Affordable Fitness Hacks for Amping Up Your Quarantine At Home Workouts

As we’ve progressed through this period of eternal quarantine (or so it seems sometimes), it has become increasingly important to stay active for both your mental and physical health. While I usually lean on Amazon for my at home workout materials, I was shocked to see a lot of my favorite products either sold out entirely or were back ordered online for extended periods of time. In fact, I was so desperate for a yoga mat that I accidentally ordered a yoga mat sling because I was in such a rush to place my order before it sold out since there were no other options available. Rookie mistake.

This is no longer the case though, as I have found an online and in-person resource that has affordable fitness gear that is great for powering through your at home workouts. I want to share my favorite store for affordable workout gear that I have used throughout quarantine to maintain my fitness routine.

Five Below

If you happen to have a Five Below in your area, you’re in luck! This is an excellent store that harbors items of all kinds for under $5.00. Yes, seriously. Everything is $5.00. If you don’t happen to have one nearby, you’re still in luck because all shipping on their website is only $5.00, which makes it a breeze to make a bulk order online. This has been my biggest quarantine hack when building up my fitness equipment for at home workouts. Here are some of my favorites.

Yoga Mat

I have actually had a pink version of this yoga mat for the last few years and it has held up like a champ. Online, they come in a variety of colors and are a good width in terms of mat material thickness that will allow you to get a comfortable yoga session in. This is important, as it creates additional protection for your knees and hands when doing various poses. The mats also roll-up and can be stashed under your bed for easy convenience in between workouts or if you’re like me, in your new yoga mat sling!

Resistance Band

I own this item as well and it has proven to support an effective workout. I usually will Google a resistance band routine or look on Pinterest and then I will loop the band around a railing on my balcony for certain moves or attach them to my feet to do banded deadlifts. These in particular are high quality and the handles are sturdy enough to handle a fast paced set. You can even opt for different levels of resistance bands that they offer to keep your body guessing.

Hand Weights

If you’ve been looking online for weights, you’ll know that they are constantly sold out. These weights also seem to be out of stock in the online shop. I happened to pick mine up at an in-store visit pre-quarantine, however, I had to include these to put on your radar if you’re able to make an in-store pitstop. They are truly a total bargain and they could come back in stock online or in your local store. Five Below tends to have rolling inventory of these hand weights that are well built and provide that extra weight to your benchpress or tricep kicks. Mine came in eight pounds and ten pounds and I purchased a set of both!

Foam Roller

After an intense workout, it’s always important to stretch and roll your muscles for exercise safety and alleviating soreness after. Five Below offers two different types with varying textures to match your needs. Personally, I never used to use a foam roller, but my personal trainer encouraged me to take care of my muscles after a strenuous workout by rolling my body and I noticed a major difference in my recovery and levels of soreness the next day. 

Cardio Jump Rope 

If you’re able to get outside, but don’t know how to get your cardio in, try this intense, yet low equipment cardio workout. Jumping rope is a great way to get your heart rate up and this $5 jump rope is the perfect accessory to start off with. It’s also easy to stash in your gym bag or travel bag if you’ll be going out of town, but would still like the opportunity to keep your heart rate up.

Final Notes

Mixing and matching these different items based on your fitness needs is a fun and affordable way to build amp up your at home fitness environment. Remember, working out and staying healthy is not just for the aesthetics, but for your mental health and emotional clarity too. Usually, you could only purchase one yoga mat or a small set of weights for the price of what this entire article could purchase, so this is truly a steal and is my favorite spot to build up my fitness equipment on a budget. And if you’re still skeptical, just remember.

Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. – Elle Woods