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If you’re looking to create a home workout haven (because, let’s be honest, going to the gym or a fitness studio isn’t always in the cards) but you live in an apartment, tiny home, RV, or you simply don’t want to devote an entire room to working out, small, compact exercise equipment are going to be your new besties.
Just because you don’t have the space for a squat rack and barbell system doesn’t mean you can’t create a great exercise space. “You do not need a lot of equipment to create a home gym,” says Laura Norris, NSCA-CPT, a Road Runners Club of America (RRCA)–certified coach based in Boulder, Colorado. “One piece of cardio equipment, such as a foldable treadmill or a bike, and a set of adjustable dumbbells will allow most people to start doing workouts in the comfort of their own home.” No matter your fitness needs or budget, we have suggestions for the most adjustable, compact, space-saving pieces of equipment.
Top picks for the best home gym equipment
- Best Treadmill: NordicTrack EXP10i
- Best Exercise Bike: Sole Fitness LCB Bike
- Best Dumbbells: Core Home Fitness Adjustable Dumbbells
- Best Kettlebell: Titan Fitness Adjustable Kettlebell
- Best Pull-Up Bar: DMoose Doorway Pull-Up Bar
- Best Home Gym System: Bells of Steel All-in-One Trainer
- Best Elliptical: ProForm E7
Also in this article
- Shop the best compact exercise equipment
- The benefits of compact exercise equipment
- How to choose the best compact exercise equipment
- How we test this equipment
- FAQs
All the best compact exercise equipment
You'll find space-saving cardio equipment, all-in-one home gym systems, slim walking pads, handy workout machines you can use while typing at your desk, and doorway bars for pull-ups (or hanging your laundry). We selected many of these picks from top-rated brands and retailers like NordicTrack, ProForm, Sole Fitness, and more. Keep reading to find your new favorite small-space home gym equipment.
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Treadmills keep getting slimmer and smarter, making them easier to transport and store even in the most cramped space. Folding treadmills, like the WalkingPad R2 Walk&Run and NordicTrack EXP 7i, come recommended by fitness experts because they save space and still offer smart treadmill features. The WalkingPad is only 6 inches thick and goes up to 7.45 miles per hour (mph), while the NordicTrack folds vertically and goes up to 12 mph with an automatic incline of up to 12%.
You could also opt for an under-desk treadmill like the Sunny Health & Fitness Walkstation, which our testers love for its compact design that’s slim enough to slide under your living room couch or bed when you’re not using it. This one is for walking only, as it doesn’t have handlebars, but it’s an excellent way to keep moving throughout your day (and even while you’re working).
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Whether you have a devoted (albeit tiny) workout room or your home office is doing double duty, chances are you can fit in one of these stationary bikes from Sole Fitness or Peloton. The Sole Fitness LCB Bike is fairly lightweight for a bike (112 pounds), has 40 resistance levels, Wi-Fi capability, and a 10-inch touchscreen with access to hundreds of free workouts on the SOLE+ app.
The Peloton Bike+ Premier is another great choice. While the bike itself is big, its large touchscreen lets it stand in for an entire fitness studio—you can stream yoga, HIIT, stretching, and bootcamp classes along with the brand’s signature cycling. (Plus, it has wheels if you do decide to stow it out of sight.) We also included the NordicTrack R35 here because even though it has a larger footprint than the others, it has impressive features that’ll make a big impact on your small space, like 26 resistance levels, two Bluetooth speakers, and a 14-inch touchscreen with iFit capabilities (an interactive, membership-based fitness app).
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A set of adjustable dumbbells can help make it possible for you to weight-train in your small space. As its name implies, an adjustable dumbbell set can increase or decrease its loaded weight, nixing your need to own (and store!) many sets of free weights. Core Home Fitness’s set can replace up to 10 pairs of free weights, which is pretty major. “Adjustable dumbbells store more easily in a small space than a full rack of single-weight dumbbells,” Norris says. “And with adjustable dumbbells, you can scale up the weight to properly load each exercise.”
If you prefer a more classic dumbbell experience, we have some faves for you to consider: REP Fitness’s hex dumbbell set (weights range from 2.5 pounds to 125 pounds), and Iron Bull Strength’s set (5 to100 pounds).
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When strength-training, “most people need less weight for upper body movements than for lower body movements,” says Norris. This means, you’ll need kettlebells of different weights—or do you? Similar to dumbbells, opting for an adjustable option allows you to replace a full kettlebell set with one piece of equipment.
The adjustable kettlebell from Titan Fitness has six interchangeable cast iron discs so you can easily transition your kettlebell’s weight between 10 and 40 pounds. If you’re more of a heavy-duty lifter, Bells of Steel’s adjustable kettlebell ranges from 12 to 32 kilograms (about 22 to70 pounds). If you only need one weight option or an adjustable kettlebell just isn’t your jam, check out Iron Bull Strength’s traditional bells, which range from 9 to 88 pounds.
For calisthenics and bodyweight work in a small home gym, you have a few options to amp things up without bringing bulky exercise equipment like boxes and benches into the mix. Attach a pull-up bar to your doorway or ceiling and you have plenty of exercise options, including chin-ups, push-ups, and hangs.
DMoose offers a pull-up bar that easily attaches to standard-sized door frames without needing to bust out your drill, and it can hold up to 243 pounds. For a more permanent pull-up situation, consider Titan Fitness’s wall-mounted pull-up bar (supports up to 400 pounds) or REP Fitness’s bar (500-pound weight limit) that you can install to either a wall or ceiling.
One of the most versatile options for small exercise rooms is an all-in-one system. For example, the G1 by Force USA combines five workout machines: a power rack, functional trainer, suspension trainer, core trainer, and chin-up station.
And the Titan Nemesis is an all-in-one trainer that the brand says allows for up to 1,000 different workouts, and it’s slimmer and shorter than the G1, so it’ll fit more easily into a tight space. Smallest of all is Bells of Steel’s all-in-one machine, which allows for hundreds of cable and barbell exercises.
As SELF has previously reported, ellipticals are great for folks who are looking for a no-to-low-impact cardio option. The ProForm Carbon E7 is a compact machine that connects to iFit to give you personalized workouts (your trainer can even auto-adjust the resistance on the machine as you exercise). The NordicTrack FS14i also includes iFit access, but with an even smaller footprint and customizable design. When we tested these machines, our reviewers were into the adjustable stride length, which means it can be comfortable for people of different heights to use. The FS14i has 26 resistance levels and has smart auto-adjust tech that matches the resistance and incline to the programs you’re using.
If you’re looking for an easy-to-use elliptical, check out this option from Sunny Health & Fitness. It doesn’t have advanced bells and whistles, but it gives you eight levels of resistance, a heart rate monitor, and an LCD screen. Plus, you can’t beat the price.
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The benefits of compact exercise equipment
Essentially, at-home equipment offers a level of ease that forces you to “delete your excuses,” Sydney Bueckert, NASM-CPT, lead in-house fitness instructor at Sunny Health & Fitness in California, tells SELF. “You don’t have to travel to the gym, you don’t have to deal with crummy weather conditions, you have everything you need to get the job done. You’ll have days when things come up, you pull a long day at work, the kids need help with a school project.” Even if you just have a few minutes, having a home setup that helps you reap the benefits of short workouts is such a win.
If you don’t have much square-footage to spare, compact equipment allows you to make the most of the space you do have. Another benefit: opting for multiuse equipment can often help you save money because doing so eliminates the need to buy a whole gym’s worth of machines.
How to choose the best compact exercise equipment
To help you avoid overwhelm or decision fatigue, we’ve narrowed down what to consider when choosing compact workout items across all equipment categories.
Not everyone has a dedicated home gym; some folks buy compact equipment that they’ll scooch into a corner or a closet when they’re not using it. Products that are lightweight, have wheels, or are small in size tend to be the most portable.
The more that one piece of equipment can do, the fewer items you need. So when you’re looking to save space, consider the number of workouts or exercise modalities you can do with the machine or tool.
Budget is a major factor when you’re scanning the digital aisles for new workout equipment. In fact, Franco Calabrese, DPT, a physical therapist based in Chicago, previously told SELF that cost is among the most important considerations you’ll make when it comes to picking your fitness gear. While shelling out a month’s rent for machines and weights may seem excessive, when you consider the costs of gym memberships, you might realize you’re saving money in the long run.
Not to state the obvious, but size matters when you’re picking home gym equipment. Dr. Calabrese previously told SELF that small, versatile options like kettlebells, dumbbells, and resistance bands are winners for tight spaces: “They don’t take up a lot of space, and they can be moved with ease from room to room or from inside to outside depending on your preferred workout area.”
For a bigger machine, always measure the area in your home where you intend to use it to make sure it’ll fit. Don’t forget that when you’re measuring your ceiling height, you’ll need to consider how much space your machine needs when you’re on it.
Nothing’s worse than doing all of the hard work to find a product you think you’ll love, just to realize it’s not your cup of tea. To avoid adding insult to injury by not being able to return a product that’s not your vibe, you’ll want to make sure the brand has a solid trial period and return policy (many popular brands offer at least 30 days).
Also, check out the brand’s warranty policy. Most brands’ warranty policies vary by product, so be sure to read the manual to get a full picture of what’s covered.
How we test this equipment
To save you from the need to basically get your master’s degree in fitness equipment, our team of testers tried tons of products and judged them on an array of criteria. For the full scoop on everything we consider, check out our fitness-testing methodology. In the meantime, here are three points particularly relevant to compact exercise equipment:
Bulky gym equipment can easily throw off the aesthetics of a well-designed space, especially if that room’s sole purpose isn’t meant to function as a gym. We fold and move each piece of equipment during testing to make sure they’re portable and easy to store.
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Durability
From resistance bands and bikes to all-in-one machines, we test products in the most extreme conditions, like by loading a barbell with 1,000 pounds and dropping it from 6 feet high to see if it gets damaged. We only recommend items that can withstand intense tests.
The “ACE” Factor
The ACE factor refers to adjustability, customizability, and ergonomics—all factors that make it possible for the products to comfortably work for everyone, no matter their body type or fitness level. We make sure we include a wide variety of products that come with customizable specs, like speed, resistance, or seat height.
FAQs
If you skip everything else about the best compact exercise equipment, read this.
The most effective compact exercise equipment depends on your personal needs. “If general cardiovascular fitness is your goal, then you might find that a bike is more compact [than a treadmill, and it better fits] the space available,” says Norris. “If you’re looking for strength-training equipment, the most effective compact equipment is adjustable dumbbells, which allow you to scale weight, meaning you can use the same piece of equipment for any strength movement.”
There’s a lot of cost variance in compact exercise equipment, and it’ll largely depend on the category of equipment you’re buying. A five-pound dumbbell set may cost around $40, whereas a high-end bike can cost upwards of $2,000. On average, be prepared to spend at least a few hundred dollars for high-quality equipment.
Both Norris and Bueckert agree that, depending on your goals, either a cardio machine or an adjustable dumbbell set is the best starter piece of exercise equipment. “If your mobility is limited, go with a compact cardio machine that fits your needs like a bike, elliptical, rower, or even a mini stepper,” Bueckert says. “If not, invest in a pair of adjustable dumbbells” to maximize a strength-training workout.
Cardio machines are a great way to break a sweat in a small space, Norris says: “Indoor cardio machines can be used in any weather—even when you may not be able to bike or run outside. This can help you stay consistent with your workouts, which helps you achieve your performance goals.”
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