It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when you’re looking for workout equipment. There are hundreds of weights to choose from, along with endless options for workout clothes and gym shoes.
I’ve been a fitness editor for three and a half years, so I’ve spent a lot of time talking to other fitness enthusiasts about their favorite equipment and commissioning them to write about it.
All of the picks below have stood out to me as things that have legitimately changed our writers’ lives for the better and helped them improve their health and fitness.
As a bonus, most of these things are currently on sale for Amazon Prime Day.
While you have to be a member of Prime to take advantage of these prices, you can get a 30-day free trial to the platform.
1. Medicine ball
Buy it if: You want to get stronger.
Writer Maddy Biddulph set herself a challenge to do wall balls for 30 days, throwing a medicine ball high up against a wall, squatting down to catch it, then standing up to repeat for several minutes.
When the month was up, not only had she strengthened her core muscles, but she found that her coordination had improved along with her hip mobility.
2. Suspension trainer
Buy it if: You want to make home workouts more challenging (and fun!).
Suspension trainers are basically a two long straps with handles on the ends, which you can hook over your door.
Run coach Amber Nelson swears by suspension trainers for helping her do single-leg exercises, using the straps to stabilize one leg while she works out the other.
Trainer Jennifer Rizzuto uses her suspension trainer to get a full-body workout, incorporating it into moves like squats, lunges, rows and push-ups.
They’re incredibly versatile, easy to store and—crucially—a lot of fun to use.
3. Weighted vest
Buy it if: You want to turn household chores into a workout.
Maddy Biddulph took on another challenge earlier this year when she decided to wear a weighted vest for a month.
She found that it was an easy way to add intensity to her everyday tasks, like clearing away dishes and doing the laundry, turning these activities into mini workouts.
She also wore it for her usual exercise sessions and found it helped her engage and strengthen her core.
It’s a good idea to start with a lightweight vest and scale up, which is why we like the adjustable option from Amazon.
4. Exercise sliders
Buy it if: You want to replicate reformer Pilates at home.
Writer Alice Porter has found a clever way to replicate reformer Pilates sessions at home with exercise sliders.
These simple plastic discs allow you to glide your hands or feet over the floor during exercises, while you try and hold the rest of your body stable.
At less than $6, sliders are a lot cheaper than an in-person reformer class, and they will still give you an intense workout that challenges your core strength and control.
5. Walking pad
Having a desk job can mean a lot of sitting, but writer Elliott Harnell manages to walk 8,000 steps a day in her home office, thanks to her Walking Pad.
Before getting the pad, she had struggled to get her steps in, but now she conducts video meetings and types while walking on this under-desk treadmill.
As a result, she has more energy and her back feels less tight and achy at the end of the day.
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