Best Home Gyms

Body-Solid home gym has small footprint

In most cases, experts recommend home gyms with weight plates over those that employ rods or resistance bands to mimic the heft of a weight stack, especially for serious strength trainers. Home gyms with weight plates provide smoother and more consistent resistance than other gyms, and they usually offer more weight for advanced lifters. On the downside, these gyms are usually heavy and expensive, but several affordable home gyms have attracted considerable attention.

The Body-Solid EXM1500S (*Est. $950) earns more recommendations than any other home gym, regardless of price. The Body-Solid gym features one 160-pound weight stack with 10-pound weight increments, and it comes with lifetime warranty coverage on all components. The EXM1500S home gym gives users a variety of workout stations, including ones for chest press and leg extensions/curls. The gym's high-pulley station can accommodate exercises like lat pull-downs and cable crossovers, while its mid-pulley station can be used for abdominal crunches. The Body-Solid EXM1500S home gym also includes a low pulley station for seated rows, upright rows and cable curls.

As sturdy and durable home gyms go, reviewers say the Body-Solid EXM1500S is a great value. Its small footprint is another plus, as many users are able to set it up in a corner of their apartment or condo. Most importantly, reviewers say that the weights move smoothly and that they can accomplish all the exercises they need. "The smoothness of this machine is actually BETTER than some machines ranked 'commercial quality' that I've used in some gyms," one owner writes at Buzzillions.com, where the Body-Solid EXM1500S receives a very high average star rating from nearly 10 owners. Another 30 reviewers give the Body-Solid home gym above average ratings at Amazon.com, where users report a good range of motion. Body-Solid also draws kudos for responsive customer service. "A very nicely designed unit, well-thought-out and rugged, with exceptional customer service and a great price," one owner writes. ConsumerReports.org hasn't tested home gyms in years, but in its last report published several years ago (and no longer available online), the Body-Solid EXM1500S was the organization's top pick.

Reviewers acknowledge, however, that assembly can be a real pain. The Body-Solid EXM1500S has numerous small parts (including lots of bolts and nuts) and reviews say the directions are not always clear. As a result, most reviewers say it takes between four to six hours to assemble this home gym. While most users say the 160-pound weight stack provides enough resistance for their needs, some advanced weight lifters wish they could add even more. There's also no leg press station.

BodyCraft gym's capacity appeals to dedicated weight trainers

If you're serious about strength training and need more weight than the Body-Solid gym provides, the BodyCraft X2 Family Xpress (*Est. $3,500) is a good alternative. Although it is much more expensive than the Body-Solid EXM1500S, the BodyCraft X2 home gym accommodates multiple users with dual 200-pound weight stacks. It includes an adjustable-position cable system for dumbbell-type exercises, an abdominal crunch station and an optional hip or knee raise/dip station. In addition to high-, mid- and low-pulley stations, the BodyCraft X2 includes a leg press with up to 400 pounds of resistance (utilizing both weight stacks), a row/press arm station and a vertical knee raise/dip station.  

ConsumerGuide.com, a product review site, gives the BodyCraft X2 Family Xpress gym a Best Buy award. Calling it a "solid investment with returns for every member of the family," editors say the gym has all the stations most exercisers will need. Adjustable seats are another plus, especially if multiple users are working out on the gym. The only downside of note, according to this review, is the gym's cost. Although the home gym is expensive, ConsumerGuide.com feels it is a good investment. You'll need to clear a large space for this home gym, though, as it has a footprint of 104 by 105 inches (with optional attachments). Like the Body-Solid home gym, the BodyCraft X2 has a complicated assembly process -- there are more than 150 individual parts listed in the owner's manual.

Reviews say the Powertec Workbench Leverage WB-LS (*Est. $850) is a combination between free weights and a home gym, indicating that it's a good option for serious weight lifters, primarily because you don't need a spotter and you can do squats -- a feature lacking on most home gym equipment. You will need to provide your own weights with this machine, but you can lift large amounts: 500 pounds on the press, 350 pounds on the lat pull-down, 300 pounds on the squat and 250 pounds on the leg lift. There's an optional arm-curl machine with 250 pounds. Reviews say this isn't the best option for a beginner, and the cost of buying your own weights will quickly bump the price over $1,000, but if you're an experienced heavy lifter who finds it hard to get to the gym, this Powertec home gym can be a convenient home option. Powertec offers a lifetime warranty on the frame and two years on parts.

Home gyms without weight plates

Anyone who regularly watches television is likely familiar with the Bowflex home gyms, which are featured on countless infomercials and are also available at sporting goods stores. While Bowflex is well known in the home-gym marketplace, no Bowflex home gym stands out in reviews. Traditional Bowflex gyms use so-called "power rods."  Performing an exercise increases tension on the rod, which then translates into resistance. One of the biggest complaints about the Bowflex system is that the resistance doesn't feel consistent as you move through a complete repetition. In particular, the resistance feels harder at the end of the exercise than at the beginning. "Erratic and jerky," is how one reviewer describes Bowflex resistance on Epinions.com.

The Bowflex Ultimate 2 (*Est. $2,500) is one of the most popular Bowflex gyms that still employs rod technology, and it provides up to 310 pounds of resistance. An additional 100 pounds can be added as an upgrade. Bowflex gives the Ultimate 2 a 12-year warranty, while the rods come with lifetime coverage. On Epinions.com, where the Bowflex Ultimate 2 receives good average ratings from over 20 owners, users say the Ultimate 2 is durable and solid. Most are pleased with the workout it provides and say they can do a wide range of exercises using this home gym. However, some users just can't get used to Bowflex's rod system, and we saw a few complaints about difficult assembly. In addition, nearly 80,000 models of the Bowflex Ultimate 2 were recalled in March 2009 (two years after 68,000 were recalled in 2007) because of problems with the latch on the seat rail. Nearly 20 injuries were reported. A free repair kit is available for anyone who bought a Bowflex Ultimate 2 prior to January 2009.

The Bowflex Revolution (*Est. $2,500) differs from traditional Bowflex gyms in that it uses lightweight interlocking plates instead of rods to provide resistance. Weight can be adjusted from 10 to 300 pounds. Leg press and leg curl stations are included, and the independent pulleys can be adjusted up to 170 degrees to work different muscle groups. The Bowflex Revolution is covered by a 10-year warranty.

Blake Robinson reviews the Bowflex Revolution at CrunchGear.com, an electronics and gadget site, and finds that he simply can't recommend it. Robinson says most of the exercises felt awkward and his 6-foot frame felt cramped on the machine. In addition, he thinks the Bowflex Revolution is too expensive for what you get. "I really can't even fathom recommending this product. There are about 1,000 better options out there that cost at least $1,000 less," he writes. We did see some support for the Bowflex Revolution on user review sites. At Amazon.com, where the home gym earns above average reviews from almost a dozen contributors, some praise the Revolution's versatility. "It does let you fit a lot of exercises into a small space, and it's great for working out at home safely without a spotter," one user writes. However, other owners say the Bowflex gym's plastic pieces break easily.

The Bio Force 1.7 home gym (*Est. $900) also uses an alternative resistance system instead of weight plates: two nitrogen-charged cylinders. Weight can be adjusted from 10 to 170 pounds, and Bio Force claims that users can perform more than 100 exercises using this home gym. Exercise stations include a leg-curl station, high-pulley station for exercises like lat pull-downs, and a mid-pulley station. A low-pulley station is also available for bicep curls and other exercises. The Bio Force 1.7 has a one-year warranty.

Reviewers like the Bio Force 1.7 home gym because it's very easy to use and it can be moved around if you need to get it out of the way. A sliding lever makes it easy to change the resistance levels, reviewers say, and movements feel smooth. "You get smooth resistance through the whole exercise unlike bands or rods which tend to have higher resistance at the end of the exercise," one owner writes at Amazon.com, where the home gym earns above average ratings from more than 20 reviewers. We saw numerous comments that the Bio Force 1.7 has a smoother pull, with more consistent resistance throughout the entire exercise, than competing Bowflex systems. Users also say there's plenty of variety to keep your muscles challenged.

Reviewers say that unlike the Body-Solid EXM1500S, the Bio Force 1.7 gym is very easy to assemble, although you should still set aside a few hours. "This product had one of the best assembly instruction manuals I have ever seen," one owner writes at Walmart.com, where the gym earns a very high average rating in over 30 user reviews. However, reviews also indicate that serious exercisers may be disappointed with the Bio Force 1.7. Some owners accustomed to working out with weights or dumbbells say the Bio Force 1.7 just doesn't feel as effective. If your goal is to bulk up, reviewers recommend free weights or a weight-based home gym like the Body-Solid EXM1500S. The Bio Force 1.7 is also very tall (83 inches), which can be an issue for homes with low ceilings or ceiling fans.