Owning your own gym might seem like a luxury, but there’s more to consider than just the cost. How much space do you have at home? Whether you have a dedicated home gym area or you’re training in your living room, it’s still possible to make it work. A small space doesn’t have to be a barrier.
1. Choosing Home Gym Equipment: Start by Setting Your Fitness Goals
Before purchasing equipment, it’s crucial to define your fitness goals. For example, if your primary focus is cardio and fat loss, you’ll want to choose from common machines like rowing machines, ellipticals, stationary bikes, and treadmills. However, it's essential to understand the unique advantages and drawbacks of each type of equipment before making a purchase. After all, we want to achieve our goals quickly and efficiently.
For instance:
- Ellipticals emphasize body coordination.
- Rowing machines can help correct rounded shoulders and poor posture.
- Treadmills improve cardiovascular function.
- Stationary bikes are excellent for lower body fat loss.
Each piece of equipment also varies in price. If you're looking for budget options, consider smaller items like jump ropes or exercise mats.
If your goal is to build strength and muscle, then you should consider investing in dumbbells, barbells, power racks, and Smith machines. Here's a quick overview to get you started:
- Dumbbells offer the best value for money.
- Barbells are ideal for heavy lifting.
- Power racks and Smith machines are perfect for the big three lifts (squat, bench press, deadlift), and these exercises are essential for muscle growth.
Smith machines, with their fixed horizontal movement path, offer greater stability and safety, reducing the risk of losing control, which makes them more beginner-friendly. In contrast, power racks require more balance and stability, demanding greater core strength.
Of course, there are also other tools like resistance bands, kettlebells, TRX systems, cable machines, exercise balls, and battle ropes. The key is not to find the "best" equipment but rather the equipment that best suits your needs.
2. Determine Who Will Be Using the Gym
There’s a big difference between working out alone and having your whole family involved. If it’s just for you, then choose equipment that meets your personal training goals. But if your family will also be using the gym, you'll need to consider the difficulty level and safety of the equipment.
For instance, if elderly family members will be doing cardio, you should choose gentler equipment like an elliptical. On the other hand, complex free weight exercises like those with dumbbells, barbells, and power racks might not be suitable for them. However, the Smith machine, with its fixed horizontal movement path, can provide a safer option.
3. Assess Your Available Space Before Buying Equipment
This is perhaps the most important consideration. If you don’t have enough space, purchasing large equipment will only cause frustration. From my experience, once fitness equipment is unboxed, even if a return is possible, you’ll still need to pay about $250 in shipping fees.
Many people think foldable equipment is practical—using it, folding it away, and storing it in a corner. However, this often leads to the equipment being neglected and gathering dust. After all, working out is tiring enough, and having to set up and pack away your equipment each time isn’t sustainable.
Humans are inherently prone to laziness—it’s in our nature. When the time required for a task exceeds expectations, we tend to give up. When we don’t feel like doing something, we find countless reasons to justify quitting.
So, whether you're working out at home or in a gym, consistency is key. Many things require effort, and that’s a natural law. Since fitness training can be tedious and monotonous, sticking with it long-term will demand even more willpower. If you can’t keep it up, there’s nothing unusual about that—you’re essentially battling human nature every time you work out.
But let’s get back to the point.
4. How to Choose Fitness Equipment for Your Home Gym
Strength Training Equipment
I recommend choosing equipment that offers a variety of exercise options and results. For example, the Speediance Gym Monster is a comprehensive training machine that combines the Smith machine and a cable machine. It allows you to perform the big three lifts, shoulder presses, and various cable exercises.
Pair this with a digital-weight barbell and a professional adjustable bench, and I believe it can meet the needs of 90% of users. For example, a friend of mine who has been squatting and deadlifting for three years only lifts about 70 kg per side, so this setup should be more than adequate. The downside, of course, is the cost, which isn’t cheap. I suggest keeping an eye on flash sales on the official website or checking out trade shows where you might find similar equipment at a lower cost.
If your home gym doesn’t have the space for the Gym Monster, or if you don’t need such intense training, consider the Gym Pal, which I view as a lower-end version of the Gym Monster.
The Speediance Gym Pal is small enough for home use, but it still offers a range of exercises through its digital weight, allowing for full-body workouts. Compared to using dumbbells at home, it’s much more effective, and most importantly, it doesn’t take up much space.
However, the overall design is more compact, meaning you won’t be able to perform as many exercises. But even with fewer options, you can still do dozens of different exercises, which should be more than enough for daily workouts. For example, in addition to standard cable chest presses, you can also do incline and decline chest presses; seated shoulder presses; leg extensions; cable curls; and face pulls. The only downside is that it might be slightly more challenging to use, but considering the price, it’s still a good deal.
In summary, the Gym Monster is a versatile and cost-effective piece of equipment that’s worth considering if you have the space at home. If your budget is tight, you can also buy adjustable dumbbells. While they don’t offer as much weight or variety of exercises, they’re a good option for those who prefer free weights. A few dollars can get you a 30 kg set, which is quite cost-effective.
Cardio Equipment
Rowing Machine: It engages multiple muscle groups, effectively working your back, shoulders, and arms. This can help correct rounded shoulders and poor posture. Choose between water resistance, air resistance, or magnetic resistance models. Purchasing from an online platform is recommended for better after-sales service.
Treadmill: High-intensity cardio with significant calorie burn. It mainly works the lower body, including the thighs, calves, and glutes, and enhances cardiovascular health. Again, buying from an online platform ensures good after-sales support.
Stationary Bike: Simple and efficient. It engages your core, lower body, and even some upper body muscles. For a stationary bike, I suggest going for the most stable model within your budget. You can download training videos to follow along rather than paying for live-stream classes, which are often underutilized.
Elliptical Trainer: Gentle on the joints, combining arm and leg movements to improve coordination and core strength. If you’re aiming for fat loss and toning, consider a stepper-style elliptical as it engages the hips and thighs more effectively. For a machine that will also be used by older family members, a front-drive elliptical is a better option for meeting everyday exercise needs.
Jump Rope: Takes up little space, is affordable, and easy to learn. It mainly works the calves and wrists. There are various techniques to keep things interesting, but it requires some skill. Avoid cordless jump ropes—they're not worth it.
In summary:
For those with a larger body size, avoid treadmills and jump ropes as they can be hard on the joints. Ellipticals, rowing machines, and stationary bikes are joint-friendly alternatives.
Ellipticals improve body coordination.
Rowing machines are more tiring.
Stationary bikes can be monotonous.
Choose based on your personal preferences.
If you have some extra money, consider buying smaller training tools like push-up bars, ab wheels, or yoga mats. They’re inexpensive and effective.
That’s all for today. Thanks for reading!
