If you’ve been following along on Instagram, you’ll know that my April goal has been to move my body every day. I’m thrilled to say that here, 11 days in, it has finally become second nature again. Here are the things I would call essential as I tackle fitness goals from home (well, technically my parent’s home since our house is still being renovated after the flooding and we’re on week nine of living here. Let’s do this.)

Some days, I only have the energy and time to go for a walk with the kids but I’m also focusing on strength training, running and getting as many Peloton rides in as possible. Before I dive in, it’s important for me to know that you know you truly don’t need anything to exercise at home aside from a patch of carpet and access to youtube. Honestly, you don’t even need youtube. You could do this thing by jogging, walking, stretching, doing push-ups and core healing exercises and body weight squats and lunges and…and..and. You get it. You just don’t need to buy into the lie that you need all the gear to pursue a healthy lifestyle.
That being said, there are a few items that I’ve found so helpful as I exercise at home and if you want an entire blog post on at-home exercise, you’re in luck. I have one right here. O and I are both athletes and while I am working with a puffy diastasis recti-split-open abdomen and the endurance of a ham sandwich, I am still an athlete. It’s just how I’m wired and I like to train like one. Because of that fact, we do have quite a bit of gear. O trains far more rigorously than me so I get the benefit of his expertise and his drawers of bands and balls and foam rollers galore.
In some seasons, I have been like Charlie in the Chocolate Factory just cherry picking brightly colored tools and accessories but in others, like right now, having a streamlined arsenal is essential.

The equipment I’d call absolutely essential would be free weights, (these are great to grab a 5, 10, 15 and 20lb) wrist and ankle weights to maximize walks, jobs and exercise, jump rope for cardio and bands. Bands have been completely transformative for my lower body exercise since high school. O and I use resistance bands, hip bands and everything in between for just about everything. I also highly recommend a yoga mat even if you have no intention of doing yoga because it means your workouts aren’t limited to one area. The last thing I’d call essential is a great water bottle. I’ve said countless times how much i’ve loved my Hydroflasks over the years but it has to be said again. Ice cold water is a game changer for my exercise.
I only recently started using the Peloton and am hooked for life. This gel seat has saved my lady parts and I personally don’t find anything else to be “essential” for using the bike.

I’ll be honest, sometimes I just wear O’s college football shorts and a sports bra so I’m not one to say you need a closet full of expensive activewear to get started, but I do love a matching set. Here are some things I’d certainly find motivating.

Last but not least, as boring as this sounds- SOCKS.MATTER. They just do. My day is better when my lululemon socks are clean and I’ve amassed quite the collection over the past decade. Take my word on this one, friends.

Be sure to click to post linked above for my favorite workouts to smash at home and leave your favorites in the comments below!