A couple years ago, workout equipment company Rogue Fitness ran this great advertisement:

Like Rogue, I also support street parking. In most of the country, building out a garage gym is an excellent use of money and space. For just a few thousand dollars, you can set up a highly functional gym that’s open 24/7, mere steps from your couch.

In New York City, however, we don’t have that luxury. And though most of us tend to live in walking distance of whatever gym we join, there are certainly times when poor weather, busy schedules, or just the difficulty of putting on pants becomes an all too easy excuse to take a day off.

To that end, it makes sense to assemble at least a minimalist apartment gym – a few items wedged in the corner of your closet that you can pull out in a pinch.

Here are the essentials:

1. Kettlebell

Using just a kettlebell, you can put together a complete and hugely effective workout program.

Russian strength expert Pavel Tsatsouline, for example, has published this minimalist approach:

1. 10 sets of 10 kettlebell swings;
2. 10 Turkish get-ups (five per hand).

Do that 3-4 times a week, and you’ll be in pretty good shape.

I’m a fan of these Rogue kettlebells, which are well-made, reasonably priced, and finished in a black matte powder-coat that makes you less likely to launch one through a window unintentionally due to sweaty hands.

An ‘average strength’ man and woman should probably start with a 35 lb and 18 lb bell, respectively. After a couple months, they could likely move up to 44 lb and 26 lb, then 53 lb and 35 lb.

2. Door Pull-up Bar

While Pavel’s minimalist approach is a great place to start, building a broad fitness base requires tackling a variety of movements across a range of time domains.

Fortunately, you can use your kettlebells for a bunch of other great movements, too, and you can add in a slew of functional bodyweight movements, like the push-up, lunge, squat and Burpee.

Pick up a door pull-up bar, and you further expand the list of potential bodyweight choices, with exercises like pull-ups, knees-to-elbows, toes-to-bars, and front and back levers.

My favorite door pull-up option is this type of removable bar, which you can hide in the back of a closet when not in use. Though, nota bene for CrossFitters, while these are great for strict pull-ups, trying to kip usually leads to some pretty entertaining disasters.

3. AbMat

When done right, sit-ups are another great bodyweight movement. The AbMat guarantees good form, by holding your pelvis in an anterior-tilted position through the entire movement. That protects your back (unlike a traditional sit-up), and lets you reach reach full lumbar extension for a powerful movement across your entire range of motion (unlike a crunch).

You can ghetto-fab an alternative with a rolled up towel, but the AbMat is far more comfortable, won’t move around underneath you, and doesn’t need to be laundered when you’re done.

4. Lacrosse Ball

Gyms are full of foam rollers these days, because self-myofascial release feels amazing. But soft polypropylene compresses easily, and doesn’t smash your tissues aggressively enough to make real change.

When you’re ready for serious results, trade in the roller for a simple lacrosse ball instead. You can position it more accurately to target tweaky spots (really digging into your glutes or IT band), reach places a foam roller can’t (mobilizing your shoulder girdle or plantar fascia), and grind down harder (as it has just enough give to keep you from weeping while using it).

If you have back issues, I also can’t recommend enough a two-lacrosse-ball peanut, which is great for both increasing thoracic mobility and for relaxing over-tight low backs. (I bring one along any time I travel, as it’s the perfect antidote to hours sitting on plane, train or automobile.)

A kettlebell or two, a pull-up bar, an AbMat and some lacrosse balls. That’s probably all you need. For the cost of a single month’s gym membership, you’ll be set to work out, mobilize, or just goof off at home any time you want.