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Sometimes workout equipment can seem like an astronomical expense, as if to do it properly you need a whole home gym in your basement.
The daunting list of things you need and how much they cost is enough to ensure that nobody actually does any working out outside of the gym — a place that requires a monthly fee (plus an activation fee and perhaps a few others) that many people simply don’t want to pay, or they do and don’t go enough to feel like they’re making any positive changes.
There’s also a profitable — but largely false — myth that only expensive workout gear works well. It seems like if you’re going to workout at home with only a few inexpensive tools, you might as well save your energy for all the good it will do you.
However, that’s not really the case. For instance, even if you don’t want to pay to workout, you can still take up the basic and hyper-popular activity of running to exercise. It doesn’t require much more than open ground and sneakers that won’t fall apart while you wear them.
But let's be honest, working out is already a challenge — and if we make it less enjoyable than it could be, or we add obstacles we have to get over before even getting to the main event, most of us will not regularly exercise. So even for free activities like running, you might want to invest in yourself and take care of the concerns that keep you stuck on the couch. Maybe your phone wires bother you and it makes sense to upgrade to sweatproof Bluetooth earbuds, or maybe your phone bouncing loose in your pocket is an unnecessary distraction and an armband would come in handy.
When it comes to developing a habit of exercise, it helps to make the conditions as hospitable to us as possible.
If the costs of workout classes are too expensive to think about doing them regularly enough to make a real difference in health, consider spending that fee once on a workout tool you can use at home indefinitely, like a medicine ball or an ab mat.
You don’t have to spend a fortune to get a great workout in. Below are 26 workout essentials you can grab for under $50:
SEE ALSO: The best wireless headphones for running
A foam roller with free instructional videos
Use a foam roller people love to aid muscle recovery, pain relief, and improve your flexibility. While more basic shapes might appeal to you at first, it's worth knowing that this patented design is less likely to dent over time and firmer, allowing for deeper engagement with muscle groups.
TriggerPoint Grid Foam Roller with Free Online Instructional Videos, $39.99
Recovery compression sleeves
Quicken your recovery time, improve performance, and get faster pain relief by using recovery compression. Sleeves like these aim to protect against tennis and golf elbow, forearm tendinitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, arthritis, and arm hyperextension pain as well.
Mava Sports Elbow Sleeve Recovery Compression, $14.95
Resistance bands with their own exercise chart to follow
Resistance is one of the best ways to tone the body, and it also happens to be one of the most affordable options, too, since most of what you need is just your own body weight. You can use these for stretching, rehab, and many degrees and variations of workouts.
Black Mountain Products Resistance Band Set with Door Anchor, Ankle Strap, Exercise Chart, and Resistance Bands, $23.99
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