There are several equipment options when you chose how and where you workout. Your neighborhood gym should have all the necessary equipment (almost….I’ll explain later) that you will need. There are quite a few home gyms out there that do everything. However, in either scenario, there are two pieces of equipment that your local or home gym probably doesn’t have. You should own the two pieces of equipment detailed below.

Resistance Bands
I started P90X with cheap resistance bands that I bought from the local sporting goods store, and they did the job for a little while. As you get stronger, the bands get weaker and really don’t provide the resistance you need. I did some research and found the best resistance bands on the market….Bodylastics! These truly are the best resistance bands you can buy.I decided to really put Bodylastics to the test and do Chest & Back and Bicep completely with the Bodylastics resistance bands. I can’t believe how great these bands worked for emulating pull-ups AND all of the bicep exercises. If you are just starting out and don’t want to spend money on all of the equipment on this list, I recommend only purchasing the Bodylastics system.

This system can replace all of the dumbells and pull-up equipment! If you are a sports fan, then you know who Terrell Owens is. Love him or hate him, the guy is in shape. He is the spokesperson for Bodylastics. He is featured working out with Bodylastics in quite a few viral videos that can be found online.

Note: these resistance bands are not merely for P90X. They are very valuable for every workout regiment

Home Gym – No Machines Required
If you really want to take your workout to the next level, then TRX is for you! This is the premier bodyweight workout equipment. You will soon realize that you need to throw in some variation to your workout, and TRX is the best way to do that! I am very impressed at how easy it is to use this equipment virtually anywhere. The TRX system can be used almost anywhere: a tree, a fence, a post a car bumper….almost anywhere. If you can’t afford a monthly payment for the gym, or get bored with your current workout, then consider TRX. Click on the image below for more info.

Dumbbells
Most of the upper body exercises use dumbbells. I have the Bowflex Selectech dumbbells. They are nice, but they are overpriced. Shop around, you can find dumbbells for about $0.50 per pound. OR….you can use your resistance bands (read about Bodylastics above!). The videos show how to use the resistance band for every exercise. This is the cost-effective way to go!

Yoga Mat
This is a great piece of equipment. From stretching to yoga to plyometrics. This is a must have and fairly cheap. Check out your local Target store or for more professional (yet affordable) Yoga equipment, check out Kulae. They specialize in Yoga equipment and accessories

Yoga Blocks
I don’t yet have the full range of motion for many of the yoga positions. These blocks help achieve that. These are also priced fair and can be purchased at Kulae.

Heart-Rate Monitor
I trained for a half-marathon a few years ago, and was skeptical when the coach suggested one of these. As it turns out, this is a valuable tool. Pulsar is my favorite, however, there are quite a few of them on the market. Check out Heart Rate Monitors at Amazon.

Push Up Bars
These are great. While I am not in great shape, I can do push ups with little difficulty. Push up bars don’t make push ups harder (well, a little), they make the push up more effective by providing an additional 6 inches to the range of motion. If you have wrist problems that prevent you from doing push ups, these will help ease the tension. You should be doing thousands of push ups! These are pretty cheap…get your push up bars at Amazon.

That’s about it. Most of the people who have posted videos on youtube or written blogs have high-end equipment. I don’t think that is necessary. In fact, the only necessary piece of equipment is probably resistance bands. These are very affordable at any sporting goods store. If you want to make it more cost effective, most of the equipment can be purchased at Amazon.com