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The best at-home workout equipment for men: No gym membership required

All the at-home workout equipment you need for the ultimate home gym

Man barbell workout at home Speediance gym machine
Speediance Gym Monster 2 / Speediance

Working out in the comfort of your own home easily tops going to the gym when it comes to convenience, time efficiency, and privacy (you can blare your own music unapologetically, too). And, rather than be subjected to the temperature and vibe of a jam-packed gym, you’re able to fully customize the environment of your home workout space according to your preferences, fitness goals, and needs.

However, if you want the functionality and options you get at the gym, you have to invest the money and space to equip your home workout space with the exercise equipment you need. The good news is that the increasing popularity of working out at home in recent years has driven an explosion of high-quality, commercial-grade home gym exercise equipment with functionality and features that rival what you get with a hefty gym membership fee. With such a wide range of options available, you can outfit your home gym with all your favorite exercise equipment and have varied, challenging, and effective workouts right from the comfort of your own home.

Below, we share our recommendations for the best at-home workout equipment for men so you can crush killer workouts no matter where you are on your fitness journey or whatever life tries to throw your way.

Tested By The Manual
Speediance Gym Monster 2 full machine family plus set up rowing machine
Steph Green / Steph Green

Speediance Gym Monster 2

As one of our fitness writers, Steph Green, wrote about her experience with the Speediance Gym Monster 2, it has a modern, streamlined design that doesn’t take up much valuable space in your home and is easy to set up.

But how does it work? “I love that Speediance provides warm-ups, stretches, yoga, bodyweight cardio workouts, and strength training workouts for those days when you don’t want to use resistance. The quick 11 or 12-minute workouts are perfect when I’m short on time. With videos of an actual human showing you how to do the moves along with instructions, it’s easy to follow along,” she wrote, noting that she especially loved the rowing feature.

Tested By The Manual
BowFlex T9 treadmill in gym
Ian Bell / The Manual

BowFlex T9 treadmill

The Bowflex T9 treadmill is a high-quality, feature-packed machine designed for serious home workouts. During assembly, our team found the process fairly straightforward but noted the treadmill’s substantial weight—having extra help or opting for professional delivery and setup is a smart move. Once set up, they appreciated the smooth, quiet motor and the quick, silent incline adjustments, which made HIIT workouts feel seamless. The responsive dials on the handles were especially useful, allowing for easy and precise control over speed and incline without interrupting the workout flow.

One of the standout features for our team was the Apple Watch integration; syncing a watch was quick and provided real-time tracking of heart rate and other key metrics, which helped maintain motivation throughout the workout. The spacious running deck, paired with the cushioned Flex Zone, offered a comfortable running experience that’s easy on the joints. Based on their hands-on experience, the Bowflex T9 combines solid build quality, user-friendly controls, and smart technology, making it a strong choice for anyone looking to elevate their home fitness routine.

Smrtft Nüobell 80lbs. Classic Dumbbells

For years one brand has dominated the select-a-weight dumbbells, mostly considering they were the only product on the market. Today that is changing, and one brand, in particular, is upping the ante with premium quality, using machined steel plates in a sleek-looking design that adjusts from 5 pounds up to 80 pounds. with most other brands topping out around 50 pounds.

The Nüobell dumbbells were built with durability and aesthetics in mind that actually feel like genuine old-school iron weights. Featuring a streamlined plate design and a knurled grip handle, you cannot help but want to use these dumbbells on a daily basis.

Peloton Bike+

The golden standard when it comes to at-home spin cycling bikes, Peloton still continues to be the current industry favorite. Its latest and best model, the Bike+, has everything and then some when it comes to spin bikes. It features a rotating touchscreen and a smooth adjusting resistance knob. It also pairs with the heart rate monitor or Smartwatch app, and allows riders to see live in-class metrics like resistance, cadence, output, power zone, and more.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. With thousands of on-demand workouts and the industry’s best and most lively class instructors, you get the most out of each and every workout to really maximize your investment.

Complete Yoga Set Kit 7-Piece

This seven-piece yoga set is a smart option for your at-home stretching and yoga needs. We mostly love it for the mat, and the other included accessories are added bonuses. The “Better Grip Yoga Mat” is a plush quarter-inch thick and quite comfortable.

It features a double-sided reversible design that offers dual traction with a grippy surface on the floor and your hands and feet, preventing accidental slippage. It’s also a generous 72 inches long (and 25.5 inches wide), which is longer than many mats and suitable for taller guys, too. The set also comes with two durable foam yoga blocks, a yoga strap, microfiber yoga towels, and a carry bag with extra room.

23 Pack Resistance Bands Set Workout Bands (Stackable Bands, Loop Resistance Bands, Core Sliders)

Every home gym needs a great all-in-one resistance band set. This Chareada set includes 25 useful pieces, and the bands are durable and constructed of 100% latex. Unlike most resistance bands, which require you to approximate your resistance load based on perceived effort alone, these bands are labeled with strength ratings, enabling you to better monitor and progress your workouts.

You get five-tube resistance bands that range from 10 pounds to 50 pounds of resistance, and since they are stackable, the set offers up to 150 pounds of resistance per rep.

It also comes with five loop resistance bands, two ergonomic and soft handles, two ankle straps to facilitate lower-body exercises, two wrist wraps, and various fitness accessories. You also get two core sliders, which are great for dynamic planks.

The included door anchor is more bulbous and sturdy than most competitors’ products, making for a more sturdy and safe attachment. Each well-constructed tube band is 48 inches long and double-layered for durability so that they can withstand many at-home sweat sessions.

Marcy Flat Utility 600 lbs Capacity Weight Bench

The Marcy weight bench is a quality bench for home use. The heavy-duty steel frame enables the bench to have a 600-pound weight capacity, so it should be able to accommodate even your heaviest lifts. The high-density foam padding provides a comfortable support surface and distributes the load evenly across your back.

It has a compact design, which saves space, yet still feels substantial enough to support bigger guys. It has a two-year warranty and is coated in a rust-proof finish so that even if you’re not good about wiping it down after use, it will stay looking good.

TRX All In One Home Gym Bundle

TRX was the pioneer in the suspension strap training space. Though many other companies have since tried to recreate their own bodyweight suspension systems, few, if any, have been able to replicate the quality and versatility of the TRX products.

The All-In-One Home Gym bundle includes the suspension trainer, a wall mount, indoor and outdoor anchors, exercise bands, and a workout guide. It’s a great kit, whether this will be your first foray into suspension training or you hopped on the bandwagon years ago.

ZENOVA Power Rack Squat Rack Fitness Pull Up Bar Station Weightlifting Squat Stand

The Zenova Power Tower is sturdy, versatile, and adjustable, making it one of our favorite options for home gym power towers. This pull-up bar has a sturdy frame constructed from reinforced steel and is designed with a U-shaped base outfitted with anti-skid tread. This design helps for reliable stability due to the extended load-bearing surface area. The backrest can be moved into six possible positions to customize the fit and optimize your comfort, form, and ergonomics.

The height-adjustable barbell rests can be moved into 11 possible positions along with the height of the frame, enabling the power tower to also be used for exercises like incline or standard bench presses with the addition of a bench and weights. There is also a dip bar that doubles as spotter arms for safety. The unit can accommodate loads up to 800 pounds, making it a functional piece of equipment for even the most robust home gyms.

Hydrow Live Outdoor Reality At Home Connected Rowing Machine

The Hydrow Rowing Machine is perhaps the Rolls-Royce of indoor rowers. Accordingly, it comes with a big price tag. However, it’s well worth it if rowing is your preferred method of cardio or you have the interest and means. You’ll be getting a top-of-the-line machine with all the bells and whistles. The Hydrow offers an immersive, live outdoor virtual reality rowing experience to help you feel like you’re out on the water instead of grinding away at home.

Much like Peloton, you have to subscribe to a monthly membership, which gives access to thousands of on-demand river or studio-based classes for all experience levels as well as live classes. The video interface makes it look like you’re on the open water and makes the workout far more engaging than most rowing machines. The rower itself uses a premium, computer-controlled electromagnetic drag mechanism, which offers a smooth, realistic rowing experience.

ProBody Pilates Exercise Ball – Professional Grade Anti-Burst Fitness, Balance Ball

A stability ball or exercise ball is an inexpensive, versatile piece of equipment that can help you develop core strength and stability. If you work from home, you can also roll it from your exercise space to your work area and use it as a substitute for a desk chair and improve your posture while you work. The professional-grade ProBody stability balls come in 45, 55-, 65-, 75-, and 85-centimeter diameters, accommodating guys from under 5 feet to over 6 foot 3 inches tall.

They are constructed with thick, burst-proof walls made of non-rubber PVC for ideal support, safety, and durability, designed to withstand a whopping 2,000 pounds. The material is free from the toxic phthalates found in many cheap, plastic products. They come in a variety of colors, and each stability ball includes a hand pump, two plugs, a plug remover tool, and an exercise guide with instructions for moves that target your core, back, hips, glutes, back, legs, and shoulders.

FightCamp Set

We often forget about boxing when we think about hard workouts, but boxing packs it all in: speed, strength, cardio, fat-burning, agility, power, and stress release. FightCamp is a complete at-home boxing system with a premium free-standing heavy punching bag, gloves, a bag ring, a workout mat, punch trackers, and quick wraps.

FightCamp includes access to a huge library of over 600 on-demand workouts, with a range of options to suit your fitness level, desired workout length, skill, and goals. The compendium of workouts offers different focuses and goals, such as lower body, speed development, pure punching, or combo buildup. The FightCamp app has a leaderboard so you can fire yourself up with virtual competition and see how you stack up as your fitness improves.

No matter what type of fitness training you are into, our comprehensive list of the best exercise equipment for home workouts has something for everyone. If you want to truly maximize your training, we suggest picking up a handful of these pieces to make the most of cross-training.

Nicole Carlino
Jeff Turbett
Former Contributor

Jeff Turbett is a health and wellness coach with over three years of experience transforming clients lives and physical health. He now resides outside of Miami, Fl, and before that, spent his life in Wisconsin - he knows the overwhelming benefits the outdoors can have on overall wellness.  Having been an athlete his whole life, he understands the importance of cross-training and the numerous benefits it can correlate to overall well-being. Jeff is also a contributor to other fitness publications.

 

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