Home gym equipment – really useful tools for your training at home

Are you looking for the right home gym equipment for your training in your own four walls? In the following I would like to introduce you to the things that are best suited for setting up your own small fitness room or a training corner. There is something for everyone so that you can find the right things for your needs.

If you want to stow your home gym in a minimalist way in a box in the closet, then you will find the right equipment here. You will also find some inspiration here if you want to convert your own room into a small fitness studio in your house or apartment.

Regardless of whether you want to build or lose muscle mass in your home gym and define your muscles or just want to finally get a little fitter again , you will find the right tools for this in the following overview.

The most useful tools for your home gym

There are many good reasons to train at home. In another article I summarized some good reasons for your own fitness room . It is best to stop by there if you are still unsure.

Once the decision has been made, it is important to find the right home gym equipment. Above all, this must suit you, your goals and your requirements at home. I want to help you with the following overview.

In the following I want to introduce you to the things that, from my point of view, make the most sense in a home gym. Some of these things can even be used on the move and are suitable for training on the go .

I will start with more minimalist tools that allow you to work out effectively at home even with a small budget and little space. After that, I’ll work my way up to some bigger and heavier home gym equipment.

1) A training mat as a minimal home gym floor

If we’re being completely honest, you can do quite a lot of effective exercises without any equipment. Even muscle building with your own body weight  is possible. If you want to learn the basic exercises in bodyweight training , you just have to look around a little here on the blog. My free training plans are also based on the principle of being able to train anywhere and anytime without any equipment.

However, training is not very comfortable on the hard wooden, stone or carpeted floor. So as soon as you want to do any exercises on the floor, you will be happy to have a good exercise mat.

I have two such mats myself. I have a slightly thinner, foldable fitness mat *. This can be stowed away in a suitcase and taken with me on my business trips. I also have a somewhat larger and thicker exercise mat * for my training at home.

2) A sling trainer – the smallest gym in the world

Anyone who has known me for a while knows that I am a big fan of so-called sling trainers. I always train with this tool, especially on my business trips. If you know how to train with it, you can use it to perform a variety of very effective exercises.

Such a sling trainer can be used flexibly wherever you need it. Then you can simply put it back in your closet or suitcase. When using it on a door, make sure that you use it against the opening direction of the door, so that the load is distributed on the door frame and not on the door alone.

With a sling trainer, all muscles can be effectively trained and the smallest models,  do not even take up as much space as a small water bottle. That’s why I like to call it the smallest gym in the world:

Such a sling trainer is particularly well suited for functional training and helps you to better control your body. With the right exercise variants and a little practice, however, you can also complete intensive hypertrophy training with it.

For my big sling trainer test , I compared many of these training devices with each other. However, if you don’t have the time or feel like reading the test, I have two short recommendations for you:

The absolute top model is the  ProgM16:)xzThis requires a little more space and is therefore only suitable for travel to a limited extent. However, it is extremely high quality and durable and its pulley makes it even more versatile.

3) The chin-up bar – home gym equipment for your back

Regular and effective back training is extremely valuable for your health and fitness. Many common back problems can be avoided if you strengthen your back muscles properly and regularly.

In my opinion, the best training for this is pull-up training . Here you combine different pull-up variants in a targeted manner in order to effectively strengthen your back and arm muscles. By the way, this also improves your general posture.

Don’t worry if you can’t do any pull-ups at the moment. With the right approach, anyone can learn pull-ups . In my article about this, I’ll give you some tips on how to master more pull-ups, step by step.

However, in order to be able to do pull-ups at all, you need a pull-up bar. In my home gym, I have a pull-up bar with various grip options firmly attached to the wall.

A pull-up bar for wall mounting * is not the only option, however. There are also versions that you can hang in the door and then stow back in the closet. I had a Powerbar2 door pull-up bar * for a long time and can only recommend it to anyone who prefers a bar for the door.

4) Resistance bands – for a little more tension in your home gym

Is your bodyweight training too easy or too boring for you? Then resistance bands can be the solution. With the help of such rubber bands you can build up additional resistance. Some muscle groups can also be trained much better and easier with a few resistance bands.

In general, these tapes are incredibly versatile. Not without reason I wrote an article some time ago with the title “ Why I never leave the house without my Theraband ”.

You can get a good resistance band set * cheaper than a good dumbbell set and it is much easier to take with you when you are on the go. It is significantly lighter and more compact. Incidentally, the linked set is my price-performance recommendation from my large fitness band test .

In my home gym equipment, however, I don’t see these bands (only) as cheap and lightweight dumbbell replacements. The resistance behaves completely differently and therefore they are also a great addition to dumbbell training. So they are incredibly good for warming up and providing additional impulses.

5) A pair of good dumbbells – flexible weight training

Dumbbells are arguably the first home gym equipment that most people think of. An (adjustable) weight bench and a couple of (adjustable) dumbbells and the basic home gym is done.

It’s the classic setup and there are good reasons for that. With the right dumbbell exercises, you can in principle train your whole body quite effectively. Basically, training with dumbbells also has many advantages.

First of all, all of this can be done with little space and can be stowed in a corner to save space after training. Due to the one-armed load, you can also specifically train against imbalances and ensure that your body is equally strong. Due to the high muscle fiber activation, the dumbbell is also the best tool if you want big biceps. And these are just a few of the benefits of exercising with dumbbells.

With a few good adjustable dumbbells * you can also change weights extremely quickly and efficiently. In the case of cheaper variants with classic cast iron discs, such as this model *, it takes a little longer to reposition. However, both implementations ensure that you can easily incorporate step-by-step increases into your training. This is particularly essential for muscle building training .

In short, dumbbells are the most effective training tool when your goal is to look good naked. At least that’s what my blogger colleague Mark Maslow says in his book Looking Good Naked *, in which he also gives numerous tips on training with it.

6) Kettlebells – more than just an alternative to the dumbbell

Kettlebells are very suitable as home gym equipment, without question. These kettlebells used to be very popular, especially in the former Soviet Union. They allow some special types of exercise with which the body can be trained very differently than with dumbbells. The kettlebell has a lot to offer, especially for training the core muscles and shoulders.

Personally, I’m not a huge kettlebell believer. However, my good friend and fitness YouTuber Johannes Kwella has specialized in this type of training and thus brought me to it. If you are interested in training with kettlebells, I can warmly recommend his book The Power of Kettlebells *. In it you will find out everything you need to know about training with the kettlebell.

There are different types of kettlebells. Personally, I like the competition kettlebells the most because they are always the same size. For many exercises, I just think that’s better than the different sizes of the cast iron variants. A good option at a fair price are, for example, the Competition Kettlebells from Bad Company *. Johannes also recommends this as an inexpensive option in his book.

A big disadvantage of kettlebells, however, is that you need some of them if you want to train effectively and make progress over the long term. Kettlebells have fixed weights and such kettlebells that have variable weights are not usable for a sensible training. You can start with two or three kettlebells for now. However, as you progress, you will need more to improve.

7) A weight bench – bench press and more

The weight bench just mentioned is simply part of dumbbell and barbell training. Many of the most popular exercises, like the bench press , can only be done if you have a weight bench.

For most chest dumbbell exercises, you’ll need a weight bench. This allows you more stability and a greater range of motion than if you were to do it from the floor. A good (adjustable) weight bench also opens up a number of possibilities for your back, shoulder and arm exercises.

A good weight bench has to be one thing above all and that is stable. In any case, make sure that the resilience of your bench can easily withstand your weight plus that of the weights you want to train with. Next, I recommend looking for a bench with a multi-adjustable backrest. This allows you a great variety of exercises.

A bench that can do both and can also be folded up to save space is the Fitness Reality 1000 Super Max weight bench *, which also convinced me with its very good price-performance ratio.

8) A barbell with weights – for the basic exercises

For me, my home gym was only really complete when I finally had my own Olympic barbell with some weights. As a big fan of the classic basic exercises , I used to go to the gym regularly. Since then, I’ve only trained at home and sometimes on the go.

Anyone serious in his home gym squats make at his deadlift technique  hone want who needs there necessarily his own barbell.

This should be a good Olympic barbell like this one *. It is important that it is a rod with official dimensions and a high load capacity and that the ball bearings run well. After all, you want to be able to train with the bar for a long time. If you take good care of such a bar, you will be able to train well and safely with it for several years.

Of course, you will need a couple of weight plates for training. After all, you don’t want to do all the exercises with 20 kilos forever. Get yourself enough 50mm weight plates right away so that you can do all the exercises and improve a little. Cast iron discs like these * are absolutely sufficient for normal fitness training. With a bit of luck you will find some cheap used ones too.

9) A half-rack or a full-rack

For training with your barbell, you also need at least a pair of simple but sturdy adjustable barbell stands * for safe storage of your barbell. Personally, however, I’m not a huge fan of freestanding dumbbell racks. I’ve seen too many of them fall over and the safety arms are always way too small. So if you have the space, I would recommend that you get a proper rack.

Such a squat rack with reasonable safety racks is also not that much more expensive and only takes up a little more space. However, the fixed connection of the shelves gives the whole thing significantly more stability. Here you can see my squat rack as it is in my fitness corner at home. The model is no longer available; I would buy this squat rack * anyway if I had the choice again.

Or you can buy a full-fledged rack like this Power-Cage * (optionally in a set with the weight bench recommended above). Here you have a little more stability and security as well as a few additional training options. If I move again at some point, I’ll definitely put something like this in my gym. If you have such a power cage in your home gym, everyone knows immediately that you are really serious!

If all of this takes up too much space, there are also special half-racks that can be mounted on the wall and folded away. As a result, they hardly take up any space when you are not actually using them for training. However, it is best to get advice from a specialist retailer and to have it installed by a professional.

10) A cable pull system

With many devices that you can find in a gym, it makes little sense to get them for your gym at home as well. At least I think that’s pretty exaggerated. With the tools mentioned above, you are already extremely well equipped for your home gym.

One thing that I can understand, however, that you want to have it in your home gym as well, is a cable pulley. Personally, I don’t (yet) have a cable pull in my home gym. However, some muscles can be trained completely differently with a good cable pull than “just” with dumbbells and resistance bands.

You don’t necessarily have to buy a full -blown cable-cross train tower * right away . Although I’m not saying that I would not like to have such a part … Actually, I really would really like to have such a device, but I don’t know where to put it now.

However, there are also ways to attach a more compact cable puller to your rack or pull-up bar. The existing weight of the dumbbells can then be used as the weight. I’ve seen this several times on American Instagram and YouTube channels and I will probably soon try to tinker something like this myself with a few carabiners, a steel cable and a heavy-duty pulley.

11) A cardio machine for some indoor endurance training

You have probably noticed that so far I have only presented home gym equipment for your strength training. However, you may also want to do some cardio exercise at home. We are devoting ourselves to that now.

Apart from the fact that you can of course train your endurance with any strength training device, you can also do a cardio program with your own body weight on your exercise mat without any aids. However, not everyone always feels like doing a HIIT workout on the mat.

Which cardio machine (or devices) you want to buy for your home gym ultimately depends primarily on what type of endurance sport you would like to do indoors and how often you want to train with it. However, I will only give you recommendations for cardio equipment that I have experience with myself and that are suitable for me and my home gym.

11a) A treadmill for intervals and bad weather

Personally, my favorite cardio workout is running. If it’s really cold in winter, I find it a little difficult. Fortunately, the last winters have always been mild. Before Corona, I always liked to do my interval runs on a treadmill as a cardio unit after strength training . There I can set the exact speeds I want to run and monitor my progress.

Even if it is probably not used that often, a treadmill in the home gym should also be as high-quality as possible in my opinion. If only because I don’t want to injure myself while running, it has to be robust above all. It should also run reliably and evenly and have a wide band. So that faster intervals can be completed, it should also be designed for at least 20 km / h maximum running speed from my point of view; better still a little more.

From my point of view, you have two options:

• A high-quality, classic treadmill with a powerful motor *
• A curved slat treadmill , like the AirRunner from Assault *

The latter is a slightly more expensive proposition. On the other hand, it is real gym quality. These treadmills are found in many gyms and crossfit boxes and last forever. Many professionals in various sports train with such bands.

The cool thing about these belts is that they are always as fast as you want to run. This is because you always run a little uphill and drive the treadmill yourself without a motor. However, it does take some practice if you want to maintain a speed. As soon as you get the hang of it, however, this is an excellent training device that always adapts to your current performance and reacts quickly to your impulses without you having to press any buttons.

11b) A rowing machine – cardio for the upper body

Good or bad weather, a cardio machine that I’ve been seriously considering purchasing for quite a while is a rowing ergometer. In contrast to running, I can’t just do it with rowing. Real rowing on the water is just too laborious for me.

Rowing, however, is a great cardio workout that also challenges the upper body. With low-intensity training, you can also watch a movie or series pretty well during this time.

If I could wish for something, it would be a  wooden water rowing machine * like my little brother has had for some time. This can also be put away upright to save space. In addition, it looks really great in any room and can therefore also stand well in the living room.

11c) An AirBike – For total cardio destruction

To be honest – I find cross-trainers kind of silly. I would never put such a thing in my home gym. If you enjoy doing cardio on something like that, that’s perfectly fine. However, I cannot recommend an exercise bike in this area.

However, what follows a similar principle is the so-called AirBike. I also like to call it the cross-trainer on steroids and I have a kind of love-hate relationship with it that I rarely live out. However, I know that there is hardly an indoor cardio workout with which you can stimulate and challenge your whole body more intensively. There are other manufacturers too, but I recommend getting the original Assault Air Bike *. This is also available in numerous fitness studios and crossfit boxes. Cheaper alternatives that I was able to test always disappointed me in terms of quality.

In addition to the sprint, training with the air bike is the only training I know of where cardio training can be done intensely enough to complete a real Tabata training in the spirit of the inventor.

12) Other useful home gym equipment

With that we have ticked off the most important things from my point of view. However, there are a few other useful tools for your training that can be a very good addition. Since I want to keep the whole thing somewhat compact here, I will only list a few examples that I have in my home gym myself. These things include:

• Push-up grips * for even more effective push-up variants
• A pair of fitness gloves for more grip and fewer injuries
• An Ab-Roller ab trainer * – I love and hate the ab exercises with it
• A Blackroll Set * for effective self-massage
• A dip belt * or a weight vest * for additional weight during the pull-ups
• A workout timer  – so you your rest between sets einhältst

I could go on with this list for a while, but that should be enough for inspiration. Once you’ve set up your home gym, you’ll notice if you’re missing something.

Incidentally, these smaller things can also make excellent fitness gifts for sporty friends.

Conclusion – have fun putting it together

They were my recommendations for your home gym equipment. I hope there was one or the other thing you would like to have in your own little gym at home .

Of course, you don’t have to get all of that for your home training. What you should ultimately get depends entirely on you and your goals. Everyone has their own goals and therefore needs different things if they want to set up their own home gym .