Having a gym membership is great. The right gym has all the equipment you need and more. There are more cardio machines at your fingertips than you could ever buy (or have room for) at home, and weight machines give you all sorts of ways to train your body.

But do you really need a gym membership?

You still have to drive across town just to workout, and some may not even be open when you’re ready to hit the weights.

Plus, you have to deal with all the annoying people at the gym (we’re looking at you, dude wearing sunglasses while doing nothing but curls and girls who spend more time taking Instagram photos than working out).

Here’s the home exercise equipment you can invest in!

Working out at home offers all sorts of benefits. You just need to know what type of equipment to use to maximize your gains.

The “I’m Broken and I Know It” Gear

Hey, we can’t all be millionaires. Besides, gym memberships really appeal to you.

How did this happen?

And try to cancel your subscription?

You’ll have an easier time getting out of a two-year cable contract than you will cancel your gym membership.

So why even bother?

If you can swing it, working out at home allows you to work out whenever you want. It requires less effort to work out (no more driving across town in a snowstorm), and you can even break your workout into chunks to fit your schedule.

But what kind of equipment in your home gym is installed if you are broke and not?

We have the answers for you.

To start, get yourself a yoga mat. When you’re on a budget, you can use your own body weight to work out and see great gains. However, working out on carpet doesn’t work very well (especially when the mat is too busy collecting all your dog’s fur… sweat and dog hair don’t work well). The yoga mat will also keep you from moving around on a hardwood floor.

Now grab a pull-up bar. You can do a ton of push-ups, especially if you throw a chair into the mix so you can elevate your feet during different movements.

However, if there’s anything better than pushing up, it’s a pull-up.

There are some really good pull-up bars that don’t even require you to drill into the wall. These devices plug into your door, so all you need to do is find a door in your house that has a foot (or more) of clearance around the door. If you don’t have that, you’ll need to use something that drills into the door itself, but in terms of good workout equipment, this is the way to go.

Okay, we’re assuming you have it. If you’re looking for this stuff at the library, great, just take notes and bring it home. You can really get a great strength workout with your body weight and the pull up bar. The computer and internet connection just help with some cardio workouts. Yes, you can buy used workout DVDs for probably less than a dollar, but doing the same cardio over and over is tiring and boring.

The best way to keep your workouts going is to mix it up a bit, which is why YouTube is great. There are all sorts of fantastic cardio workouts you can do and instructors who will guide you through the workout.

No internet?

No problem either. You can just grab a jump rope. It’s one of the best forms of cardio you can do. With varying step patterns, speeds, and durations, there’s a reason why professional boxers and fighters turn to jump rope over other types of on-the-spot cardio

A few dollars to spend

Maybe you have a few dollars to spend. You can’t go crazy, but you want to invest in a few items. That’s great. You might be surprised at what you can pick up with just a few dollars (if you know how to shop).

When picking up weights, opt for interchangeable weights. This means you can remove an extra weight. Don’t go out and buy the set-in-stone dumbbells for your home workout.

Buying a set of 20-pound dumbbells may be cheaper than buying 40-pound weights, but guess what?

When it comes to increasing your weight, all you have to do is pick up a couple of 2.5 or 5 pound weight plates, while on the other hand, you’ll have to buy 50 pounds of new dumbbells, which really adds up. Plus, if you look around at garage sales and check out websites like Let It Go and Craigslist, you can get some great deals.

Just a word of warning. Look at the hole in the middle of the weight plate. There is a small hole, about the size of a quarter, and a large hole about 2.5 inches in diameter. You don’t want to buy one when your bars are supporting the other. It’s always best to buy the same size bars and the same size weights. That way you won’t have to buy duplicate weights.

The beauty of these types of weights is that you can slowly build up your weight collection. However, you’ll probably want to invest in some sort of weight bench to really take your training to the next level. You can do great things without a bench, from squats and lunges to curls and shoulder presses. However, you really need to be on your back to maximize your chest.

This is where a bench works well.

Now, you might instantly think of a bench press with the weight rack and all. You don’t have to go that far. Even if you have the money, you might not have the room. Instead, grab one of those adjustable benches at the gym without any rack attached to it. You can even buy new ones in the store for under $50 (check Amazon because you might find a good deal that offers free shipping). This type of bench is great because it allows you to do incline and decline presses. You can also train with an incline curl, which is one of the best curls you can do because it increases the stretch in your arms.

One thing to consider when training with weights is floor pads. These are large interlocking pads that absorb the impact of the weight. It is a good idea to invest in these. Even if you are working out of a garage, you should look to pick these up as this will protect the weights from impact on a hard cement surface.

In terms of cardio, you can always go for the internet connection and jump rope option. You can also consider picking up a medicine ball. These are great for cardio workouts when you want to add a bit of weighted resistance without hindering your gains on a rest day

You have the money and the space

Okay, so let’s say you have the money and, more importantly, you have the space available to build the ultimate home gym setup (again, the beauty of building a home gym is that you can add more weights and equipment as you go).

Well, when that’s the case, you have a few more options.

First, let’s look at the actual bench press. Having a barbell instead of dumbbells here really helps. You can simply lift more weight with a bench press (getting into the starting position with heavier dumbbells puts increasing stress on your elbow and shoulder joints, which can increase your risk of injury). Now, you can still get a great workout with just dumbbells, as lifting more slowly with dumbbells can compensate for the lack of extra weight in many ways, but there are simply times when more weight is better (especially if you’re looking for strength gains or size gains). You’ll still need to consider the diameter of the mounting hole in the center of your plate.

Do you want to keep the dumbbells the same or do you want the larger mounting hole?

There is a general difference (between the mounting hole size) here, and it can only come up if you are lifting extremely heavy loads (we are talking 300 pounds or more). Dumbbells with the larger mounting size can support more weight. With more resistance placed on a thinner bar, this increases the risk of damaging or even cracking the bar. You will want to check the maximum weight on the bar if you have something thinner, and chances are that unless you are really big, this will never be an issue, but just something to consider.

Okay, besides a real bench press, what else should you do?

This is one of those times when you might want to consider a Smith machine. Now, in general, we’re a little hit and miss on the Smith machine. We really don’t like the guided aspect of it. With the guided feature, it turns the machine into a glorified strength training machine, and strength training machines really handcuff your ability to work your body. Most machines completely remove the work that your stabilizer muscles are used for. There’s a reason why someone at the gym might be able to bench press 300 pounds on a Smith bench press, but if they tried an unassisted bench, they might struggle to bench press 200+. So why are we even bringing this up? Safety.

If you have a home gym, that means you’re probably going to be working out at home. And if you’re trying to lift big, you’re not going to have a spotter. Now, we’ve found that this can be an incredible motivator. You don’t have a spotter, so you know there’s no one to help you. However, spotting issues can arise, especially when you’re squatting. With a squat, if you can’t get back up, you’re likely to collapse underneath yourself, which will lead to injury.

The Smith machine can help prevent this. If possible, we recommend using a Smith machine that is not guided but has different grip rings, so if you can’t lift the weight, you just move back two inches and you have the grip rings right there. Either way, it’s something to keep in mind.

An often overlooked piece of equipment is the cable pull-down. When it comes to machine equipment we love, it’s the best. The cable pull-down gives you additional workouts that even free weights can’t provide. Some resistance bands can work in its place, and in fact, combining resistance bands and free weights can take some lifts to the next level (for example, wrap resistance bands around your free weights as if you were going to do a curl. Resistance bands are hardest in the middle of the curl while resistance bands are hardest at the top. By combining the two, you have maximum tension on your muscle throughout the curl), but we love the cable pull-down.

So consider choosing something with this feature.

Finally, what about cardio? What if you want a cardio machine that you can hop on without thinking after a long day?

Well, that depends on a few different things. If you want something low-impact, go for a bike or an elliptical. We’re not the biggest fans of an upright treadmill, as we feel like just getting out there and running is your thing (and running in the cold is great for opening up your lungs). If you want the biggest calorie blast for your money, there are some solid machines that are part elliptical. These feel like running in the stands. You’ll be sore afterwards, but you’ll be blasting your glutes and leg muscles while blasting calories