Best Compact Home Gyms – Guide & Reviews
Everyone needs to exercise in some capacity. Exercise is what keeps you young, healthy, sharp, boosts your immune system, and prevents sickness and injuries.
I know that it can be really inconvenient to have to go to the gym, especially after you have had a long day at work. Home workout solutions and equipment have become extremely popular for just that reason.
After an 8-10 hour day of work, the last thing that you want to have to do is stop at or commute to the gym, just to fight a bunch of sweaty people for the same machines and pieces of equipment.
There are tons of great home fitness equipment options that you can shop around for in stores and online, which is awesome, but that can also make it really hard to sort through.
I have taken some of the top pieces of compact home gym equipment and reviewed them for you so that you can decide which one would best suit your needs.
Recommended Best Compact Home Gyms
Editor's Rating:
The Weider Ultimate Body Works bench is a really compact, versatile piece of home fitness equipment that you can use to get a complete total body workout.
Its design uses an incline bench with a pulley system to create resistance using adjustable resistance bands.
This bench also has a really space efficient design that will easily fold up and store just about anywhere in your home.
The design of this particular, compact workout bench and the resistance band pulley system gives you the option of over 50 different exercises so that you can work your upper body, lower body, and core. You can adjust the bench and the resistance bands on this bench to load up to 50 pounds of resistance.
Pros
- 4 adjustable resistance bands that allow you to adjust your weighted resistance up to 50 pounds
- An adjustable bench that you can change the incline of to do a variety of different upper body, lower body, and core exercises
- Offers 7 different incline options to change the muscle groups you use and how you use them
- Minimal construction and assembly required- An adjustable pulley system that allows you to change the weight of your resistance bands
- It comes with a 90 days parts and labor warranty
- Easily folds up and stores just about anywhere in your home.
Cons
- Ships at a very heavy weight
- It seems that this unit is actually much better for upper body exercises, but is limited when it comes to lower body exercises you can do
- The design of this bench limits the range of motion that you are going to get with each exercise
- It doesn’t seem to be that stable of a machine
Editor's Rating:
The Stamina In-Motion Elliptical trainer is another nice, compact home gym option that you can use or take just about anywhere.
The entire premise of this particular piece of equipment is that you can easily slide or store this portable elliptical under a desk or chair.
That makes this piece of compact home gym equipment really nice for sliding under your chair or desk, whether that be in your home or even in at your office at work.
It has a built in monitor so that you can view your strides per minute, total strides, estimated calories burned, and total exercise. Overall, this is a nice, compact cardiovascular piece of fitness equipment.
Pros
- Compact design that can easily slide under your desk or a chair at work or at home
- An easy to read display that shows all of your workout stats including your total strides, strides per minute, total workout time, and number of calories burned
- Foot pedals that can go either forward or backward, so that you can work your leg muscles in two different ways
- Sturdy, durable steel construction- Non-slip pedals so that your feet can keep good traction while you are working out
- An adjustable tension control to control the intensity and resistance of your workout
Cons
- Not really a strength training machine as much as it is for pure cardiovascular training
- Limited number of exercises that you can actually perform with this machine
- It doesn’t have hand grips or handles like ellipticals normally have
Editor's Rating:
The Stamina Body Trac Rowing machine is another awesome piece of cardiovascular workout equipment.
Like many rowers, this compact home workout device is really easy to fold up and store just about anywhere.
Rowing machines like the Body Trac glider are great for building muscular endurance, muscular strength, and cardiovascular endurance.
This particular rower model uses two rubber coated handles (as opposed to the traditional t-shaped rower plastic handle) to simulate the two paddles that you would use when rowing a boat.
It also features an adjustable hydraulic system which makes each stroke feel fluid like you are gliding across the surface of the water. You can use the dial on the hydraulic system to change the resistance of the rower.
Pros
- A fraction of the price of top tier, competitive rowing machines
- A system that allows you to adjust the resistance of the rower to raise or lower the intensity of your workout
- A hydraulic system that makes each stroke feel fluid, as if you were rowing across a lake
- Folds easily so that you can store your rower absolutely anywhere
- Provides a quality cardiovascular and strength workout from the comfort of your own home
- Has a detailed display that shows you all of your workout stats
Cons
- The machine can be kind of loud and squeaky
- The calorie counter isn’t that accurate
- Your shoes can easily slip out of the foot straps
- Seems like the foot pedals need modified in order for your feet to stay in them
Editor's Rating:
The Maxi Climber Vertical Climber is the next versatile and compact piece of home gym equipment that we are going to be taking a look at.
Climbing in general is a really great way to build muscle in your shoulders, back, biceps, abs, quadriceps, and calves, and the Vertical Climber brings the health benefits of climbing in a compact design, that you can enjoy indoors.
This piece of home gym equipment takes your workout even further by providing an intense cardiovascular workout, on top of your strength training workout, so it is as if you are getting two workouts in one.
One thing that I really love about this piece of equipment is that it comes 90% assembled, so you can basically pull it out of the box and start working out immediately.
Pros
- Compact design that you can store just about anywhere.
- Great for at home or in your office- Provides an intense cardiovascular and strength training workout
- Super light and durable design
- Can burn more calories than walking on a treadmill or using a recumbent bike
- Fully adjustable to accommodate different user heights and sizes
Cons
- The climber is not 100% stable and could slide or rock
- Can be bad for people with weak or injured knees
- The all-in-one tracker that comes with the climber can be faulty or inaccurate
Editor's Rating:
The Marcy Deluxe Utility Bench is a strong and sturdy piece of fitness equipment that just about any serious lifter would be happy to have in their home.
It is an adjustable bench that you can use for everything from a full decline bench press to an overhead press, so it provides tons of options for different exercise.
This utility bench has a weight capacity of up to 300 pounds, which makes it really nice for weight lifters of all heights and sizes.
Pros
- Sturdy and durable design
- Totally adjustable so that you can do a variety of different upright and reclined exercises
- Has a weight capacity of up to 300 pounds
- Folds over for easy storage
- Contoured roller pads for comfortability
- High density padding and upholstery for a safe and comfortable workout
Cons
- This is just a bench. It doesn’t come with weights or any other equipment, so you will have to have that on your own or purchase that separately
- The knee padding in the front just gets in the way of your workout
- Not long enough for tall lifters
- Does not come fully assembled
How To Choose The Best Compact Home Gyms for You
One of the most important factors that you can consider when shopping for the best piece of compact home equipment for you, is selecting a piece of equipment and an activity that you like.
If you don’t like the exercise or exercises that you are doing, you are going to be much less likely to stick with your workout program. Quality is of the highest importance.
Make sure that you are getting a piece of a equipment or a machine that is made of sturdy materials that are going to last for years of sweaty workouts.
Make sure that you have the space for your workout equipment. This may seem like it is pretty much a no brainer, but you may be surprised that many people buy workout equipment that they can’t fit anywhere in their house.
Make sure that you take the measurements of your equipment and find a space where you can store your equipment and place where you have room to workout.
Final Verdict
All of these pieces of equipment are great, but there is one that particularly stood out to me. I would recommend getting the Stamina Body Trac Glider 1050 Rowing Machine. Rowing is an intense and incredible cardiovascular and strength training workout.
This rower may have a few issues with the foot panels, but overall it appears to be a sturdy piece of workout equipment that can easily fold up and store just about anywhere.
