Bootcamp equipment guide: what you need at each level

Start here: nothing

Every exercise in the beginner, HIIT, and outdoor programs uses bodyweight or, at most, a bench. Buying equipment before bodyweight versions of squats, push-ups, and lunges feel manageable is spending money to solve a problem you don't have yet.

First additions, once bodyweight gets easy

• Jump rope. Cheap, portable, and it adds a genuinely different cardio stimulus to a circuit without needing floor space beyond the rope's swing radius.
• A single resistance band. Adds load to push-ups, squats, and rows without the cost or storage problem of plates. Useful for both extra resistance and for assisting moves like pull-ups.
• One kettlebell. A single moderate-weight kettlebell covers swings, goblet squats, and presses, three moves that cover most of what a circuit needs from an added-weight tool.

For an experienced lifter building a home circuit setup

• A second, heavier kettlebell or a pair of dumbbells. Once single-kettlebell moves stop being challenging, having a heavier option, or a matched pair for two-handed moves, is the next real progression.
• A weighted vest. Adds load to every bodyweight move at once without changing the exercise pattern, which is the fastest way to keep bodyweight-style training challenging without switching to a barbell program.
• Battle ropes. Genuinely upper-body and core intensive in a way few other tools replicate, worth it specifically if a circuit is missing an upper-body cardio station.
• Agility cones. Only worth it for outdoor group sessions or if a circuit specifically needs lateral movement and change-of-direction drills; skip it for a solo indoor setup.

Frequently asked