As you know, the situation with gyms is unstable. Will they be open? Will they close? But you wont let a silly little closure get in the way of your fitness goals. Or, you might not have been a regular exerciser, and now you have some extra time on your hands, so youd like to turn your attention to your fitness.

                But what pieces of equipment should you get? Thats what well talk about in this article the best home exercise equipment.

                Before we do, though, lets cover the biggest mistake: most peoples first purchase. A treadmill. Treadmills are the stereotypical pieces of equipment. And while theyre not bad, I wouldnt put them at the top of my priority list.

                Think about it:

  • How many exercises can you do on it? 1.
  • How long does it last? 5-7 years.
  • How much does it cost? Typically $2000-$5000 for a good one.

Again, while thats not a bad piece of equipment, Id place other pieces of equipment as a higher priority.

Without further ado, here are some of my favorite pieces of equipment for a home gym, along with their pros and cons.

Dumbbells

                Whenever someone asks me whats the first piece of equipment that they should get, I almost always say dumbbells. Why? For 3 reasons:

  • Versatility: you can do thousands of different exercises with them
  • Durability: its just a piece of metal. Itll last you forever and ever
  • Price: $800-$2400, depending on how much weight youre getting

The only downside is that they take up space. If youre tight on space, I recommend adjustable dumbbells, like the ones from Bowflex, or similar companies. All of your weights are in one space-efficient set. You just turn the knob, and voila, you go from 5 lbs. to 50 lbs.

Resistance Bands

                Resistance bands have certainly gained popularity during the pandemic, and for good reason. Many of the same factors that make dumbbells attractive also make resistance bands attractive.

  • Versatility: you can do thousands of different exercises with them
  • Price: a full set of resistance bands (providing from as little as 5 lbs. of resistance, and up to 175 lbs.) can be under $200.
  • Durability: if youre using it personally, itll last you a long time. Not as long as dumbbells, but several years for sure.

Plus, they take up very little room.

However, resistance bands are not my first choice for a number of reasons:

  • Motivation: with dumbbells, you can see yourself making progress. You move from 5 lbs., to 10, to 15., and so on. With resistance bands, you dont see the same progress.
  • Changing resistance: unlike a dumbbell or a barbell, where its the same weight from the beginning of the movement, to the end of the movement, with resistance bands, the more you stretch them, the more resistance they provide. So some parts of the range of motion are under-stimulated, and some parts are over-stimulated.

Nonetheless, despite those downsides, I still frequently recommend them to clients.

Barbells

                A lot of the things that make dumbbells a great choice also make barbells a great choice, like:

  • Versatility: you can do thousands of different exercises with them
  • Price: for a bar, plus a 300-pound set, itll be around $800-$1000
  • Durability: like dumbbells, this is just a piece of metal, so itll last forever

It also has one major advantage that dumbbells dont have: you can use more weight. If youre strong enough that you exceed the limits of most dumbbells (around 100 pounds each), barbells are the obvious choice.

But there are some obvious downsides to barbells as well:

  • They occupy quite a bit of space
  • They can be clunky. That is, if you need to switch between 2 different weights with relatively little delay between exercises, with a dumbbell, its a cinch. With a barbell, it takes more time.

Nonetheless, if someone has the room for it, and both a barbell, and dumbbells are within their budget, I certainly recommend both.

TRX/Suspension Trainers

                TRX (which is a brand name for suspension trainers, which is the generic name) is another versatile piece of equipment. Its made of two straps (which are made of nylon), that can be adjusted in length. You just hook it onto a door, pipe, or something similar, and get going.

                It has many of the same advantages as dumbbells and barbells:

  • Versatility: you can do thousands of different exercises with suspension trainers
  • Price: around $100-$250
  • Durability: it doesnt quite have the durability of a simple piece of metal, but if its just 1-2 people using it, instead of dozens/hundreds, as would be the case in a gym, it should last you for several years.
  • Easy to use. Switching from one exercise to another is a cinch.

One advantage that suspension trainers do have over dumbbells and barbells is portability. They weigh under 5 pounds, so if you travel (obviously not during these crazy times), you can take it with you.

But no piece of equipment is perfect, so it does have a few disadvantages as well:

  • Motivation: unlike weights, where you can see yourself making progress (and that progress is quantifiable by the amount of weight youre lifting), thats not the case with suspension trainers. Youre just manipulating leverage to make the exercise harder or easier, so the progress is not as visible.
  • Limited amount of leg exercises you can do.

Functional Trainers/Cable Columns

                Functional trainers are those cable columns you see at gyms. I like these a lot. They are very versatile, and user friendly. You can do thousands of different exercises with them. So far, it sounds like dumbbells and barbells. But one big advantage they have over dumbbells and barbells are the angle.

                With free weights (dumbbells and barbells), gravity pulls down (obviously). With cable columns, you can change the direction of pull, because you can use angles that you cant with free weights. You can pull horizontally, and the resistance is horizontal. With free weights, you can pull and push horizontally, but the resistance is always downwards. This opens up a lot of exercise possibilities that arent possible with dumbbells.

                But along with those advantages, there are some disadvantages:

  • Assembly required. If youre not a handy person (like me), this will be a nightmare. Or, you can just hire a handy person to assemble it for you.
  • Space: it takes up a lot of it.
  • Maintenance required. Sometimes, it needs oiling, or the pulleys need adjustments
  • Durability. While most of them are certainly durable, because theres more to them than just a piece of metal, it wont last you as long as free weights.
  • Price: these go for around $1500-$3000.

Treadmills and Ellipticals

                Finally, we get to the cardio equipment. Treadmills and ellipticals make the list. If you already have all the other pieces of equipment, its nice to have a cardio machine.

                These have one big advantage: you can do cardio on them, without being dependent on the weather outdoors.

                But they also come with big disadvantages:

  • Assembly required.
  • Maintenance required. These also need oiling, and occasional repairs
  • Durability: residential-use cardio equipment has a lifespan of about 5-7 years
  • Space: they take up quite a lot
  • Price: they run around $2000-$5000
  • Versatility: you can only do one exercise on them

Skipping Rope

                Finally, the poor mans (or womans) piece of cardio equipment: a skipping rope. As with all the other choices, this one also has its advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages:

  • At least in my opinion: fun
  • Great form of cardio
  • Takes very little space
  • No maintenance necessary, no assembly
  • Very inexpensive

Downsides:

  • If your ankles, knees or hips are injured/damaged, skipping rope isnt your thing.
  • It takes some coordination to get it going

Equipment I Dont Frequently Recommend

                Because I know Im going to get the what about question (what about bikes? What about rowing machines? And others), Im going to anticipate the whatabouts, and answer those pre-emptively.

                Here are a few pieces of equipment I dont frequently recommend.

Bike

                I rarely recommend people purchase an exercise bike for a couple of reasons:

  • If youre at a desk job, you sit all day. You dont need more sitting during your exercise. You need to do the opposite. Stand.
  • The bike emphasizes the quads, and underemphasizes the hamstrings and glutes. Most people (especially women) already have a quad to hamstring ratio that is too large (ideal is 4:3. That is, for every 4 pounds the quads can lift, the hamstrings should be able to do 3). A bike alone makes this imbalance even more pronounced, setting you up for knee injuries (ACL tears, meniscus tears, etc.). Of course, you can correct this by doing lots of hamstring and glute exercises, but most people dont take it into account.

Rowing Machine

                Although a rowing machine is a fantastic form of cardio (one advantage that it has over running is that your upper body is working as well), it shares some more of the disadvantages of bikes as well.

  • If youre at a desk job, you sit all day. You dont need more sitting during your exercise. You need to do the opposite. Stand.
  • The rowing machine emphasizes the quads, and underemphasizes the hamstrings and glutes. Most people (especially women) already have a quad to hamstring ratio that is too large (ideal is 4:3. That is, for every 4 pounds the quads can lift, the hamstrings should be able to do 3). A rowing machine alone makes this imbalance even more pronounced, setting you up for knee injuries (ACL tears, meniscus tears, etc.). Of course, you can correct this by doing lots of hamstring and glute exercises, but most people dont take it into account.

There is one other disadvantage to rowing machines: your forearms are often the limiting factor not your heart. Whenever youre doing cardio, you want your heart to be the one getting the most work. But if your grip is weak, youll often find your forearms fatiguing before your heart gets an effective workout. This isnt the case for everyone, but enough people find that their biggest limitation with rowing machines is their forearms.

Stability Balls

                Although stability balls are a popular piece of equipment, I rarely recommend them. Sure, if someone already has one, I make use of it, but its not my top priority.

                Why dont I usually recommend stability balls? Because youre not a circus performer

The number of exercises you can do with them is very limited, and theyre usually not strength exercises, but stability and balance exercises. Not to say that theres no value in doing stability and balance exercises, but most people are looking for strength, endurance, and fat loss. Stability balls are not the best tools for that job.

Kettlebells

                At first glance, it seems like kettlebells have the same advantages as dumbbells: theyre durable, relatively inexpensive (though way more expensive than dumbbells), and fairly versatile.

                So why dont I recommend them? A number of different reasons:

  1. Technique matters a lot. Whereas with a dumbbell, a person with no exercise experience can learn different exercises very easily, with kettlebells, thats not the case. To learn how to use the kettlebell properly, you actually need an instructor.
  2. Bruises on forearms. Where kettlebells are superior to dumbbells is that they are meant to be swung. But, because they can be swung, theyll often bang up the backs of your forearms, so get used to bruises in that area.
  3. They come in large increments. Whereas by and large, dumbbells come in 5-pound jumps, kettlebells come in 4-8 kg jumps (thats 9-18 pounds).