By Maggie Winzeler of Wellnesswinz.comThere are a few necessities that immediately come to mind when setting up a home or office gym for the first time. Two of these requisites are space and equipment. The amount of space available typically dictates the type of equipment that is bought. Larger spaces are often filled with bulky, fixed equipment like leg and arm machines, ab benches, and more. Smaller spaces are often trimmed with moveable props like dumbbells, kettlebells, Ugi® balls and Resist-A-Balls®. What most people don’t realize is that, regardless of the amount of space available, moveable props are superior for maximizing options and function.

Space Savers

Even if you have a large amount of space to work with, you will be able to execute a broader range of exercises and movements with exercise props versus machines. Most health clubs neglect to account for adequate “floor space” for gym-goers to enjoy a wide range of exercises like traveling lunges and plyometric movements. Fill up your storage area, not your floor space.

Variety

Using exercise props is a great way to ensure that you can enjoy the widest range of exercises, including ones that recruit multiple muscle groups at once. Simultaneously working various muscle groups helps you burn more energy in less time. Isn’t that what we all want from a workout?

Stay on Your Feet

Additionally, exercise props help you stay on your feet and driving for a “ground force reaction,” which is fancy exercise physiology lingo for how your foot’s interaction with the ground dictates the way the rest of the body moves and performs. When your foot responds to the ground, according to how you step, run, or jump during an exercise, it tells other muscles in your body to “turn on.” Whether you’re aware of it or not, you’re triggering and working out your glutes, core, spinal stabilizers, and more!

Money Savers

Did we mention that exercise props are typically less expensive than weight machines? Why spend more on machines and get fewer options? We all want the freedom that exercise props afford us too (and the results they produce)!So, for science, utility, and cost-based reasons, we literally can’t get enough props because we keep finding innovative ways to use them. We don’t get bored, and you don’t have to either!