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Home Gym: Pilates, Strength & Mobility Essentials

Are you like me and now find working out at home much more efficient and enjoyable than going to the gym?! No more scheduling around class times, spending time driving to and from the gym, packing and unpacking the gym bag, jockeying for a parking spot, or rushing in to find your spot in the class or get a turn on a piece of equipment.

Once I found the right structured program (and you need a program, doing a bit of this and a bit of that does not work) all I needed were a few pieces of equipment.

I'll talk more about the program I love later but there are many available.

Back to the equipment. These are the must haves:

#1 A Quality Yoga Mat: Manduka PRO Yoga Mat – 6mm. This is your workout foundation and worth the investment.

#2 Adjustable Ankle Weights . A set (or two) 2lb. ankle/wrist weights. These come in 1, 2, and 3lb. but I find the 2lb. the most used. I like these with the triangle shaped weights over the rounded ones. They fit flatter around your ankle/wrist.

#3 Pilates Ball: ProBody 9-Inch Pilates Exercise Ball. Use it between the knees or thighs, behind the back or as support during core, barre and Pilates exercises. It’s also useful for balance and stability work.

#4 A Set of Resistance Bands: Renoj Resistance Bands. These are not the flimsy rubber ones that need constant adjustment. Made of fabric and stay put.

#5 A Set of Dumbbells: Tone Fitness Neoprene Dumbbell Set with Storage Rack – 5, 10 & 15 lb. You NEED to lift heavy weight. It's non-negotiable as we age. Start with this set and add on. These are neoprene which is comfortable to hold and have square heads so they won't roll and can be used to elevate your heels for squats.

#6 Add Heavier Dumbbells: because you are stronger than you think.

20lbs.Tone Fitness 20 lb. Neoprene Dumbbells
25lb. Amazon Basics Rubber Hex Dumbbell I like these because they have a smooth grip (for me the textured grips hurt) and square heads.

30lbs. Amazon Basics Rubber Hex Dumbbell I like these because they have a smooth grip (for me the textured grips hurt)and square heads.

If you find you need help gripping the weights, a pair of gym gloves work great VINSGUIR Workout Gloves.

#7 Medium Density Foam Roller: OPTP PRO-ROLLER Standard Density Foam Roller. A full-length foam roller is great for mobility work, stretching, muscle release and even certain balance or posture exercises. The longer 36-inch size because it gives you enough room for full-back and alignment work.

#8 Core Sliders: Tiny but Mighty Exercise Core Sliders

These little discs can make very basic movements surprisingly challenging.

Use them for lunges, mountain climbers, plank variations and core exercises. They add instability and force you to control the movement rather than simply rush through it.

#9 An Extra Large Yoga Mat: GXMMAT Large Yoga Mat. If you have the space, adding this extra large 6'x6' yoga mat gives you a bit more space to move around and helps to visually designate your workout space.