It may be best to go into the gym to have access to all the exercise equipment you could ever want, but we don’t always have the opportunity to make time for the gym. That’s when having the right kind of home workout equipment can make all the difference between getting a good sweat going and simply not working out at all.
By having some equipment handy in your home, you can get in regular, full exercises without the hassle of traveling to the gym or having to pay for membership fees in the long run. Even having just a few items around the house can encourage you to put in a little exercise now and then. Whether it’s a few pull-ups every time you leave your bedroom, a serious weightlifting session in the living room, or cranking out miles of cycling, there’s some great equipment to let you do it all from the comfort of your own home.
We’ve picked out an array of home gym equipment that aren’t just excellent options for working out but also stand out for their convenience in homes. Some are more practical thanks to their small size and ability to conveniently pack away, and while others offer more versatility so you can do more exercises with a single piece of equipment.
TL;DR – These are the best pieces of Best Home Gym Equipment:
- Core Home Fitness Adjustable Dumbbell Set
- Gaiam Athletic Duramat
- Stamina InMotion E1000
- Ring Fit Adventure
- Perfect Fitness Multi-Gym Elite
- Feedback Sports Omnium Over-Drive
1. Core Home Fitness Adjustable Dumbbell Set
Best Adjustable Weight Set
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There’s no shortage of workouts you can do with a good set of free weights. A pair of dumbbells will let you work our your arms and shoulders, but you can just as easily use them to add some extra weight for squats, lunges, or other leg workouts. Hold a dumbbell on your chest, and it can even contribute to ab workouts. But, having a ton of dumbbells at various weights is far from convenient, especially where space is concerned, and that helps Core Home Fitness’s Adjustable Dumbbell Set stand out.
These dumbbells have a simple but elegant design. The handle can twist to select different weights from 5 to 50 pounds in 5-pound increments, letting you quickly and easily change the weight of each dumbbell between each set of your workout. Some adjustable dumbbells have a fixed size, which can make them unwieldy if you’re using a lighter setting, but these adjustable dumbbells get smaller as you reduce the weight on them. They also feature a compact design, so they won’t take up too much space in your home.
2. Gaiam Athletic Duramat
Best Workout Mat
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You don’t need to have a fancy space set aside for exercise in your home. Throwing down a nice yoga mat can do the job, and Gaiam’s Athletic Duramat is a winning option. At 78″ x 26″, it’s plenty big and its 5mm thickness offers dense cushion for knees and elbows.
The Duramat is also something of a two-in-one, as it has both a textured side and a sticky side, so you can hold yoga poses a bit longer without worrying so much about slipping. It may take some wearing in before the sticky side offers complete traction, though. Once the mat is worn in, it should last you a long time thanks to the durable PVC its made from and Gaiam backs it with a lifetime warranty. Whether for yoga or any other exercise, the Duramat will offer a sizable, grippy, cushioned space to work out at home.
3. Stamina InMotion E1000
Best Compact Elliptical Machine
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Not all of us have room for large workout equipment like powered treadmills or ellipticals, but you don’t need to have a ton of space to get some light aerobic exercise in with Stamina’s InMotion E1000 compact strider. The InMotion E1000 works a lot like an elliptical, with a smooth and impact-free motion, but it has a much shorter travel. Using it is akin to walking in place, letting you get some light cardio in at home.
The base of the unit has small display for keeping track of your exercise as well as a knob for dialing in the resistance. There are no handles for the InMotion E1000, so you’ll have to engage more muscles to keep your balance, giving you even more of a workout while using it. As a bit of bonus, you can spin the InMotion E1000 around and do some light pedaling while seated, letting you keep active while you watch TV or work at your desk.
4. Ring Fit Adventure
Best Home Exercise Game
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We all struggle to find the motivation to work out now and then. The gamification of exercise can be a compelling way to make workouts more engaging and help us get over that slight hurdle of willpower. Nintendo’s Ring Fit Adventure for the Nintendo Switch is one of the most enjoyable ways to play through your exercises.
The game centers around a fitness ring that works into a lengthy role-playing game. The game will have you perform various exercises from running in place and stretching out and holding yoga poses, to muscle-burning moves that have you stretch or squeeze the fitness ring. The Nintendo Switch tracks your movements through the Joy-Con controllers attached to the ring and a leg band, so it can give you live feedback on your movements. It strikes a good balance between work and play. If you’re already highly active, this game may not make much of a difference for you, but if you’re struggling with motivation and are looking for the spark to start working out again, Ring Fit Adventure could be just the thing.
5. Perfect Fitness Multi-Gym Elite
Best Pull-Up Bar
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Pull-ups are one of those wonder exercises. They work so many muscle groups all at once that it’s easy to feel like you’ve gotten a whole-body workout after doing just a few sets, and having a pull-up bar can let you do plenty of additional exercises beyond simple pull-ups. The Perfect Fitness Multi-Gym Elite is an excellent in-home option that can easily mount in most doorframes (just make sure the width and height of your doorframe match).
The Multi-Gym Elite is made of sturdy aluminum that can support users up to 300 pounds, but it includes plenty of padding to give you a comfortable grip and to go easy on your doorframe. It has a versatile design that lets you grip it in a wide variety of ways, so you can do close grip, wide grip, and parallel grip pull-ups, or you can even go with an asymmetrical grip. When you’re not doing pull-ups or chin-ups, you can use the Stamina Doorway Trainer Plus for leg raises, knee raises, or place the pull-up bar on the ground to use for pushups and tricep dips.
6. Feedback Sports Omnium Over-Drive
Best Bicycle Trainer
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If you love to cycle, you may have already considered getting a stationary bike to keep up your exercise routine even when you can’t (or just don’t want to) leave the house. But, with Feedback Sport’s Omnium Over-Drive bike trainer, you can keep riding the bike you love right in your house. While there are plenty of bicycle trainers that you can mount your bike to, the Omnium Over-Drive stands out for ease-of-use and portability. Unlike direct-drive trainers, you don’t have to fuss around with removing your rear wheel to mount your bike on the Omnium Over-Drive. You just pop off your front wheel, attach the fork of your bike to the stand, and position your rear wheel on the two rollers. The front stand will also keep you stable, so you don’t have to maintain as much control as you might on other roller-style trainers.
The whole unit weighs just 14 pounds and can fold up into a small duffle bag for easy storage or transport. So, when you aren’t using it, it’s much easier to keep out of the way than a stationary bike would be. And, when you do want to use it, it’s easy to carry and set up just about anywhere, whether that be in front of your TV on a winter night or out on your back porch when the sun’s shining.
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Mark Knapp is a regular contributor to IGN and an irregular Tweeter on Twitter @Techn0Mark
Source: IGN.com Stay in Shape With the Best Home Gym Equipment