At this point, most of us have done at least one or two at-home workouts and realized how convenient it is to get some exercise in without having to step outside the house, especially now that the weather is colder and the daylight hours limited. We don't anticipate working out from home going away anytime soon, but the good news is, building up your home gym doesn’t require a ton of equipment. There are so many options with smart technology and/or streaming subscriptions that give you access to a wide selection of workouts that work your full body, so you can really get some bang for your buck no matter what type of equipment you choose.
Whether you prefer cardio or strength training, an instructor-led class, a gamified exercise experience, a traditional machine, or something smaller and sleeker, here are 10 pieces of home gym equipment you can get just in time to kick off the New Year on the right foot.
For anyone who loves a good cardio session paired with motivating music, look no further than the SoulCycle at-home bike. In fact, great tunes are so integral to SoulCycle classes that at the end of your ride, not only do you get metrics in power, distance, and cadence, but you also see your Beat Match, or how in sync you were with the rhythm of the playlist. The bike itself is sleek and comes with a large 21.5” touch screen, built-in speakers, and Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity.
The additional Equinox+ membership ($39/month) gives you access to a library of live and on-demand spin classes, but you’ll have access to Equinox classes, as well as pure Yoga, HeadStrong (guided meditations), Rumble (strength training), Precision Run (treadmill and outdoor running workouts), [solidcore] (Pilates), and TB12 (inspired by Tom Brady). See our full review of the SoulCycle at-home bike here.
The MYX II bike is a relatively affordable spin bike, and if you get the MYX II Plus Bike, you’ll get the bike and heart monitor as well as a six-piece weight set, kettlebell, foam roller, exercise mat, and a resistance band to build out the rest of your home gym. The bike has a large screen to display stats and workouts, but unlike SoulCycle, the pedals also have cages so you can ride wearing normal sneakers if you don’t own (or want to buy) clip-in shoes.
The app has both on and off-bike workouts, and the heart rate monitor helps personalize your training — it assesses your cardio fitness levels and gives you three heart rate zones to target throughout your exercise sessions. Read our review of the MYX bike here.
Tempo Move is like having your own gym with a personal trainer in your living room. Tempo Move comes with a small cabinet with smart weights and Tempo Core, which connects to your phone and TV and uses 3D sensors to get real-time feedback to help track, improve and optimize your workouts based on your personal progress and goals. Tempo counts your reps, provides feedback on your form, and lets you know when to level up with more weight, just like a personal trainer but in digital form.
The membership provides you with thousands of on-demand and live classes. Read more about the brand-new Tempo Move here.
Acquired by lululemon in 2020, Mirror is a home gym that can fit into even the smallest of rooms. It mounts to the wall, and when not in use, it looks like, well, a mirror. But within that reflective surface is a hi-tech device with a camera mount that can provide you with customized exercise modifications, real-time feedback, and 1-on-1 training (for an extra fee). There are over 10,000 workout classes to choose from, including dance cardio, kickboxing, yoga, and stretching, which means you’ll never get bored.
The brand also recently launched smart weights (dumbbells and ankle weights) that are compatible with the Mirror and can provide tracking, form correction, and weight recommendations.
Similar to Mirror, Tonall is a home gym system that mounts on the wall to take up minimal space. Instead of bulky weights, Tonal uses dynamic weights that adjust to your movements and can provide 200 pounds of resistance. Tonal’s accessories include smart handles, a smart bar, a rope, a bench, and more, which all easily attach to the device and help you get a full-body workout.
There are also sensors built-in to track your workouts and provide real-time guidance based on your performance, so you get an effective, customized sweat session each time. You can take instructor-led workouts, try curated programs, or create your own workouts.
You may not realize it, but rowing is a total body workout and a low-impact one at that. The Echelon Row-7s Connected Rowing Machine has an immersive touch screen monitor that flips 180° so you can do off-machine workouts, and the resistance controls are located directly on the handle to help you make quick adjustments as needed.
There are live and on-demand guided rowing classes that transport you to scenic waterways around the world, plus other classes like bootcamp, core, yoga, and barre. It has a foldable design so you can store it out of the way when not in use.
If you don’t love classes, Ergatta has a different and fun way for you to get a good workout in. Instead of instructor-led workouts, Ergatta uses competition and a game-like experience to make exercising more fun. You can do interval workouts based on personalized targets, race with other Ergatta community members or yourself, or do push programs that are organized around themes.
As you hit certain milestones, you can unlock new programming, trigger charitable donations, and more. The machine adapts to your personal fitness levels and objectives, and as you improve, it recalibrates your targets across all workouts.
If running is your workout of choice, make it more convenient to log those miles on a NordicTrack Commercial 1750 treadmill. It has a 10” touchscreen, and with an iFit membership, you can stream live workouts, take on-demand workouts that allow trainers to automatically adjust your speed and incline/decline, virtually run with trainers in scenic locations across the globe, or round out your cardio with HIIT or yoga workouts. Plus, you’ll never have to worry about the weather outside for your next run.
Elliptical machines are great for a low-impact, full-body cardio workout that’s easy on your joints. The Nautilus E616 has 25 levels of resistance for exercisers of all levels, Bluetooth connectivity, an LCD screen, and 29 pre-loaded programs. You can also get the Explore the World App, which lets you work out virtually with people all over the world in real time, on global routes that automatically adjust to your speed.
After a long day, you might just be in the mood to get some stress out by punching something. Channel that energy into FightCamp, an at-home boxing gym with workouts led by former professional fighters. With a combination of punches, defensive moves, and body-weight exercises, you’ll get both a cardio and strength workout in one. The workouts are designed in rounds with rest in between, with different challenges and goals each round, and the app can track your live punch stats and how you stack up with others on the leaderboard.
