The best home gyms take the benefits you’d typically enjoy with a fitness center membership and funnel them straight to your living room. With the right home gym, you can get the perks of strength training and other common workouts without having to deal with the mundane hassles of waiting for the good treadmill or remembering to pay monthly gym fees. And while a home gym might not be the cheapest purchase you’ll make this year, it can be a great value compared to ongoing membership fees at the local fitness center.
There’s a big difference between knowing you want to purchase something and figuring out which system is the best home gym for you. You need to consider what kind of workouts you want to focus on, how much space you have to work with and any bells and whistles you think you’ll regularly use. And, of course, don’t neglect to factor in how much you want to spend.
The home gym market has mushroomed during the pandemic, and there’s no shortage of choices. With that in mind, we narrowed down the field based on factors like must-have features, ease of use and value. These are the best home gyms available to help you max out your home workout.
- Best Home Gym Overall: Bowflex Xtreme 2 SE Home Gym
- Best Smart Home Gym: Tempo Studio
- Best Portable Home Gym: TRX Home2 System
- Best Home Gym for Classes: Mirror Pro
- Best Bodyweight Home Gym: Total Gym Apex G3
- Best Compact Home Gym: Tonal
- Best Home Gym for An All-Over Workout: NordicTrack Fusion CST
Best Home Gym Overall
A Classic Gym with A Wealth of Strength Training Options
Bowflex has been a major player in the home gym game for years, and with good reason—the company’s equipment allows you to do a range of strength training at home in a single semi-compact package. The Bowflex Xtreme 2SE features up to 210 pounds of resistance from the company’s “power rods,” which work like free weights but with a smoother range of motion. (You have the option to purchase more resistance separately as you get stronger and your needs grow.)
There’s no need to change cables with this gym—you can simply transition from leg to arm workouts as you see fit. Other features include a lat tower, four-position lower pulley and squat station, leg extension, ab crunch shoulder harness and more than 70 different exercises to cycle through. You get a manual with suggested workouts to help get you going, and the whole thing comes in at a price that’s considered moderate for the home gym market, especially considering how comprehensive it is.
Best Smart Home Gym
An All-In-One Gym That Offers Personalized Training
Tempo Studio gives you plenty of the perks you’d enjoy at a “regular” gym—all from the convenience of your own home. Choose from live and on-demand strength training classes led by expert trainers and even get feedback on your form and rep counts during your workout thanks to 3D sensors (for certain exercises). All that allows you to get in the zone without having to do math in the process.
An easel-style gym neatly packs away your weights and is moveable, so you can take your workout to another room if needed (though don’t get the wrong idea—even when it’s not stocked with weights, it’s still pretty heavy, so you probably won’t want to move it every day). And, while $2,495 isn’t cheap, there’s also a much less expensive Tempo Move that uses your phone and TV to get in a similar workout for just $395.
Best Portable Home Gym
A Handy And Affordable Home Gym With A Tiny Footprint
A quality home gym doesn’t need to take up a lot of space—or even have a permanent spot at your place. The TRX Home2 System uses your body weight to help you work on your strength training at home. You can set up the straps in seconds with carabiners that clip to your anchor of choice (door frames are a typical go-to). Then, go to town with a range of strength and cardio exercises.
The straps feature adjustable cradles so you can get dial in a just-right fit and padded handles help you avoid crushing your hands as you work up a sweat. You also get a free trial to the TRX Training Club—that’s a subscription to on-demand workouts that cover cardio, strength training and other exercises. And because this gym is so mobile, you can easily pack it in your suitcase when you travel. That’s something you can’t do with almost any other system.
Best Home Gym for Classes
For People Who Want The Classroom Feel Without the Crowds
Mirror pioneered the genre of smart fitness mirrors, and is still a formidable choice. This option offers a wide array of classes that include yoga, Pilates, boxing and many others. They’re all taught by expert trainers that appears in the display that you hang from your wall. Or, if you prefer, you can lean it against the wall so you don’t have to drill any holes.
A built-in camera allows you to work out with fellow Mirror-owning friends and get the occasional live feedback and shoutout from trainers while you work out. This particular kit comes with a slew of accessories to help you along the way, including a yoga mat, free weights, resistance bands and stretching strap.
Best Body Weight Home Gym
A Just-The-Essentials Trainer If You Know What You Need
The Total Gym is a cable-based system that allows you to to cycle through eight levels of resistance training with low impact to your joints. The Apex G3 featured a padded, ergonomic glide board to help you use your body weight to get stronger. You can easily work your way through exercises for your upper and lower body—choose from more than 70 different moves in all.
This set includes a slew of accessories, including a wing attachment, squat stand, leg pull accessory and dip bars. You’ll also get access to Total Gym TV, an on-demand platform that lets you stream workouts. When you’re done working out, the whole thing folds up for easy story. This is a great option if you’re self-motivated and familiar with the right forms and workouts, because there aren’t any extras like workout subscriptions or online training options.
Best Compact Home Gym
A Dynamic Machine That Doesn’t Take Up Much Space
If floorspace is an issue, Tonal is definitely worth considering. This home gym secures firmly into your wall, with no need to touch the ground at all (and yes, it must be mounted on the wall, so that probably means you should consider other options if you’re renting).
Tonal contains all the weight you need through a pair of resistance-bearing arms that come out of the sides of the device. It features thousands of live and on-demand workouts in a range of genres including HIIT, yoga, cardio and a lot more. Tonal also tracks your reps, sets and workouts over time, so you can see how far you’ve come. It includes accessories like handles, a bar, rope and bench.
Best Home Gym For An All-Over Workout
A Home Gym That’ll Push You to Keep Going Hard
The NordicTrack Fusion CST combines some elements of more classic home gyms with smart features to modernize your experience. The sleek machine features a pulley system with 20 resistance levels to help you keep pushing yourself. A tablet screen lets you stream workouts, including ones where trainers can actually adjust your resistance to max out your workout.
This machine focuses on strength training and cardio, allowing you to get all of your workouts in one spot. You’ll also get a year’s access to NordicTrack iFit, which allows you to stream those workouts—and new ones are added daily.
