Shereen Lehman, MS, is a healthcare journalist and fact checker. She has co-authored two books for the popular Dummies Series (as Shereen Jegtvig).
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Unlike a pair of dumbbells, you can’t tuck a hefty home gym unit away under the bed when you’re done using it. However, some, like the Bowflex Blaze, fold up, helping to save on space (when folded, the Bowflex Blaze is 52’’ long and 38’’ wide).
Despite its compact size, you can still perform 60 exercises on this gym. Features include a lat bar (to help build back and shoulder muscles) and a lower pulley/squat station (to target muscles in the legs). It also comes with Bowflex Power Rod technology, which offers 210 pounds of resistance. And while some home gyms can take hours upon hours to assemble, reviewers of this unit say that it’s relatively simple to set up (it took one user about 1.5 hours).
Affordable home gym options may not be as flashy as the pricier models, but they will still help you improve your strength and get closer to your health goals. While this system doesn't look like a lot, it offers 50 body-shaping exercises that target every muscle group with its exercise booklet. While it mostly uses your body weight as resistance it can also tack on up to 50 pounds of weight for a harder lift.
If you’re looking to bulk up, you’re going to want a home gym unit that allows you to effectively target the majority of your muscles. The Mary Diamond Smith Cage Workout Machine, which combines a Smith machine with a free-weight rack and cable-routed pulley system, has everything you need to increase full-body power, including a multi-function weight bench, leg developer, and pectoral fly station (for working chest muscles). All in all, you can perform over 100 exercises.
There are a number of home gyms that fall into the “not too high, not too low” price range, and if you’ve been saving up for a home gym but don’t want to spend a fortune, these are a great pick for you. One of our favorites is the Powerline Home Gym with Leg Press. It comes with low, mid, and high pulleys as well as a 160-lb. weight stack, which can be upgraded to 210 lbs. The Priceline Home Gym is suitable for users of any size thanks to adjustable seats that ensure a perfect height.
If you don’t want to dedicate an entire corner of the family room to a home gym unit, then a portable design might be best for you. The BodyBoss allows you to mimic the moves you’d do with a rack of dumbbells or squat rack, but instead uses cloth-covered resistance bands that attach to a fold-up platform.
Thanks to its portable design, you can store this home gym under the bed or take it with you while traveling. Best of all, you can lengthen or shorten the bands to make the exercises easier or more difficult, meaning that the BodyBoss works for all fitness levels.
For an effective way to improve your overall health and fitness, suspension gyms are an excellent tool for increasing strength and flexibility and improving muscle tone. The TRX Training Home Gym Bundle is suitable for all levels of at-home athletes, whether you’re training for a marathon or just starting out on your fitness journey.
With minimal set-up required, the TRX system is incredibly easy to use, and comes included with everything you need to engage your whole body: the TRX Home Suspension Trainer, two anchoring solutions and six free workouts delivered straight to your phone. Users rave about being able to do over 300 exercises using the TRX system, in whatever environment they choose.
Size: The fact that it’s a “home” gym means you have to work with the size of your home when selecting your machinery. If space is no issue, then you can go bigger, but if you’re in an apartment or need to fit your workout equipment into a smaller space, then carefully consider the size of the machines. Some machines can fold up for easy storage and some are quite portable.
Features: Consider where you are on your fitness journey as well as your goals when selecting a machine. Some are equipped with tons of features that can challenge hard-core fitness enthusiasts, while others are more basic and may be less overwhelming for those who work out more casually or are just beginning their fitness journeys.
Affordability: Home gyms can range from top-of-the-line models with sky-high price tags to more basic models that are relatively budget-friendly. You want to balance quality and functionality with the price to ensure it meets your needs both now and in the future, especially if you plan to make a significant investment. Ideally, your home gym will allow you to save money on a gym membership so factor in just how much you'll be saving when deciding on a budget.
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