Calisthenics has a wealth of benefits. One of the biggest of those is the ability to do it anywhere you want. With that being said, having the right equipment can make doing calisthenic workouts at home a pleasure. If you Have the right equipment, you can also increase the efficiency of your workouts.

For a good at-home gym that caters toward calisthenic workouts here’s what you need. You need resistance bands, a pull-up bar, some gymnastic rings, a dip station, a set of push-up bars, a pull-up/dip belt, and finally, a medicine ball. This is a great starting point for anyone building a home gym for calisthenics.

In this article, we are going to mention what equipment you need and then we will give you a pick of our favorite equipment within that category. So, for everything you need to know about getting the right equipment for an at-home gym, keep reading.

Resistance Bands

First, we are going to start off with resistance bands. The reason for this is because they are used by beginners and even calisthenic experts. Basically, everyone should have a set of resistance bands.

It is important to always have a set instead of just a single band. This is because the bands have different weight resistance properties and are designed for different purposes.

Resistance bands can be used for warmups, recoveries, and even for assistance if you are new to doing pull-ups and dips.

With all of that being said, let’s take a look at our favorite resistance band set.

WODFitters Pull Up Assistance Band 4 Piece Set: $80.00

We have listed the entire 4 piece set. However, you can go for the bands individually and those start at about $8.99 and go up to $50.00. With the set, you get bands that start at about 10 lbs and go all the way up to approximately 150 lbs. That may seem a bit much but it is actually perfect, even for beginners.

You can use these bands for just about any workout you want to do. Also, you can use them to assist you with your workouts if you are a beginner.

Whatafit Resistance Bands 11 Piece Set: $30.00 

I decided to add something a little more budget-friendly. This incredible 11 piece set can be stacked together to have approximately 150 lbs worth of resistance. With that being said, the bands start at 10 lbs and go up to 50 lbs.

Not only do these bands come with a waterproof rucksack for you to take them wherever you want. They also come with handles so that you can use them for more than just warmups, recovery, and assistance. You could use these for just about any exercise you want to do.

A small example would be this: Simply attach the handles to the band, stand in the middle of the band and do bicep curls. It is really that simple. You could do your shoulders, back, chest, and legs like this. See why these made it first on the list?

Pull-up Bars

You get different types of pull-up bars. In fact, let’s make a quick little list of some of the most well-known ones.

• Wall-mounted
• Doorframe clip on.
• Doorway mounts no screws
• Power-towers
• Calisthenic free-standing rig.

Each of these options has its merits. However, in my personal experience, the easiest and most hassle-free option is a wall mounted pull up bar.

Pull-up bars are essential to anyone who is starting out or even if they are at an advanced level of calisthenics. I would say it is the most important part of your setup next to resistance bands.

Here is our favorite wall-mounted pull-up bar. Be sure to check out a recent article we wrote about the 7 best pull-up bars.

ONETWOFIT Multifunctional Wall Mounted Pull Up Bar/Chin Up Bar, Dip Station: $122.00

This incredible wall mounted pull up bar is more than just a pull-up bar. I would go as far as saying, it is all you need for a full-body workout at home. As long as you have a wall that you can mount it to, you can be sure that the device will be secure and won’t cause any damage to your wall or door frames.

Not only is this pull-up bar built from heavy-duty materials, but it is also built for comfort. This is a tough balance to get right but I believe OneTwoFit has done a great job of it. Finally, here is a small list of exercises that you can do with this pull-up bar:

• Pullups: Wide grip, close grip, and neutral grip. 
• Hanging leg raises
• Dips
• It can support certain punching bags

Gymnastic Rings

If you have enough space to hang up a set of gymnastic rings, you will be giving yourself one of the best pieces of equipment for calisthenics.

You can do almost any exercise especially suspension exercises such as pull-ups on these gymnastic rings. Once you start to get comfortable with the rings, you can start trying out new things that can seriously take your workout to the next level and increase your agility, flexibility, and overall strength and fitness.

Here is our favorite gymnastic ring set.

PACEARTH Wooden Gymnastics Rings: $50.00

These gymnastic rings have everything you want. Not only in terms of making your workout as easy as possible but, also in terms of safety. The rings can hold up to 1500 lbs and are made from birch wood. This type of wood is durable.

They come with extra grip tapes for comfort and with a 14.4 ft long strap. As long as you have somewhere to hang these, you know that you will be safe, secure, and you will be getting the best workout possible.

Push-up Bars

This article is about the best calisthenic equipment. So, please excuse me if I repeat myself by saying “this is important”. We have to state that with push-up bars because push-ups offer so many benefits when it comes to body-weight training.

With a good set of push-up bars, you can almost guarantee that you are getting the most out of your push-ups. Not only does the bar make your workout sessions more effective, but it also makes every single push-up you do more efficient.

We have written a recent article about push-up bars. I highly recommend giving that a read once you are done reading this article. With that being said, let’s take a look at our favorite set of push up bars.

Withgear Folding Push Up Bar: $45.00

These push-up bars offer everything you need and they do it with simplicity. They are also the simplest set of push-up bars you can get. These push-up bars are made from some of the best quality materials.

Their simplicity also makes them great. You simply fold them out when you want to use them and because they can fold in, they are very portable. You can take them with you and use them almost anywhere.

They are tall enough so that you can use them for dips as well as push-ups. The padded handles make them extremely comfortable. Unfortunately, the biggest downside to these is you might find that they slip on tiled floors.

Dip Stations

Having a good dip station will make your life a lot easier. Also, having an aesthetic look is sometimes impossible to achieve if you do not have some definition around your triceps. The best way of getting toned triceps is to do dips.

Now, if you bought the right set of push-up bars, you could adapt them to do dips whenever you need to. However, having a dedicated dip station is much better especially if you have enough space and the right budget for it.

Let’s take a look at our favorite dip station.

RELIFE REBUILD YOUR LIFE Dip Station: $73.00

With this dip station, you can feel safe and have peace of mind as it is made from heavy-duty steel. The frame can support up to 300 lbs of weight and direct pressure.

The height is adjustable allowing you to customize the dip station to your needs. It also has an adjustable foot strap which means you can adapt the station to whatever surface you want to place it on.

All of the vulnerable parts of the dip station come with a lifetime warranty. The frame has a one-year warranty and Relife has a great customer service philosophy. If you need to contact them, they will be happy to speak to you about any concerns you might have.

Pull-up And Dip Belts

Again, this is another item that we have written a recent article on. And again, I recommend giving that one a good read after this article. Our goal is to help you find the right belt for your needs.

Pull-up and dip belts are designed for you to add weight onto them. Doing this will increase the effectiveness of every workout you do.

A pull-up and dip belt also act as something that helps with lumbar support. So, whether or not you want to add weights to the belt, I still recommend that you get one. Here is our favorite dip belt.

Brute Nylon Dip Pull-up Squat Belt: $55

Brute training systems released their nylon dip and pull-up belt with their own patented technology. This technology offers not only durability but also comfort and support.

It is made from military-grade materials that can hold up to 270 pounds worth of plates.

The strap is made out of nylon and it is adjustable. This means that you can place your weights in any position that you find most comfortable. Finally, the built-in padding and non-slip grip add comfort and lower back support while allowing you to focus on your workouts.

Medicine Ball

Finally, we get to the medicine ball. This is one of the most underrated items when it comes to calisthenics. The medicine ball is often associated with CrossFit and boxing training. However, it has a lot of benefits beyond that.

There are lots of uses for a calisthenic medicine ball. You can clinch it close to your chest while doing squats, you can hold it in your hands while doing jump-ups. And finally, throwing it up in the air constantly is a shoulder workout as well as an arm workout.

Yes4All Slam Balls: $25.00 – $61.00

The Yes4All medicine ball comes in six different weights starting at 10 lbs and it goes all the way up to 40 lbs. You can also choose between black, blue, orange, and teal.

The outer shell of the ball is designed for grip with its grooved and textured shell. The ball is filled with the right amount of sand so that it stays balanced and distributes its weight evenly regardless of what position you have it in.

Medicine balls are built to withstand impact and with the durable PVC shell, I have yet to see one of these balls get damaged from extreme activity.

Is It Expensive To Start An At-home Calisthenics Gym?

The straightforward answer to this question is NO. It does not have to be expensive to start an at-home calisthenics gym. It all depends on what you need and what your budget is. It is also important to remember that you do not need to buy everything at once. Take your time and build up slowly.

You can start with just one piece of equipment. However, I always recommend starting with two. The resistance bands that we mentioned for $30.00 gives you almost everything you need for a full-body workout. If you combine that with a pull-up bar, you already have a great starting base for an at-home gym.

From there, you can build up, and eventually, you will have everything you need and also everything you want to get the best workout possible while you are at home.

Conclusion

It is important to remember that you do not have to get each of these pieces of equipment that we mentioned. In fact, a lot of them have the ability to allow you to do multiple exercises on them. However, it is important that you build a good starting point for your at-home gym. Separating different pieces of equipment for different exercises is a great way to build a gym that you want to keep coming back to.