There's a reason so many people are willing to pay big bucks for a gym membership: You get access to a full range of workout equipment, including strength-training machines, cardio equipment and an extensive free-weight setup. Having the same setup at home would be great, but for many Americans, living space and money are at a premium. Make the most of your exercise ambitions, without feeling like you're living at a gym, by using one of the best compact home gyms available.
Total Trainer
"The Exercise Equipment Expert" review journal picks the Total Trainer DLX by Bayou Fitness as the best glideboard gym in its price range, citing more features and better durability than other similar models. Glideboard gyms in general are versatile and space-efficient; you push or pull a padded glideboard up and down inclined rails, and your own body weight, as you sit or lie on the glideboard, serves as resistance. If you can't get your hands on a Total Trainer DLX, your local classifieds are sure to have dozens of other glideboard gyms for sale, some hardly used, at bargain prices.
Adjustable Dumbbells
According to the Home Gym Adviser, you can piece together a home gym setup from highly efficient workout gear such as kettlebells, resistance bands, fitness balls and jump ropes for far less money than purchasing a weight stack gym. A set of adjustable dumbbells takes up less space, is far less expensive and far more versatile than most home gyms.
Bowflex Classic
The Bowflex Classic Home Gym is the simplest, most compact and least expensive trainer the Bowflex offers. Little more than an adjustable weight bench with a lat tower and leg developer on the same frame, plus the ability to convert into a rowing machine for cardio workouts, the Classic is surprisingly versatile. You can use it to perform more than 30 exercises. The Power Rods, thin metal rods that flex for resistance against each exercise, instead of lifting weight plates, are a trademark Bowflex innovation.
Bodylastics
Trainer Secrets picks the Bodylastics Home Gym as the best compact home gym in the under-$100 price range and the smallest home gym, period. The Bodylastics home gym includes several different strengths of elastic resistance bands with quick-adjust clips on the ends that let you quickly swap between the included handles and ankle straps. You also receive a door anchor for anchoring the resistance bands to the top, side or bottom of a door.
Listing resistance bands as a home gym may seem like a bit of a stretch--pun not intended--but the included ankle straps, door anchor and quick-change clips set Bodylastics apart from standard elastic resistance bands.
TRX
The TRX suspension system mimics the effect of training on gymnastics rings. The entire TRX suspension system weighs less than 2 lbs., but as long as you have a place to hang it from, the TRX suspension trainer forces you to build core stability and functional strength as you struggle to keep your body steady against its constant instability. You can also adjust the TRX to leverage your body in almost any direction against gravity.
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