Jamie Taylor

Keeping fit and healthy can be hard but deciding to get a home gym system is one of the best decisions you can make. If you are looking to get strong ripped or just ready for next year’s Spartan run then home gyms are one of the first steps you need to take.

This is a straight to the point guide to the best home gym machines out there on the market today, with quick recommendations for each criteria so you can choose the home gym machine that best suits what you’re looking for.

They’re summed up in the table below. If you want to skip all the other talk and you just want to know which specific home gym machines are currently the best to go for, then they’re all right here in one place for you.

Editor’s Award	Winner
Best Home Gym Machine	Bowflex Xtreme 2SE
Alternative Best Pick	Bowflex Blaze Home Gym
Best Home Gym Machine For Apartments	Weider Home Gym
Best Budget Home Gym Machine	Marcy 150-lb Multifunctional Home Gym
Best All In One Home Gym	Balance From Home Workout Station

Click to jump straight to each topic.

• Why You Need a Home Gym Machine
• What to Look for in a Home Gym Machine
• The Best Home Gym Machines Reviewed
  • Best Home Gym Machine
  • Alternative Best Pick
  • Best Home Gym Machine For Apartments
  • Best Budget Home Gym Machine
  • Best All In One Home Gym
• Other Worthy Mentions
• Frequently Asked Questions

Why You Need a Home Gym Machine

Home Gyms are a necessity for anyone looking to get a good solid workout from home. And you need to remember a workout is never just a workout, not only are you building your perfect body, but you are also building your confidence and not to mention the mental health gains from working out regularly.

What to Look for in a Home Gym Machine

If you have never used a home gym before it can be a little confusing I mean you want to make sure you pick a good machine that offers a great all-round workout but all the machines claim to be the best on the market. I have broken down some ideas on what to look for so you don’t go in blind.

Number of Workouts

Depending on how serious you are the number of workouts can be daunting, When your first picking your home gym machine you might see 40 different exercises and feel overwhelmed. Don’t Worry! The more exercises the machine offers the better. You see over time your body will get used to your favorite exercises and the additional exercises allow you to switch up your routine and keep your exercise varied.

Size

These machines can get quite large so it’s important to check out the full dimensions of the gym and make sure that you have the space for it. These can usually be found listed on the product or you can always check out the manufacturer’s website as a last resort.

Price

It’s important to find a machine that’s within your budget. Home gym systems vary in price but even the low-end systems are still a great alternative to performing bodyweight exercises.

So, putting all of this together, let’s look at our recommendations for the best home gym machines out there right now.

The Best Home Gym Machines Reviewed

Best Home Gym Machine: Bowflex Xtreme 2SE

Best Home Gym Machine

What we Like:

• A steel construction heavy duty frame means no movement on the machine and long-lasting durability.
• Quick Change Power Rod System allows for cable and pulley position changes for additional workouts.
• Bowflex provides 7 free trainer build workout regimens giving you a good place to start.

Check the latest price on Amazon.

Alternative Best Pick: Bowflex Blaze Home Gym

Alternative Best Pick

What We Like:

• Sliding seat allows for aerobic rowing or leg presses
• 210 pounds of power rod resistance which is upgradable to 310 or a whopping 410 pounds.
• Adjustable cable/pulley positions to allow for a custom workout.

Check the latest price on Amazon.

Best Home Gym Machine For Apartments: Weider Home Gym

Best Home Gym Machine For Apartments

What We Like:

• Features 6 integrated workout stations to allow all-round fitness
• Offers resistance up to 214lbs using the friction generated by the pulley.

Check the latest price on Amazon.

Best Budget Home Gym Machine: Marcy 150-lb Multifunctional Home Gym

Best Budget Home Gym Machine

What We Like:

• Weight stack lock allows you to customize workouts according to your skill level.
• Removable Curl Pad to allow for isolated bicep exercises.
• Resistance workouts are included which are great for building strength.

Check the latest price on Amazon.

Best All In One Home Gym: Balance From Home Workout Station

Best All In One Home Gym

What We Like:

• Wide-grip Olympic lat pull down attachment is great for grip and training multiple muscles.
• Comes complete with a full dip station
• 145lb vinyl weight stack
• Resistance up to 380lb

Check the latest price on Amazon.

Other Worthy Mentions

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We hope this list of the best home gym machines has been helpful.

If there’s anything good that you think we’ve missed, or if you have any questions about anything, then let us know down in the comments below.

A 6b Climb is right in the middle of climbing difficulty and is a grade most will find difficult to surpass without training. It’s a natural stopping point for most of us and it’s usually around the time climbing changes from a hobby to an addiction.

If you are struggling to break the barrier or plateau presented to you its time to start employing red pointing tactics.

Red Point Tactics

• warm-up – start with 6 different climbs of progressive difficulty up to to 6B
• 20 min rest.
• Jump on the 6b route preferably on top rope and start trying the route until you find a hard section then just practice that and learn what you need to do for each hard section.
• rest 25min.
• target 6b route
• rest 25min.
• target 6b route
• go home rest and return once ready

Children can start rock climbing between 4-7 years old during this time children will have developed the problem-solving skills needed to climb problems.

Around this age kids also can start to follow instructions and this allows them to have more autonomy. However, kids always need to be supervised. Kids respond really well to climbing and like to do the same thing as mummy and daddy.

What Are the Benefits of Rock Climbing at an Early Age?

Rock Climbing is extremely beneficial to people of all ages and provides all sorts of health benefits along with teaching kids various skills to help in life.

Building Confidence

Rock Climbing helps build confidence in kids or young adults it teaches them to have confidence in their own skillset to get the job done, along with teaching them to deal with adversity (fear of falling) these skills will come in useful regardless of your age.

Climbing Teaches and Enhances Problem Solving Skills

One of the best parts of rock climbing is solving the routes or problems of the climb. By that, I mean working out the correct body position to make a climb possible. While at first, it might seem like you are just monkeying around you are actually developing your child’s problem-solving skills which will help then with school and other activities.

Improving Hand, Eye and Foot Coordination Along With Motor Skills

Climbing is a movement-based sport and your child will be constantly looking for new handholds and footholds some as small as pebbles, this is great for teaching kids coordination as you child needs to determine the correct route up a climb. All of this combined greatly improves a child’s motor skills.

Rock Climbing Improves General Fitness, Strength, Endurance and Flexibility

We all know that rock rock climbing is one the of the best exercises and full body sports on the planet and its a great way to improve on your own overall fitness and a child’s. The only problem is due to the endurance side your kids might end up with too much energy leaving you even further behind in their dust.

The Fun Factor

Most important all most kids find rock climbing extremely fun and exhilarating and will be begging for you to bring them back to the rock climbing wall!

The best way to tell if a rope is static or dynamic is to check the label on the end of the rope. If the label is too worn to read then the only other way is to test the rope.

How To Test If A Rope Is Static Or Dynamic

To check if a rope is static or dynamic the best thing to do is hang it up and give it a pull. If the rope is dynamic you can expect a stretch of around 40% on average. If the rope is static you typically expect to see less than 5% stretch.

Can You Rappel on a Dynamic Rope?

Yes, you can use dynamic ropes to rappel and in certain situations that require a lot of movement, these can be preferable. But be aware your dynamic rope will offer a lot more stretch than a fixed rope so if you need to stay in fixed positions a static rope would be much better.

While a fairly common rumor, putting your climbing shoes in the oven seems to be a mixed bag of success with some climbers reporting great results and others reporting ruined shoes.

Changing to a new pair of climbing shoes can be tough or if it’s your first ever pair it can be even tougher on the feet. We all know the shoes are pretty uncomfortable and breaking them in can be a nightmare. Luckily the internet has come up with a couple of tricks to make it easier for you.

Can You Put Your Climbing Shoes in the Oven?

While I personally don’t recommend this method but if you are going attempt it the consensus seems to be

• Preheat the oven to 120°
• Put your shoes on a piece of cardboard
• Put them inside the oven for a period of 3-5 minutes
• Take the shoes out and wander around in them until they cool down. (socks can be worn during this step for particularly tight shoes)
• Repeat as many times as needed.

Shoe Stretcher Method

If you plan to be buying a lot of climbing shoes then a shoe stretcher might be perfect! This device is designed to help stretch out shoes until they are at the desired size.

This device is easy to use you just insert it in your shoes and leave them overnight to stretch. I recommend you make small adjustments at first rather than go big. Climbing shoes are easy to stretch out but not so easy to stretch in.

Shower Method

Another popular method for stretching out your climbing shoes is the shower method. You wear the shoes in the bath to allow the water to heat up the rubber.

Once you exit the bath you want to bundle up a pair of sock and leave them in your shoes overnight so they keep the stretch. It’s important to ensure the socks fully fill the shoe in order to keep the stretch. If your shoes are super tight you should wear a pair of thick socks in the bath with them to stretch them out a little more.

Ice Bag Method

Another method for stretching out shoes is using ice bags. This method only requires some plastic bags, water, and a freezer.

This method requires you to insert the plastic bag into your shoes and fill it with water to the desired size. You then put your shoes in the freezer and overnight the ice expands and stretches the shoe. Be careful to not use too much water or you might stretch your shoes too much!

Hair Dryer Method

Some climbers swear by the hairdryer trick and it’s one of the quicker methods on this list. All you need to do is pop your shoes on with several pairs of thick socks. Once your shoes are on all you need to do is place a hairdryer above the tight parts of the shoe for 2-3 minutes and the heat will loosen the leather and stretch out the shoe.

Blood Sweat and Tears method

If all of the above seems like too much effort then you can always try the blood sweat and tears method which has been tried and proven since the dawn of time.

All this requires is for you to head down to your local gym and start climbing, the shoes might hurt at first but after a while, they will naturally stretch out. It might take a few sessions but this method always guarantees a perfect fit for your foot.