Many of my clients during Covid-19 needed to adjust by working from home, and they encountered different pain problems so they need to visit a trigger point therapist.
When your home is not big enough to have an office, alternatives are made. We may have to work in a more compact setting and sit in awkward positions. Or maybe it’s just so tempting to work on our very comfortable bed and sofas.
During Covid-19, people were trapped at home and their lifestyle changed tremendously, with no more outdoor sports or training in your gym. The lack of exercise, combined with the long sitting hours in awkward positions, it is very likely for us to suffer from more pains appeared within the hip flexors, neck and shoulder, not to mention, classic- back pain.
I’ve put together a list of great home gym equipment for small space to make sure you stay active, releasing those tired muscles before they lock up and cause you to be bedridden.
Quick Summary
Here is a list of best home exercise equipment that I recommend:
- Gaiam Essentials Balance Ball & Base Kit – Focusing on posture correction, chair, core strengthening, stretching, exercise
- TRX ALL-IN-ONE Suspension Training – Focusing on Muscle strengthening and stretching
- Gaiam Essentials Thick Yoga Mat Fitness & Exercise Mat – Focusing on stretching
- Vulken 17” Vibrating Foam Roller – Focusing on the release of tight muscles or oncoming tightness due to being sedentary (Budget-Friendly Version: Pulse Vibrating Foam Roller
- Upright GO 2 NEW Posture Trainer and Corrector for Back – Focusing on correcting poor posture to prevent building (Budget-Friendly Version: Posture Corrector for Men and Women)
- Massage ball – VIA FORTIS Premium Massage Ball Set: – Focusing on the release of all parts of the body
Why Do We Need These?
These space-saving exercise equipment will make your work from home exercise more fun and effective, resulting in preventing aches and pains that stop us from concentrating or working. Chronic pain can cause discomfort, disabling one to work.
Another reason is we want these home gym equipment to help us to keep being active and stay away from Chronic pain. Working from Home could be stressful and cause unhappiness, according to Scotland’s national health information service, these negative feelings are very likely to cause chronic pain, which would result in discomfort or even disabling one to work.
Who Should Use These?
For sure those who are living in a small home or need to work from home could benefit from these types of equipment, they are suitable for those who are working in an office but are experiencing aches and pains throughout their body.
And yes, everybody can use these tight space training pieces of equipment because pains can be a cause from a sedentary lifestyle or active lifestyle,
Best Space Saving Home Gym Equipment Suitable for Work From Home Exercises to Prevent Pain- What to Consider:
Size
As mentioned in the topic, the size of the equipment is probably the most important factor, we will try to look for equipment that as small as possible so it can fit into our little cosy home.
Multi-functional
The next factor I would consider is how multi-functional it is? For example, I’ve picked a balance ball into the list, it’s pretty big. But then I can use it for sketching, exercising, and one of the sitting chairs! It’s the most popular sitting chair when my friends come to visit me.
Do try to pick a product that you can use in different aspects! Be creative for this multi-functional point.
Durability
This is easy, we all want a durable product, when it comes to home gym equipment, it applies too.
I have a 10 years old army green yoga and the quality is still great, even I use it almost every single day. The price is almost double than other options available on the market but I would say it’s worth it.
But don’t worry, I am not suggesting you act like me, but just try to look for the most solid product even if their price may be slightly higher than others.
Mobility
Another very important factor I will take into account is how mobile the equipment is? Can I have them all set up in 3 mins? Are they easy to pack up and store? If it’s big, can you fold it up?
Working out in our small home means you need to get something mobile, easy to unpack, set up, and store. At the end of the day, you don’t want to sacrifice your living room for your home gym right?
Best Space Saving Home Gym Equipment Suitable for Pain-Free Work From Home Exercises
Gaiam Essentials Balance Ball & Base Kit, 65cm Yoga Ball Chair, Includes Air Pump
I use this balance ball as a chair for both my office desk and makeup table. I can take it apart and do stretches or sit on it. As a result of its round shape, you are forcibly using your core to maintain an upright position. It engages targeted muscles to put you in the ideal posture to be pain-free.
Pros
- Multi-use for exercise, stretching, posture correction, and a chair
- Comes in an array of colors
- Extra durable
- Comes with a pump
- Base ring to secure the ball from rolling around
Cons
- Quite big for small apartment
- Not as aesthetic looking
TRX ALL-IN-ONE Suspension Training: Bodyweight Resistance System
The TRX is one of my favorites in terms of home gym equipment, they are small, multi-functional, and suitable for training different muscles of your body.
One of the reasons we will be suffering from pain is our muscles are so vulnerable and weak that they can’t support our body mass, hence resulting in different forms of pain.
Proper exercises could strengthen your muscles and hence resulting in avoiding pain, not to mention this is a great way to help us lose some fat.
Just always remember to do enough warm-up and sketching so you won’t get hurt.
I have written an article suggesting great TRX exercises that can strengthen your whole body, just go and check it out!
Pros
- Multi-use for exercising and sketching
- Very compact set
- Extra durable
- Easy to carry around
Cons
- Price is not so cheap
- You need to study a bit before setting them up
Gaiam Essentials Thick Yoga Mat
If I don’t need to carry around a yoga mat and it will sit stationary, I prefer the thicker mats.
It’s much more enjoyable to exercise on and to sit on. The mat can act as a place where it reminds you to stretch and to have a 10 min meditation if needed.
This is also a great mat for some great stretches, you may want to take a look at my other articles regarding knee pain and neck pain prevention stretches.
Pros:
- There is a strap with it making it mobile
- Fun colors
- Comfortable
- Can be used for diverse situations
Cons:
- Bulky
- Might be too cushy for some exercises
Vulken 17” Vibrating Foam Roller
I used to spend hours on the foam roller trying to get every single knot out. It’s a great way to save time and money, instead of going to a massage. However, with this new technology, the Vulken 17” Vibrating Foam Roller vibrates so that your fascia and muscles release even faster.
This roller is more an equipment helping you to relax instead of working out, the reason I am adding this into the collection is quite many clients visiting me for trigger point therapy are because they have worked out so much but no stretching. Resulting in really stiff muscles that cause pain.
If you are required to work at home, probably that’s the time it’s not so safe to go out, i.e. you can’t or just too scared to go out for a massage to loosen your body up a bit. And that’s why we have including this roller into our recommendation.
Whenever your back gets a little achy, grab this, lie down on a yoga mat and release away. A quick 10 minutes should do the trick.
If you think this one is too pricey you can try this alternative option: Pulse Vibrating Foam Roller | 8 Speed Rechargeable Vibrating Foam Roller
Pros:
- Fast release of muscles
- Portable
- Sleek design
Cons
- Wire charging
- Runs out of battery quickly
- If you’re injured it may enhance the injury further
Upright Posture Trainer and Corrector for Back
I’m not a huge fan of reminded posture correctors, however, if you’re into gadgets, there is no way of telling you out of this one.
The Upright Posture Trainer and Corrector sends a vibration or a little ding to remind you when you slouch. You put it behind your upper back between the scapula. Whenever you fall into bad posture it will remind you to straighten up and train your muscles to stay upright.
If you think this one is too pricey you can try this alternative option like the below Posture Corrector.
This is a brace one, where it can go under your clothes.
Pros:
- Hold your posture upright
- Remind you and your muscles to stay upright
Cons:
- Uncomfortable
- Hot
- Allergic
- When you’re not wearing it, does your posture stay?
Massage ball – 3 Massage Balls with Practical Bag
These massage balls are a nice set to have. I use all three balls at home to release my aches and pains from a tiring day. The duo, peanut ball is for under my neck or mid to lower lumbar when I’m feeling achy. The spiky ball is for the burn under my feet and the round ball is for my back, lats, hips, and shoulders.
Pros:
- Small and compact
- You can travel with it
- 3 uses in one
Cons
- Nothing much.
Additional Tips and Information
- If you are not so getting used to exercises and planning to use this work from home period to start tuning up yourself a bit, always remember to start from mild exercises and just don’t push yourself so much.
- Put on different supports to protect your wrists, knee, and back.
- Drink enough water before and after exercises
- Put on a pair of exercises shoes even you are working out at home, they serve great protection to your knees and foot
Final Thoughts
These are must-haves when you are working from home, upon the time they arrive at your doorstep, exercising, sketching, improving poor posture, and self-massaging at your cozy home is just like a piece of cake.
If you have an office and you have adequate space, why not have a spare? When these things are in your eyesight it will be a constant reminder that you need a little break.