Best exercise equipment for the home?

My word of advice. Try walking outside first. See if it's something you'll do consistently. If you struggle with just doing that, then the treadmill will end up being a clothes hanger quickly.

If you're set on getting a treadmill, then get a second hand one. There are so many out there that have only been used a few times and are clothes hangers.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Power rack, barbell with at least 500 pounds of weight, room to do deadlifts, adjustable bench, leg extension/leg curl, lat pull-down, and an ability to cable tricep pushdowns, pull-ups, cable flies, cable or machine rows, dumbbells up to at least 40’sare my non-negotiablez for a home gym.

Bonus items: ez curl bar, trap bar for deadlifts, adjustable dumbbells that go up to 90 lbs.

The one thing I do miss about commercial gyms is dumbbells up to 125-130. DB bench doesn’t bother my shoulders like barbell does sometimes.

I have an elliptical machine and I like it because it is low impact and works my upper body too.

I personally have an all in one cable machine that I use at home in the event I can't get to the gym. So glad I had it during pandemic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpDSk-31RjA

The great thing about this machine is it has eccentric resistance unlike a Bowflex machine with rods.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

We had a treadmill. It was loud and big, and when the track started slipping, a PITA. Getting rid of it was also annoying, since it was upstairs, and as mentioned it was big, and damned heavy. Never again. I like a recumbent bike and Netflix. More serious cyclists probably love Zwift with a proper bike set-up. If you want something higher intensity than a recumbent bike, look at an assault bike.

A lot of people swear by a rower, particularly the gold standard Concept D.

Personally, I think unless you're very obese in which case cardio is probably your best choice to get weight down, the best investment is an adjustable bench and a set of adjustable dumbbells. It gives you so much variety, doesn't take up much space, it's quiet, and it's so important for your muscle mass and bone density.

mareeya88 wrote: »

That sounds like a lot of weight to carry! Is that recommended for women also? I don't think I've ever lifted anything over 20 pounds. It probably would be more practical to buy that vs a machine though!

YES!!

You don’t have to lift weights, but women aren’t weak little things. It’s my current bug bear that so many women think it’s not safe or advisable to lift - yet how much does a baby or toddler weigh? Every carried a pushchair or heavy bags of shopping up the stairs? Ever carried a wet load of washing outside? Even a bag of potatoes can weigh more than a dumbbell.

So is it recommended for women? Absolutely. But does that mean that you, personally, will enjoy using it? Not necessarily - see if you can try before you buy, or even join a gym for one month to try stuff out. See what you enjoy then price it up.

There is a huge choice of kit out there and it’s easy to buy something expensive that you get bored with quickly. So see what you can try in gyms or even from suppliers before you part with your money.

I'd always suggest "try before you buy" (with a particular type of machine, not necessarily the exact brand). Make sure you enjoy it by trying it multiple times, at a gym or a friend's home or something. Most exercise machines become expensive, dusty clothes-racks, realistically and unfortunately.

Consider some less-expensive at-home things, too: Kettlebell, resistance bands, jump rope, even a TRX knock-off, exercise videos that don't need expensive equipment. Even active video or VR games can be good.

Myself, I have a Concept 2 rowing machine (that I've had for almost 20 years in regular use), a Concept 2 bike (bought during the pandemic and used a lot since, in Winter), and some miscellaneous smaller stuff (dumbbells, bands, exercise ball, etc., that I use less often).

Before I bought the first big item, the Concept 2 rowing machine, I had already been a rower (on water as well as machine) for a couple of years. In fact, I bought the machine for a slight discount when a bunch were sold after a big rowing machine race I'd actually competed in myself. Before I bought the bike, I had taken spin classes a couple of times a week for literally years (maybe 10? don't remember), but I didn't want to keep going to group classes during the pandemic.

The magic is in finding some way of being active that you really, truly enjoy. That will be a machine for some people, and some folks do love the expensive but feature-rich machine+subscription kind of thing.

Wishing you success in finding what's best for you!

Do you have a budget gym like Planet Fitness close by?

Joining, even for a month, would give you a chance to try a variety of machines to see what, if any of them, you enjoy doing and can see yourself using for the foreseeable future.

Of course, if you have a PF handy it's way cheaper to just stay there and avail yourself of a variety of equipment rather than just one machine.

Notwithstanding all of the above if I had to choose just one machine to use at home it would be my Concept2 Rower ( I can run & walk outside, I can bike outside etc)

Definitely agree with the advice to buy used if you can, so many people buy fitness equipment with the best of intentions that ends up just collecting dust.

mareeya88 wrote: »

Thank you all for your input! A lot of good ideas!

I think I'm going to visit the gym and try out the weights to see what kind of weight training I can do, or if there's another machine that's really useful. I do not want to have a giant thing that breaks like it did for RetroGuy, or for it to just take out space. I'm not made out of money!

I'm just a little concerned about doing the weight lifting improperly and breaking my back or something! I'll totally give it a go though.

Thank you all!! You guys are so awesome and helpful!!

A decent gym will give you some free instruction, and if you can afford it, a few sessions with a PT will help you to develop proper form. Defo worth the money, and again will help you discover what you enjoy and what you hate 😀

mareeya88 wrote: »

You guys are right; the gym is way more versatile and I can get help from PTs and try different workouts. The reason why I wanted a home gym is because I share my car and I can only use it at nights for work, so I can't take myself to the gym on the daytime, but I can just go there after work and it should be fine. I don't have to drain my savings for no reason! There's a Planet Fitness very close to my home too.

I can't wait to lose my giant stomach and legs!

It's wise to check out the gym for a few months at least. Check out what sort of things you enjoy doing, because that's what you'll stick with. Don't be fearful of free weights and injury. You can start with machines. They're simple and safe. Graduate eventually to free weights if and when you feel ready, and there is ample good advice from solid sources on YouTube/internet, as well as probably trainers at the gym. Then maybe Black Friday or Xmas time you can take advantage of sales for home equipment. IMO that's much cheaper in the long run than paying a monthly gym membership forever, which is easy to lapse due to weather/convenience/etc.

It sounds like if you had something at home you may be able to do more, because of the car sharing, but in the meantime walking can burn a lot of calories, if you can fit that in during the day.

Quality pair of walking shoes.

It’s too easy to dive in, super enthusiastic, and be over and done with it all in a week or a month.

Simply walking gives you a starting point to see if you’re willing to really commit, and the mental boost being outside is unexpected (was for me, anyway).

It also served as a place to “build up” to
other exercise. With all I do now, I still make time to walk. It’s my favorite of all. Podcasts, chatting with the dog. It’s no longer “exercise”. It’s just a pleasure and
something to anticipate. (As is sub-95 degree weather, lol.)

If you have to have a peice of equipment, I like the Planet Fitness type suggestion. You can sample different machines and with experience learn what you like and dislike about them.

For example, years ago, I “dove” in and bought an expensive Schwinn exercise bike. I used it maybe four or five times, after discovering that the “wheel” was a giant, noisy, blowing “fan drive”. The clean freak in me got radically cheesed off at the thought of that sucker blowing dust everywhere, and it did, literally, become a coat rack for years til we finally discovered Craigslist.

And buy from a place you can see, touch, and test. During the pandemic I went to a large fitness warehouse, planning to buy a stationary bike I could use with Zwift or something similar. The salesman, who had been there for donkey’s years was super helpful. It was him who suggested a recumbent instead. It was 180 degrees different from what I’d planned to get, but after listening to him explain pros and cons, I got it and have no regrets, even though it was never on my radar.

Being able to touch and try, I also learned there was some unstable equipment on the market that would have been flat out dangerous to a clumsy, inelegant oaf like me.

springlering62 wrote: »

PS another “try before you buy” regret experience…..Bowflex adjustable dumbbells.

I researched a lot before buying and thought they were a great idea.

Nope. Hate ‘em, but it was tail end of the pandemic and I was desperate to have something to fallback on in case we went into another lockdown.

Had I been able to “try before buy” I would have realized the big flat plates are incredibly awkward and uncomfortable for my wrists.

I would have also remembered (I forgot, since I hadn’t held dumbbells in months at this point) that I have a very strong personal dislike of dumbbells with round plates and much prefer dumbbells with the octagonal weights.

The only exercise I get from those stupid Bowflex dumbbells is vacuuming them. They’re too big for my equipment shelf, so there they sit on the floor, an accumulation cradle for cat fur.

I’d happily swap these new, unused and slightly furry Bowflex for a raggedy *kitten* set of used individual dumbbells I’d actually use.

Personally I hate ALL dumbbells. I’ve got a set and use them when I have to (ie when my coach programmes it) but I’d much rather use a barbell. I just can’t get into them. I’m perplexed by the bros who love arm day 🤣 (says the person who does weird Oly lifting *kitten*)