute for chairs. A fitness tracker can be used for many things. It can, of course, track your fitness progress, but it can also act as a music player, just a regular watch, it can send you alarms, remind you its time to move, calm you down with stress tracking, and it can actually be used to answer calls and reply to messages. Leggings can be used for the gym, but they can also be used for casual events. Running shoes can be used anywhere, but it's probably best you use them just for running to keep them lasting longer. And a stepper is just that, a stepper, so it's not really that versatile!