The Best Home Gyms
No serious fitness regimen is complete without a robust home gym. A good home gym will allow you to work on your health goals morning, noon, and night while simultaneously offering a safe and comfortable experience. But not every home gym will be right for you, which is why we've made this list of our favorites. Read on and get ready to make gains like never before.
What to Look For
We had a few criteria for whether or not a home gym deserved a place on our list: does it let you focus on a wide variety of muscle areas and exercise types? Can it be set up and used by everyone from fitness neophytes to bonafide gym rats? Finally, is it compact enough to fit into a typical space one would reserve for a home gym? All the personal gyms on our list raised (and lifted) the bar in all three of these categories. Marcy created our favorite home gym thanks to its convenient sizing and reliable safety features. We also loved the rewarding full-body workout that JX Fitness was able to provide with their home gym. Keep reading to see which home gym will work best for helping you make gains today.
Marcy 150-Lb Total Body Home Gym
Working smarter and harder is the name of the game when it comes to this home gym. Its slim, premium steel build belies a vast number of exercises that can be conducted with its chest press, fly, curl pad, and leg developer. It maxes out at 150 pounds and lets you lock its weights in place with its secure bolt. Fitness buffs who want to accomplish a lot in a small area will love this home gym.
Pros
- Can support user weights of up to 300 pounds
- Extremely sturdy, wobble-free construction
- Great value for the price
Cons
- Assembly is easy but can take a very long time
Bowflex Blaze Home Gym
The ubiquitous Bowflex proves their long-standing popularity is well earned with this excellent home gym. An impressive suite of bars, pulleys, and rods allows you to perform a whopping 60 different exercises with ease in a space that proves surprisingly compact. And for the real muscleheads, this home gym can be upgraded to let you lift up to 410 pounds. Serious lifters and fitness neophytes alike will find a lot to appreciate about this superb home gym.
Pros
- Much faster to put together than a comparably intricate home gym
- Floor pulleys can exponentially increase the types of exercises available to you
- Includes tips for squeezing a robust workout into a short time frame
Cons
- The packaging leaves something to be desired
JX Fitness Multifunctional Home Gym
From tip to toe
Any given home gym will boast of a full body workout, but few follow through as well as this one. This intricate machine lets you perform a multitude of exercises for your arms, legs, and torso with plenty of safety locks to keep your workout steady. Its pads and cushions are also detachable and adjustable, letting you customize your workout even further. Those who want to exercise every inch of their body won’t want to overlook this home gym.
Pros
- Slightly less expensive than comparably full-featured gyms
- Good packaging makes the assembly instructions easy to follow
- Takes up surprisingly little room for how much it offers
Cons
- Padding on the seat is a bit thin
TRX All-In-One Suspension Home Gym
If you have a bit of a DIY ethic to go along with your fitness enthusiasm, this will be the home gym for you. This suspension trainer can be set up almost anywhere and has a guide to help you learn how to put it to use. It also has a carrying pouch and provides free trial access to its handy exercise app. This unique home gym asks a good amount from you but gives back even more.
Pros
- Portability and diffuse setup makes it ideal for people with limited space
- The instruction booklet is straightforward and makes for an easy setup process
- Straps can be used gently to aid physical therapy
Cons
- Not as well suited for weight training as a typical home gym
Fitlaya Height-Adjustable Ab Home Gym
A full home gym for your abs is packed into this compact and relatively simple machine. A variety of resistance training options and a helpful LCD data monitor let you customize your ab workout down to the most minute detail. Its knee cushions and foam-covered grips also help ensure a comfortable fitness experience. Getting to the core of your core is a simple matter with the help of this specialized home gym.
Pros
- Weight capacity of 440 pounds, letting almost anyone use this home gym
- Very compact and easy to assemble compared to a typical home gym
Cons
- Lacks a variety of workout types
Frequently Asked Questions
What parts of the body does a typical home gym focus on?
Your average home gym is going to train a healthy mix of the upper body, lower body, and core areas. Some home gyms are going to be more focused on certain muscles than others, and there are even a few that zero in entirely on one zone, like the Fitlaya ab gym.
How should I balance my home gym workout with my cardio routine?
There are many different schools of thought on this, but the most reliable way to balance your workout is to alternate between chunks of time focusing on cardio and strength training. Whether this means an hour of strength training and then jogging, or a full day of each, it’s totally up to your personal goals and comfort levels.
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