Best Home Gym Setup (2026): Adjustable Weights, Resistanc…
To join or not to join a gym: That is the question. If you opt out of building a home gym, you can join a club and have access to more weights and machines. Friends and classes motivate you to keep coming, and that monthly bill keeps you disciplined. On the other hand, gym memberships are steep, workouts can get hijacked by bullies, and going to the gym is an additional commute.
My gym tardiness, however, will ly catch up to me. One of the most consistent messages from health and fitness experts today is that lifting weights has immeasurable benefits. Strength training allows us to keep doing the things we love well into our advanced years. It reduces blood sugar, lowers blood pressure, burns calories, and reduces inflammation. A recent review of studies in the British Journal of Sports Medicine by Harvard Medical School found that strength training is linked to lower risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer and provides a 10 to 17 percent lower overall risk of early death.
But you don’t need all the time and money in the world to have a great home gym. Reviews editor Adrienne So and I have been slowly adding to our existing, minimalist home gyms in our living rooms and garage—a roughly 10- by 10-foot patch in our basements and living rooms. There’s a ton of equipment out there, but for maximum results, I asked two physical therapists—Grace Fenske at Excel North Physical Therapy and Performance and Samuel Hayden at Limit Less Physical Therapy—for their recommendations.
Here’s a PT-recommended guide for an ultrasimple setup that will keep you pumped and motivated. Don’t see anything you ? Don’t forget to check out our existing guides to the Best Running Shoes, the Best Fitness Trackers, or the Best Walking Pads.
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- Adjustable Dumbbells
- Resistance Bands
- A Yoga Mat
- A Foam Roller
- Gym Shoes
- A Workout App
- Finally, Some Motivation
- Meet the Experts
Adjustable Dumbbells
Yes, these are very pricey. But people outgrow their small dumbbells very quickly, and if you bite the bullet early, adjustable dumbbells take up a lot less space than individual dumbbell or kettlebell sets. The Nüobell adjustable dumbbells required 38 patents and allow users to increase weight in increments of five pounds all the way up to 80 with a twist of the handle. Each dumbbell set replaces 32 individual dumbbells. In a cramped space, that’s a game changer.
The way that both Steph’s Nüobells and my Nike adjustable dumbbells work is that the full barbell fits into a cradle. (You can also mount the barbells in a stand.) When the user twists the handle to five pounds, the aluminum bar with grooves will grab onto the first hollowed-out plate, which is 2.5 pounds on each side of the barbell. With each subsequent turn of the handle the bar will pick up heavier weight in increments of five pounds. A safety hook at the bottom of the cradle ensures the barbell weight must be locked in place before lifting.
I my Nike dumbbells because the end of the dumbbell is flat, which means I can rest it on its end on my thigh without putting a divot in my leg. Also, the plates aren’t round. If you have a big round dumbbell on the floor, or especially in your garage, it will find the nearest incline and roll away on top of a house pet or child. You can still take individual plates out of the rack if you need them for leverage under your heel or for mobility exercises. Whichever one you choose, though, both Steph and I recommend getting a floor stand to decrease strain on your back. —Adrienne So
Courtesy of Nuobell
Nuobell
Adjustable Dumbbells
Amazon
Nike
Adjustable Dumbbells
Nike Strength
Resistance Bands
Resistance or mobility bands come in a rainbow of colors, each of which signifies how much resistance they offer. There are two varieties—thick heavy bands that allow you to do exercises assisted pull-ups, and lighter bands that are oftentimes used after injury or recovery to help increase mobility.
For the former, a comprehensive starter set is a selection of Rogue Monster Bands that range from #0 or orange, which offers nine pounds of resistance, to #7 or silver, which offers 225 pounds of resistance. The bands are natural rubber latex and come in the form of a circular band that can be tied off on a rack or a post or clipped to a carabiner door strap. I use the Rogue’s green #3 40-pound band tied to a steel pole in my basement to do core exercises the pallof press.
Less for strength training and more to increase mobility in my neck and shoulders, I rely on a TheraBand blue resistance band that offers 5.8 pounds of resistance. This band comes in thin, six-yard-long bulk that can be cut to any length, depending on the exercise. I tie a knot on one end and secure it behind a door, and I’m good to go.
The downside: Over the years, I’ve snapped at least a dozen bands. For either style band, it’s a matter of trial and error to determine the amount of resistance you need, but once you dial that in, resistance and mobility bands are an essential component to a home gym.
Courtesy of Rogue
Rogue
Monster Bands
Rogue
Courtesy of Theraband
Theraband
Resistance Bands
Amazon
A Yoga Mat
It’s worth paying a little more for a yoga mat because it’s a long-term investment. I’ve been using this mat every morning for the past decade for my daily half-hour yoga, stretching, and body-weight routine.
Talk about grounding: The standard 71-inch mat weighs 7.5 pounds, providing secure and stable purchase over most surfaces, including carpet. The German-designed mat is made from PVC but has been certified Standard 100 by Oeko-Tex, meaning that it has passed safety tests for the presence of harmful substances. It’s also latex and phthalate-free. Its closed-cell surface makes it more hygienic and easy to clean. It’s bulky, so this is not a mat to carry to and from yoga class, but it’s perfect for a home gym, where smaller weights are unly to damage it.
Courtesy of Manduka
Manduka
Pro 6mm Yoga Mat
Manduka
A Foam Roller
“Foam rollers are another way to stretch, and they also relieve muscle pain,” says Hayden. This high-density foam roller is another long-time staple in my home gym. Designed for heavy use, it feels almost indestructible and works wonders on releasing trigger points and relieving tight muscles, especially in my back. Hayden also recommends a lacrosse ball that can release trigger points in more pinpointed areas, between the scapula blades or on the neck.
Courtesy of OPTP
OPTP
Axis Firm Foam Roller
Amazon
Photograph: Champion
Champion
Lacrosse Ball
Amazon
Gym Shoes
Wearing running shoes to lift weights is a classic rookie error, especially if you are a runner. Soft, springy soles are designed to tip you forward, not lift weights while standing still. The Nike Metcons are the iconic cross-training shoe. They have a flat sole with a plate under the heel, a locked-in heel cup, and a midsole band for even more stability. These are meant for really heavy barbell deadlifts, so it’s a lot of shoe for me.
I also lift in regular Vans, but I also the R.A.D. One V2. The fit is slimmer, and the toe is reinforced so I’m less scared about dropping things on myself. I also that the outsole curves around the bottom of the shoe, so I’m less ly to bang my foot up when I do plyometrics and skip around on and off blocks. (It’s meant for rope climbing, but I don’t do that.) —Adrienne So
Photograph: Adrienne So
Nike
Metcon 10
Nike
Courtesy of R.A.D.
R.A.D.
One V2
R.A.D.
A Workout App
If you don’t want to spring for a real or virtual coach, Peloton’s Strength+ is my favorite weightlifting app. There’s a bunch of two- or four-week bootcamp programs for beginner, intermediate, or advanced lifters. The personal workout generator allows you to customize a workout depending on a ton of parameters—what parts of the body you want to focus on, how much time you have, or what equipment you have available.
Peloton’s user experience is the best I’ve ever used. Once you start a workout, you can listen to your podcast or your music while you’re guided through the workout, complete with timers and rest breaks. If you’re not sure how to perform a certain exercise, you can click through and watch short clips. You can pause the workout, swap or skip exercises, or tinker with your rest periods. If you have all this equipment and are not really sure what to do with it, Strength+ is a great place to start. —Adrienne So
Courtesy of Peloton
Peloton
Strength+
Peloton
Finally, Some Motivation
Both Fenske and Hayden added a list of “fun” items to add that keep them working out. At the top of Fenske’s was a portable speaker and a good playlist. “I couldn’t get through any of my workouts without my portable JBL speaker,” Fenske said. She also recommends a notebook to track workouts and progress, and motivational posters to spruce up the “dingy basement corner most people work out in.” Hers include maps of alpine ski areas plastered everywhere.
“Motivation is different for everyone,” Hayden says. He recommends tracking progress by taking “before” and “after” photos. “At first you won’t see any results, but it’s fun to look back and say, ‘Wow, I have abs!’”
Tribit
Stormbox Mini+
Amazon
Tribit
Meet the Experts
- Grace Fernske is a physical therapist at Excel North Physical Therapy and Performance. She is also a former competitive alpine skier and equestrian.
- Samuel Hayden is a former collegiate mountain bike racer for Durango’s Fort Lewis College whose independent practice is focused on strength training for mountain bikers and other outdoor endurance athletes.
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