Home Gym...What I Am Personally In Love With!

Our home gym is not set up and finished exactly how we want it…but believe me I am not complaining one bit! We have future plans to raise our basement ceiling and put down laminate wood flooring. When we do that my husbands office will be moving into the now home gym….and gym into his now office/extra room, which is over 2x’s the size of or current gym. Any who…our gym now is still amazing for a home gym and we are so happy we decided to invest into it a couple years ago. We love working out from home seeing as my husband travels a lot and needs to work from home a lot too. I also do everything from home…and especially now with everyone on home lockdown…I’m feeling extra blessed for our gym. I want to share some of the purchases I made for our gym that I am loving. I am going to include lows and highs for total body workouts. Hopefully coming soon, I’ll motivate enough to post some videos for you too…you know coach & trainer for over 15 years…guess I could share some workouts that kicked my clients butts and my own! Let’s start with that home gym equipment though….going high buy to low…but all equipment that I use in my own home gym and love!

Okay…let’s start with the big dogs. If you want to take the steps to build a real fully loaded home gym….maybe cancel that gym membership all together, you train athletically, or want the convenience of a full gym at home even if you do hit the locally gym occasionally too. Well, this is your answer. We own the full Hoist V5 Elite Home Gym, which is no loner available and has been replaced with the Hoist V4 Elite. They are identical in function, but with newer design. I am completely in love with ours and even more with the V4. This machine is truly a total gym in one! Leg press, leg extension, seated leg curl, rowing, chest press, pulldown of every kind, a vertical cable for everything low, mid, to high cable…it can do it all! If you have been searching for the right home gym to ditch that gym membership….look no further…and thank me later.

This right here has become my personal favorite of equipment that we own… my STOTT Pilates Reformer! That will seem weird to everyone who knew me in my pro bodybuilding days (yes…I was 150lbs when shredded with a 5-6% body fat!). Now I love, love, love my reformer. Don’t be fooled either…doing a Pilates workout can kick your butt…make it a Pilates reformer workout and consider your butt just flat out handed to you! I use this 3-6 days a week for a crazy wide range of muscle training workouts, stretching (and with the Jumpboard), core training, cardio bursts (with Cardio-Tramp), and warm up/ cool down. If you have never used a reformer this may be a big purchase with no previous knowledge of how to use one, but there are a range of dvd’s you can find and videos to stream for workouts. If you are seasoned on one of these…then you already know the addition of one to your home gym is EVERYTHING!

Lets move onto cardio equipment. Probably the most used piece of cardio equipment is the treadmill. we opted for the NordicTrack Commercial X22i. This piece of equipment has made me actually like using the treadmill. where as cardio used to be something I did a little bit in my off season and only on season for the sake of cutting…I actually love cardio now!…Crazy right?! There is so much good with this piece as it not only inclines a great deal, but also declines. The iFit programming is amazing and I can use it via tablet for programming with our rower, bike, and for strength training workouts as well. With the treadmill…I love hiking and jogging through cities we have traveled around the world…and exploring those I still want to see. be warned the programs will definitely have you expanding your travel bucket list! Unfortunately, we personally faced some major cons with NordicTrack too. Their customer service is total garbage. Before the treadmill we were delivered an elliptical that didn’t work upon delivery. The white Glove service however couldn’t just take it back. Customer service actually told us we would have to pay them to come and remove it from my home! 8 weeks later and over 26+hrs talking to customer service (yes I tracked the phone time)…it was finally picked up no charge. But…in the midst of that I had ordered a treadmill and bike. I mean what were the odds of more defective equipment? Famous last words! The treadmill arrived…and worked great…we do totally love it and are so happy we got it. The bike however…we it would incline and decline…super cool right?! Except the first use it declined and would never go back up. 5 weeks later…picked up…and you better believe I wasn’t charged. All in all I love our treadmill, but would dread doing business with Nordic Track again.

Do you find yourself gravitating toward the spin studio at your gym; or have you been on the fence about finally taking the plunge and buying a home bike? Pelotons are hands down great bikes, but what if you want a bike that rides just as good without the price tag?… I cannot recommend enough the Diamondback 910ic Indoor Cycle Magnetic Trainer. Let me remind you…I previously despised cardio. This bike is my favorite! I will spin before any other cardio now…and actually look forward to getting on this bike. With magnetic gears you simple push a button to increase and decrease your resistance. The wheel is quiet too…big bonus (higher pitch can kick in for a few seconds at a low resistance and high speed, but that’s expected). As far as not having a video monitor…no big deal. Get an i-pad or phone holder for your device and stream rides from i-Fit or another service. I seriously wouldn’t go back and trade this for a Peloton…no regrets!

Another favorite of mine….naturally from my days as a CrossFit coach and athlete…our rower. I went Concept 2 Model D Rower…same as we used in the box. I have always loved rowing. For me it just never felt like cardio…even though you better believe it is…and a back, arm, leg, and core workout! this rower can take heavy use and most people don’t realize can be separated in half, or stood up vertically for easy storage.

Moving into some mid range home gym equipment.

Let me begin with one that is all over IG…the BootySprout. I was hesitant to buy one, but figured why not give it a try. Glad to say I am happy I did. The BootySprout set up allows for you to do several different hip thruster variations to target the glutes, hamstrings, adductors and abductors. you will feel it working and feel that it worked days later.

Next for my butt blast gear…may be my favorite for booty workouts…and more! The Goplus 8-in-1 Multifunctional Squat Machine allows for sissy squats, deep squats, banded squats & modified banded deadlifts, single leg squats & deadlifts, back extensions, hyperextensions, sit-up, push-ups…and I have been able to come up with tons of other exercises on this bad boy! Worth the about $125 investment!

Next up is my fave balance trainer and one you know if you have ever stepped foot into a gym…the BOSU. BOSU balls are so versatile and can be used for a totally body workout! From squats and push-ups on either side, core work, explosive cardio movements, lunges, to using for balance training and doing basic weighted movements while standing on top. BOSU balls are an easy addition to even the smallest home gyms

Weight sets and benches are common additions for even the most basic home gyms…and Bowflex has my heart with these. The Bowflex 5.1 Stowable Bench can adjust to decline. flat, and incline positions for any exercise. The bench padding is also very durable and comfortable. You’ll needs weight to use on this bench and I hands down recommend…especially if you have limited space… the Bowflex SelectTech 552 Adjustable Dumbbells. Adjusting from 5-52.5lbs, these weights can be used for all your lifting need. they do make heavier sets, but this is the most popular.

If you think the only way to get fit from home are the moderate to more expensive options guess again. Here are some very budget friendly options that paired with the right workouts and diet…will transform you!

Weighted bars are great option for limited space, being easy on your wallet…and they offer a range of exercises options. We have them from Bintiva ranging from 8-35lbs and I use them every time I lift for one thing or another. Bintiva has a wide range of great home gym equipment like med balls, Neoprene weights, kettle bells and pull-up/squat bands that can be found on their site and a lot or alternatives on Amazon.

Back to CrossFit and my love for dip bars. These are tall bars from Relife Rebuild Your Life, and are crazy efficient in being used for a range of exercises. I love this set because they can be separate into two separate parallel bars or locked together to stabilize more. We also have a set low to the ground for a wide range of different movements.

Is it even a home gym if you don’t have pull-up bars? I don’t think so! I found a bar that has all the grip positions I need as a woman and wide enough for the hubs. Ultimate Body Press wall mount pull-up bar has 4 grip positioning and is so easy to mount. A must if you want some nice back definition.

Now that you have those pull-up bars…give yourself a total body gym in a suspension system. TRX is widely known in gyms and it made it’s way to many home gyms even faster. there are thousands of TRX training videos across the web and it takes up no more space than hanging from your bar and then being stored in a small bag. This suspension system will make you kick you r own butt into shape using your own bodyweight!

Sandbags broke into my training during my CrossFit days…and never left. REP sandbags are what I have used the past 5 years and love them so far! Easy to store and simple add or take out sand packs to adjust the workload. With an endless amount of sandbag workouts and exercise that can be found on the web…maybe now is the time toad one of these into your training routine.

Even though your goal might be losing weight…adding some on during your training might actually help you burn. Try out a weighted vest. Not only will you burn more calories and make your workouts more challenging, but you will strengthen your muscles with the added weight. I love my Tone Fitness Weighted Vest. I do occasionally wear it upside down though for a better fit in certain activities.

Last on my list for you are resistance bands. These come in so many styles. I recommend three different types. Ones that are latex loop, thicker/wider fabric loop and some with handles. My most recent small resistance loops are Fit Simplify Resistance Loops. I also have non-slip fabric loops that I use most for lower body (the others for upper body), Te-Rich Resistance Bands. Finally some with handles, like Sunsign Stackable Resistance Band Kit, are great for a range of exercises when hooked under foot, draped over bar, or wrapped around a pole. All of these bands are truly essential for a complete home gym set…and they also store away easy, pack up light for travel, are so versatile. and are the most cost efficient items you can get!

Have you found some equipment that sparks your interest?…maybe you have been looking, but weren’t quite sure where to start. I hope these recommendations of equipment I love will help you in creating your own home gym. It doesn’t need to cost a lot….or you can spend away and build your dream home gym. No matter where your budget or needs are, hopefully you found something to fit it here.

This is not a paid review or recommendation. I personally own all of the above equipment, use it regularly, and love it enough to recommend it to you!