So you’re looking to buy some of the best home gym machines, but you don’t know where to start? We get it. Maybe you’re on a budget or perhaps you’re just not too familiar with the best home gym equipment. That’s where we can help.
Not only do we know quite a bit about working out at home without equipment, but we’ve also tried some of the best home gym machines and equipment. Whether it’s the best smart home gym equipment, the best dumbbells, the best treadmills or the best gym shoes, we take health and fitness seriously and can help you figure out what the best home gym equipment is for you.
To jumpstart your home fitness journey today and check out some of the best home gym machines below. Any one of these tools or machines will help turn your garage or unused room into one of the best home workout spaces money can buy.
1. Bowflex Blaze Home Gym
BEST OVERALL
If you visit SPY even semi-regularly then you know we love Bowflex. While you might assume it’s because they pay us (trust us, they absolutely do not), the truth is a lot simpler. Bowflex’s home gyms, more than just about any other equipment you can buy, can transform any room into a home workout center.
Truly, any machines from the Bowflex Home Gym Series will drastically improve what you can do at home. The Bowflex Blaze is the middle-of-the-road machine in the series, but it’s also an overall fantastic machine that will add value on day one to any budding home workout space.
With this machine, you can perform more than 60 exercises to strengthen your entire body, including bench presses, shoulder press, bicep curls, lat rows and pull-downs, leg presses and extensions. We’re certain if you’re creative you can figure out even more ways to use the machine than we or even Bowflex ever considered.
There are two keys to the machine that make it so great. First, it’s adjustable in thoughtful ways, so you can perform different kinds of exercises and better customize how you perform them. The second is Bowflex’s choice to go with 210 pounds of resistance rods instead of heavy weights or plates. While that might be a downer for purists, the use of rods delivers two immediate benefits: The design could be a lot simpler and the end product could be much cheaper. And if you’re worried about topping out on the resistance rods, fear not because this machine is upgradable to 310 and 410 pounds of resistance to keep you pushing your limits for years to come.
Related Stories
2. Marcy MWM-988 Home Gym
RUNNER-UP
If you just can’t abide by resistance rods, the Marcy MWM-988 Home Gym will be more up your alley. You can do chest presses, chest flys, leg extensions, lat pulldowns and more, and you can do it all with 150 pounds of good ol’ reliable metal plates. And if you can’t remember everything you can do with this machine, it’s OK. Like a lot of great professional home gym equipment, there’s a sticker on the machine showing you the most popular exercises you can do.
3. Fitness Reality 1000 Plus Magnetic Rowing Machine
BEST FOR FULL-BODY EXERCISES
If you were lucky enough to never row or join your school’s crew team, then you may never have exercised on an erg machine. An erg machine, or rowing machine, is the single best piece of equipment for a full-body workout.
The machine essentially simulates the act of rowing. Rowing works the heck out of the lower and upper bodies, not to mention puts your cardio to the test. When you row, you’re engaging your upper back, your chest, arms, abs, obliques, quads, calves and glutes.
We recommend the Fitness Reality 1000 Plus Magnetic Rowing Machine for most people. It’s quiet, has a nice large display so you can see your settings and exercise stats in real-time and it offers a compatible app to track your workouts over time.
4. NordicTrack Commercial Series 1750 Treadmill
BEST FOR RUNNING
There’s a good chance that no matter what home gym equipment you end up buying, if you want decent cardio, you’re going to want a great treadmill. After all, a treadmill is just the best home gym machine for running.
And when it comes to the best treadmill, we think you can’t do much better than the NordicTrack Commercial Series 1750 Treadmill.
The basics: You can go up to 12 mph and the treadmill can reach up to 15 degrees of incline and three degrees of decline for a seriously challenging run.
The bells and whistles: NordicTrack’s Runners Flex cushioning is designed to offer a harder tread to resemble outdoor running or a softer low-impact tread according to your preference. One-touch controls on a 10-inch HD touchscreen make it a breeze to change settings on the fly. It also has rollers for easy moving and can fold up, which means it doesn’t need to completely take over the room it’s in.
The next-level features: You get a free month to NordicTrack’s iFit program with trainer-led classes that, thanks to built-in speakers, you don’t need to wear headphones to listen to (though with Bluetooth connectivity, that’s easier than ever). The iFit program also lets you make your own running path anywhere in the world so you can feel like you’re getting out even when you can’t.
5. Schwinn Fitness 430 Elliptical
BEST ELLIPTICAL
Ellipticals are some of the best home gym machines because they provide a great cardio workout while generally being less noisy and impactful on joints than treadmills. The Schwinn Fitness 430 Elliptical isn’t super fancy, but it has basic exercise-tracking software and 20 levels of resistance for whatever exercise level you’re at.
Many reviewers did complain about all kinds of noises, but just as many people said that their machines were OK or at least weren’t making any noises they didn’t expect. So we’d recommend being extra careful with assembly to minimize your chances of unwanted noise.
6. Gazelle Edge Glider Machine
BUDGET CARDIO MACHINE
If you’d prefer a budget cardio option that gets more of your body working than a desk bike, give the Gazelle Edge Glider Machine a chance. It’s easy to laugh at infomercial products like the Gazelle, but the fact of that matter is that home gym machines like this make casual exercise affordable and accessible to so many people.
In essence, the Gazelle Edge Glider is a stripped-down, human-powered elliptical. Like on an elliptical, you move your arms and legs to simulate a steady run or walk and engage more of your body than you would on an exercise bike.
Sure, this won’t be the best for serious runners, but even then, it could make for a great warm-up machine. So whether you’re a pro or a rookie, the Gazelle will have something to offer you. Plus it folds up for easy storage when you’re finished.
7. Peloton Bike
BEST FOR CYCLING
We couldn’t talk about the best home gym machines without also touching on the Peloton Bike.
In short, when it comes to cycling and just great home gyms, the Peloton Bike is one of the finest we’ve ever used. Yes, it is true you’ll fork over more than $2,000 for the privilege of riding a non-moving bike in your own home, but if you’re a cycling enthusiast this is one investment we suggest you consider just due to the overall package Peloton is selling.
First, on the bike itself, it’s just a great cycling bike. It features an adjustable seat, Bluetooth connectivity for headphones and heart rate monitoring on a device like a smartwatch as well as a quiet belt drive so you can cycle without disturbing the peace.
It also features a 22-inch HD touchscreen, which would normally be overkill, but not when Peloton offers an on-demand library of cycling classes with different instructors, music and durations. Whether you need a full-on 90-minute grind or just a five-minute warm-up, you’ll find options.
There’s only one major downside: You recall that sweet on-demand library of classes with instructors and music to help push you to your maximum? Yeah, to get the bike’s biggest selling point, you have to subscribe for $39 per month to get it and the companion app, and you must subscribe when you purchase the bike, though you can cancel it later. But without it, you basically just have an excellent exercise bike.
But when you consider that you likely spend about that much in a gym membership and on any in-person classes, the math makes a lot more sense.
8. Sunny Health & Fitness Magnetic Mini Exercise Bike
BEST DESK BIKE
Though the Sunny Health & Fitness Magnetic Mini Exercise Bike doesn’t have much to offer for fitness enthusiasts, it can be perfect for casual exercisers looking to squeeze more cardio into their day. I purchased the previous model of this little bike and it was perfect for my casual exercise needs and limited cycling strength. So if you’re looking to try to get back onto the bike too, this mini bike could be one of the best home gym machines for you.
9. AbCoaster MAX Ab Machine
BEST FOR ABS
While the trusty crunch can and will build abs, you simply can’t exercise the full range of muscles with that exercise alone. That’s where a machine like the AbCoaster MAX Ab Machine can help. The knee pads slide around on a track, allowing you to get a full oblique and ab crunch on one side before swinging around to the other. Exercising your abs this way better targets the abs and removes stress from other body parts that you don’t need to be using.
10. Tonal Home Gym
SMARTEST HOME GYM
The Tonal Home Gym is definitely the most radical home gym solution you can spend your money on. Everything else here is pretty traditional: Buy equipment, move weight, get fit. But the Tonal Home Gym tries to do two forward-thinking things at once: give you one machine for strength training and bring the personal trainer into your home gym. The machine uses 17 different sensors to detect and learn how you lift so it can cue you on its screen. Further, it can tailor workouts in accordance with your previous workouts and give you different programs for different goals such as toning or muscle building. Essentially, the Tonal Home Gym is trying to give you the what and the how at the same time in a sleek, minimalist package with up to 200 pounds of built-in resistance.
If you’re looking for something a bit more high-tech that still offers the ability to perform most major upper body exercises and a good deal of lower body exercises, the Tonal is the best home gym machine for you.
11. NordicTrack Vault Complete Set
ALSO CONSIDER SMART HOME GYM
The NordicTrack Vault Complete Set gives the Tonal a run for its money in the smart home gym space. It’s less of a machine than the Tonal Home Gym, but the Vault is still looking to bring professional fitness training and the full gym experience together into one home-friendly package.
NordicTrack calls this the Vault because it’s basically a closet with a mirror on it. The closet contains everything you’ll need for any kind of workout — including six sets of dumbbells from 5 to 30 pounds, two kettlebells weighing 20 and 30 pounds, three resistance bands with 20, 30 and 50 pounds of resistance, three progressive resistance loop bands, an exercise mat, two yoga blocks and more — and the mirror contains a 32-inch HD touchscreen to display the workout videos so you can watch yourself in the mirror while trying to mimic the professional.
Alas, as is the case with all interactive NordicTrack products, you do need to subscribe to iFit after the first month to continue receiving exercise content, but if you want to optimize your home workouts with the help of professionals, it’s worth shelling out for. Now the actual sticker price, $2,999, is out of this world, but again, if you want one of the best home gym machines, it could be worth shelling out for.
12. NordicTrack Fusion CST Pro
BEST CABLE MACHINE
If you’re looking to combine strength training and aerobic exercise, or if you just love exercising with cables, the NordicTrack Fusion CST Pro will be one of the best home gym machines for you. With 20 levels of magnetic resistance, an integrated pull-up bar, all the grips, cables and strap accessories you need and an iFit membership — free for the first month, $40 per month thereafter — you’ll be able to do all kinds of full-body workouts with dozens of exercises, such as presses, flies, pull-downs, pull-ups and more. Sure, this is a pretty expensive home gym machine, but any quality machine will cost a couple of thousand dollars and it’ll offer decades of high-quality cable-based exercises.
13. K KingKang Power Tower
BEST FOR BODYWEIGHT EXERCISE
If you’re not looking for anything fancy and just want to build up your core and upper body strength, then you’re going to want to check out the K KingKang Power Tower. With a sturdy power tower, you can perform chin-ups, pull-ups, dips, Atlas push-ups and knee raises. Across all those exercises, you’re working your biceps, chest, forearms, back, triceps, abs and some obliques. But what makes the power tower great is you can do all of that with one piece of equipment, no additional weights and with significantly less money than you would need for a more sophisticated exercise machine. If you’ve never done bodyweight exercises, it would shock you how exhausting they can be and how jacked you can get doing them without ever buying a single dumbbell.
The K KingKang Power Tower has the features to help you accomplish all that, and it has built-in racks for powerlifting if you ever want to add a barbell, plates and workout bench into the mix. All in all, the power tower is a great, simple, versatile piece of equipment and one of the best for upper body workouts at home.
14. Iron Age Pull Up Bar
BUDGET HOME GYM
The pull-up bar almost certainly doesn’t qualify as a true home gym machine, but hear us out. It may be humble, but a good pull-up bar can offer you most of what a great power tower can offer, albeit in a smaller, perhaps less sturdy package. The Iron Age Pull Up Bar is designed for most doorways, so your gym is wherever you have a free door. With this bar, you’ll be able to work your arms, chest, forearms and back with ease, and if you’re really driven and have space you might even be able to pull off some leg raises.
If you’re looking for some upper body development on the relatively cheap side, a pull-up bar may be the best home gym equipment for you.
Stay Home, Stay Fit and Stay Comfortable With These Exercise Mats