Let nobody cheat you, everybody below fifty wants to look sexy.
Men specifically want to look big and well-built.
Just like Zac Efron.
Women on, on the other hand, want a nice figure and shapely everything.
Most want to look just like Kim or any of the other female members of the Kardashian clan.
Both men and women can go under the knife to get the faces and bodies they want.
However, this is very expensive.
The easier, cheaper, and more honorable way to get sexy is to hit the gym.
Exercising at the gym is the one thing that has brought fame and success to so many actors, actresses, and now-famous personalities.
Just check out the most followed people on Instagram and you will see what I am talking about.
Most of them are fit, sexy, and have got photos and videos of themselves working out in the gym.
Going to the gym is important for men because it helps them lose weight, build muscle, gain strength, improve stamina, and gain confidence in their social lives.
For women, hitting the gym can mean a better shape, a slender waist, a bigger butt, shapely legs, improved strength, more confidence, and a more positive life outlook.
In short, going to the gym can make you to physically upgrade yourself and to have a more positive look of things.
However, since not all of us are social creatures or have time to hit the gym, we are left with one option which is to build our own home gyms.
In this guide, I will tell you about the top fitness brands that make some of the best quality weight lifting, strength, stamina, and wellbeing machines, and equipment.
By the time, you are done reading this guide, you will know for sure how to go about getting gym equipment for your home gym so that you can get yourself looking like your favorite Instagram star.
Used equipment?: Read our full guide here!
Why Gym/ Exercise Equipment Are So Important These Days?
You could go to a commercial gym.
However, as I have mentioned before, getting your own gym equipment is important.
Below are five reasons why:
- Gym Equipment Will Make You Fit
Always sitting at home, watching TV and eating a lot during your free time (like many people do nowadays) will make you fat, slow, and unfit.
This may sound harsh but it is the truth.
However, with exercise equipment, you can lose that weight, gain strength, gain muscles, look sexier than before, and become much more confident about yourself.
In other words, gym equipment can turn you from a couch potato into a Greek god or goddess.
You just need to get the machines and to use them religiously.
- Gym Equipment Will Make You Healthy
You have probably heard or read something like this, “A balanced diet plus plenty of exercise will make you stay healthy.”
This is so true.
Eating right is challenging but what is even more challenging is getting enough exercise for the day.
This is because nowadays everybody is so busy with work, parenting, or academics that we find very little time to exercise and stay healthy.
However, with gym equipment at home, you can exercise conveniently at home and stay healthy even while you maintain your busy lifestyle.
- They enable you to train the way you want
Nowadays, good commercial gyms are hard to find.
Moreover, the nice ones are usually somehow a distance away and often have so many clients. Thus, training at such gyms is often not on your own terms.
Many people often have to drive for about thirty minutes to a good gym and then to interrupt their training sessions every now and then while waiting for someone else to finish using specific equipment.
This is the reason why owning your own exercise equipment is so important.
With your own equipment, you would not have to drive for nearly half an hour to start training.
You also wouldn't have to interrupt your training session to let someone else finish using a machine.
Simply put, you will be training on your own terms.
- They save you money
Those who were born in the late eighties and in the early nineties can confirm this – there used to be plenty of money around in the 2000s and early in this decade.
There was so much disposable income to spend on so many unnecessary things.
But things are no longer the same.
These days there is very little disposable money around. So people have to make good use of every dollar.
This means that paying for an expensive gym membership every month is no longer an option.
This is the reason why gym equipment are important.
Owning your own equipment helps you to save money and use it elsewhere.
- Owning exercise equipment helps you to maintain privacy and to focus on training
The invention and increasing popularity of social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and Facebook means one thing: you are nowadays very likely to have your picture ending up as a meme with all those selfie-taking gym goers in commercial gyms.
This invasion of privacy can prevent you from focusing on your training.
Other things such as bros growling loudly with every bicep curl or guys staring at you can also distract you in commercial gyms.
In the past, there was very little invasion of privacy or people behaving without manners in gyms.
In this day and age, you have to deal with such things in commercial gyms.
This is one of the major reasons why getting your own gym equipment is important because it helps you to train in your own space with very little risk of your privacy getting invaded or getting distracted by someone or something.
| VIEW dozens of top brands and types of equipment on AMAZON stores here |
5 Top Home Gym Equipment Names
To help you find the right equipment for your home gym, I have listed below some of the best makers of home exercise machines.
Simply search any of the brands below online to find the right machines for your garage gym.
- Life Fitness
- Stair Master
- Rogue Fitness
- Precor
- Legend Fitness
The brand names above are just to familiarise you with the equipment makers.
I provide more details about each manufacturer later in this article.
Now that you know the home gym brands to buy, I would like to show you the actual equipment to buy if you are looking to set up a home gym.
The list of home gym equipment below will help you to set up a beginner and amateur home gym.
If you are an advanced trainer, you will definitely need more equipment.
However, most people will find the equipment below sufficient for improving overall fitness and building strength and muscles.
- Exercise ball
- Exercise bike
- Treadmill
- Pull-up/ dips tower
- A barbell set
- A dumbbell set
- A training bench
- A squat rack
With these pieces of equipment, you will basically be able to train every major muscle group in your body.
I did not put more equipment as some are usually unnecessary at first.
However, if you’ve got the money, you can add even more complex equipment including rowing machines, ab coasters, cable pulley machines, and so on.
Nevertheless, with the eight machines above, you can still hit all the major muscles and get extremely fit.
Vital Commercial Gym Equipment List
The list I have given in the section before this one is a small home gym equipment list.
If you are alternatively looking to set up a commercial gym you will need many more machines and in more quantities.
Below is a list of the essential exercise equipment you need to set up a commercial gym.
- Exercise balls
- Commercial stationary bikes
- Commercial treadmills
- Pull-up/ dips towers
- Barbell sets
- Dumbbell sets
- Training benches and racks
- Squat racks
- Rowing machines
- Elliptical cross trainers
- Exercise mats
- Cable pulley machines
- Ab coasters
Remember to make sure you get commercial quality gym equipment when buying machines for a commercial gym.
This is because home quality exercise machines are often not heavy duty enough for long term heavy use in commercial gyms.
Since the commercial gym equipment are heavy duty, expect them to cost a bit more than home gym equipment.
With the machines above you will be able to start a decent commercial gym anywhere in the world.
| VIEW dozens of top brands and types of Exercise equipment on AMAZON |
Used Gym Equipment for Sale Vs New Ones
Now that you know the home or commercial gym equipment to get, there is one more dilemma to solve; that of whether to buy new or used equipment.
There are pros and cons to buying both types of equipment.
With new equipment, the pros of owning them are that they are new, you get a warranty, they function like new, they require less maintenance and servicing, and they have the latest designs/ technologies.
The one drawback associated with getting new equipment is the pricing.
New exercise machines often cost twice or thrice as much as used ones.
So if you are on a budget, you may not be able to afford them or you may not be able to get the number of specific equipment you want.
In contrast, used exercise machines are usually significantly cheaper compared to new ones.
This is the number one advantage of used gym equipment over new equipment.
The other advantage is that they are often not as bad in quality as many people think.
The quality is often almost at par with that of new equipment.
Nevertheless, depending on the person you are doing business with, the machines you may end up buying may be of significantly low quality.
So you will need to be careful and to inspect all the machines you want to buy before making any payments.
So the solution to the dilemma of whether to buy new or used exercise equipment depends on what you really want.
Simply take into account the above pros and cons and you will be good to go. (Check our guide on used equipment here!)
Top Gym Equipment Brands
- Rogue Fitness
Rogue Fitness is one of the foremost strength and conditioning equipment manufacturers in the United States.
The company has been making amazing and durable equipment since 2007 in the state of Ohio.
From its initial smallish location, Rogue Fitness has grown rapidly over the last decade and now owns a massive 175.000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility.
What makes the Rogue brand unique?
- Rogue Fitness makes its products in the USA
- The company is the number one CrossFit equipment supplier in the world
- The company sponsors the most popular fitness athletes
- It is a trusted brand
The equipment Rogue Fitness is best known for
- CrossFit boxes
- Weightlifting bars
- Plate-loaded gym equipment
- Plates
- Racks
- Legend Fitness
Legend Fitness is an international brand that has been manufacturing exercise equipment in East Tennessee from 1977 when it was founded as Sisko Fitness.
The company is best known for making quality, Olympic-standard power cages.
It also makes a variety of other gym equipment including racks, platforms, benches, free weight equipment, plate-loaded stations, bodyweight stations, dumbbells, plates, bars, cardio machines, and flooring.
What makes Legend Fitness brand unique
- It is a USA brand
- It makes superior quality machines and equipment
- Its commercial grade pieces of equipment are relied upon by world class gyms and fitness centers
- The brand sells its products at reasonable prices
The equipment this brand is best known for
- Olympic standard power cages
- Racks
- Plate-loaded stations
- Free weight equipment
- Precor
Precor was founded in 1980 to make rowing machines.
The rowing machine was one of the most innovative cardiovascular fitness training machines.
Over the years, the company has grown steadily and it is now of the leading commercial gym equipment manufacturer.
The company has several innovative and award-winning cardio training products available on the market.
As of now, it is owned by Amer Sports, the biggest sports equipment company in the world.
What makes Precor unique?
- Owned by the biggest sports equipment company that also owns Wilson and Suunto
- Makes innovative cardio machines
- Most of its pieces of equipment are commercial grade
- Most Hilton Hotel gyms are fitted with this brand’s equipment
The equipment this brand is best known for
- Treadmills
- Cross trainers
- Multi-stations
- Cable machines
VIEW Precor products and sizes and prices on Amazon page here
- Life Fitness
Founded in 1977 by Ray Wilson and Augie Nieto, Life Fitness is one of the oldest manufacturers of fitness equipment in the world.
The company operates from Illinois and has multiple manufacturing facilities and brand under its wings spread across the world.
Some of the brands under it include Brunswick Billiards, inMovement, SCIFIT, Indoor Cycling Group, Cybex, and Hammer Strength.
Cybex is perhaps the most popular brand under Life Fitness. Cybex machines are sold in over eighty countries across the world.
What makes Life Fitness unique?
- Developed the first digital stationary bike
- Has a worldwide presence
- Owns multiple popular brands
- Makes quality machines
The equipment this brand is best known for
- Stationary bikes
- Rowers
- Elliptical cross-trainers
- Treadmills
- Strength equipment
VIEW Life Fitness products and prices on Amazon page here
- Marcy
The legal name of this company is IMPEX. It was established in the early eighties and has been making fitness products that many gym goers would be familiar with.
The products include COMPETITOR, BIONIC BODY, HERS, STEELBODY, APEX, and MARCY. Each of these brands caters for a specific niche.
MARCY is made to cater for men.
It makes amazing strength and weightlifting equipment.
What makes MARCY so unique?
- It makes great weightlifting accessories
- It is part of a larger and more renowned group of brands
- Most of its products are for home gyms
The equipment this brand is best known for
- Workout benches
- Weights
- Curl bars
- Steppers
- Rowing machines
VIEW Marcy products and prices on Amazon page here
Bowflex
Of the many American sports equipment manufacturers on this list, perhaps Bowflex is the lesser known in the public.
And although this brand is lesser known, its parent company is Nautilus, a popular international sports goods manufacturer.
Despite its relatively lower popularity, Bowflex is a significant manufacturer of quality cardio fitness equipment.
Some of its most popular offerings are treadmills, body towers, and ellipticals.
The company was founded in 1986.
What makes Bowflex so unique
- It is an award-winning brand with overall and product awards
- It is an extremely innovative brand with products designed to satisfy consumers
- Many of its products come with free complementary training and tracking apps
The equipment this brand is best known for
- Max trainer
- Home gym stations
- Treadmills
- Ellipticals
VIEW BowFlex products and prices on Amazon page here
Valor Fitness USA
This organization is a newish manufacturer of fitness goods.
But even though it was just established in 2016, this organization has risen rapidly over the years and is now a trusted manufacturer of over 400 products.
What makes Valor Fitness brand unique
- It has one of the widest product ranges
- It makes great strength equipment
- It is a renowned cross training brand
- Founded and operating in Florida
The equipment this brand is best known for
- Cross training equipment (sandbags, wall balls, ropes)
- Strength training equipment (benches, plates, dumbbells)
- Racks and rigs
- Weight belts
VIEW Valor Fitness products and prices on Amazon page here
Valeo Fit
Valeo, Inc. is an American brand that makes exercise products and accessories.
Unlike the other companies that are better known for making training machines, Valeo Fitness is more known for making accessories.
What makes this brand unique
- It is a fitness accessories company
- It makes quality products
- Users will love the convenience of its products
The equipment this brand is best known for
- Resistance training products
- Hand exercise products
- Exercise balls
- Wrist weights
- Wrist and knee supports
VIEW Valeo Fit products and prices on Amazon page here
Yes4All
This is a newish manufacturer of yoga and home gym fitness goods.
It began in 2010 and has been making some highly rated products since then.
Although the company’s address is Anaheim, California, not much is known about its background.
What makes this brand unique
- It makes great yoga and home gym equipment
- Makes good kettlebells
- Its goods are relatively lower priced
The equipment this brand is best known for
- Yoga accessories
- Balance trainers
- Dumbbells and kettlebells
VIEW Yes4All products and prices on Amazon page here
Star Trac
Star Trac (formerly known as Flex Fitness) makes some of the most stylish and futuristic sports and fitness equipment in the world.
It is a US company.
It particularly focuses on making very good treadmills and steppers.
What makes this brand unique
- It makes very stylish equipment
- It is cardio equipment oriented
- Most of its products are smart products
The equipment this brand is best known for
- Stylish treadmills
- Steppers
- Bikes
- Strength equipment
VIEW Star Trac products and prices on Amazon page here
FreeMotion
If you are looking for smart incline trainers, indoor cycles, and ellipticals, you will love the range of products available from Free Motion.
The company makes cardio equipment plus rigs, racks, and cable machines for strength training.
The organization was founded in 1999 as Ground Zero to make cable workout machines.
Since then, it has steadily increased its portfolio over the years and is now part of the ICON HEALTH & FITNESS Inc.
What makes this brand unique
- It is part of a famous sports equipment brand
- It makes fantastic cardio equipment
- Most of its cardio pieces of equipment are smart
The equipment this brand is best known for
- Incline trainers
- Indoor bikes
- Treadmills
VIEW FreeMotion products and prices on Amazon page here
Cybex International
Important information
You will find Cybex products in hotel gyms, military gyms, sports clubs, and premier fitness centers.
You will find them in these many places because they are quality products.
According to the company’s website, it has the widest collection of strength training equipment.
It also has dozens of cardio training machines in its collection.
It is a known fact that the company has a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility.
What makes Cybex International so unique
- It has a wide collection of strength training equipment
- It is American
The equipment this brand is best known for
- Selectorized strength machines
- Functional strength machines
- Plate loaded equipment
VIEW Cybex products and prices on Amazon page here
StairMaster
This is an American corporation best known for making stair climbing machines, steppers, and other cardio equipment.
It was founded in 1983.
What makes this brand unique
- Quality products
- Digified cardio equipment
- Unmatched durability
The equipment this brand is best known for
- Steppers
- Treadmills
VIEW StairMaster products and prices on Amazon page here
Hammer Strength
Hammer Strength is a Life Fitness Brand. I have talked about this brand above so for more information just refer there.
What makes this brand unique
- It is part of a bigger fitness brand
- It is best known for strength training equipment
- Superior quality steel materials
The equipment this brand is best known for
- Plates
- Barbells
- Racks and rigs
TechnoGym
This is an Italian fitness company based in Cesena, Italy.
It has been in operation since 1983 making some quality strength exercise equipment.
From 2006 it started making cardio equipment.
The company has provided equipment for the Olympics and for other major global sporting events and competitions.
This shows the superior quality of its equipment.
What makes TechnoGym brand unique
- Superior equipment
- Performance tracking in its cardio equipment
The equipment this brand is best known for
- Cable stations
- Benches
- Free weights
- Accessories
- Bikes and treadmills.
VIEW TechnoGym products and prices on Amazon page here
CAP Barbell
Important information
CAP is a renowned maker of exercise equipment. The company is mostly focused on making commercial grade equipment.
What makes this brand unique
- It has been on the market for ages
- Its barbell and free weights are preferred because of their quality
The equipment this brand is best known for
- Barbells
- Free weights
- Racks
- Training stations.
VIEW CAP Barbell products and prices on Amazon page here
Conclusion
As it is obvious in this guide, gym pieces of equipment are very important nowadays.
They can help you to get fit, to stay healthy, to train on your own terms, and to train in your own private space without any distractions.
Moreover, you have seen that home exercise equipment are different from commercial exercise equipment.
You have also seen that used and new gym pieces of equipment have their own pros and cons.
But the most important thing right now is that you know what to consider when buying home or commercial gym equipment.
You also know what to take into account when weighing whether to buy new or used.
Lastly, you are now aware of the best gym equipment brands and the machines they are most famous for making.
In summary, you now know how to go about buying gym equipment for whatever use.
No more needing to Google stuff online for hours.
Get what you need now to start your journey to fitness or to owning a fitness gym.
Some Question & Answers:
QUE: What is best home exercise equipment for strength?
A squat rack.
Nothing will build your overall body strength better than doing squats.
A good squat rack is, therefore, the best home exercise equipment for strength.
QUE: Why Rogue Fitness seems more popular than other brands?
Because the corporation makes some of the best machines out there.
The corporation is American and it makes all its exercise equipment in the country.
This means customers can confidently expect them to make better quality equipment every time since they must adhere to American standards.
And since they have done so for quite a long time, the company has risen in popularity to become one of the most popular in the equipment makers industry.
However top brands such as Marcy and Valor still way above Rogue fitness.
QUE: What weight lifting equipment good for beginner to build chest?
A training bench.
However, a beginner should begin by bench pressing lower weights to gain strength before increasing the weight they are lifting.
QUE: Walmart exercise equipment Vs Amazon: Who gives better bargains and discounts?
Amazon gives better bargains and discounts.
This is because they are the bigger retailer and they have the capacity to give more discounts.
QUE: Buying exercise equipment near me (in-store) Vs online stores
In-store equipment are often more expensive than online store machines.
So if you want to buy cheaper equipment visit an online store.
However, if you want your equipment immediately, buy equipment in a store near you as buying online normally involves having to wait for a couple of days.
QUE: Which Abdominal exercise equipment do you recommend for a teenager?
I recommend a simple ab machine – a sit up bench.
Such benches are easy for teenagers to use and are less risky for teenagers to use.
QUE: Are products referred to “as seen on TV exercise equipment” better and stronger?
Sometimes but not necessarily. But when exercise equipment are shown on TV, they are generally considered to be of higher quality.
So investigate further such products but you can assume that they are of slightly better quality.
QUE: What is the cheapest outdoor exercise equipment to order?
Probably a jump rope.
It won’t cost you much but it can help you burn calories like nobody’s business.
QUE: Between Roguefitness Vs Marcy Home Gym: Which company is more reliable?
Marcy Home Gym.
Because it is an American brand that makes quality products in the USA. It also has long warranties on most of its products.
The fact that the company has warranties means that it makes its products good/ reliable enough to last for a long time.
Otherwise, it could be losing a lot of money from customer claims if its products were not reliable.
QUE: Which company in Europe sells the best weight machines?
Probably Exigo in the United Kingdom.
However, I have also heard good things about Iron King, which is also a UK company.
Nevertheless, Iron King is more into making rigs, racks, and benches. Exigo kind of makes almost everything including plate-loaded machines and cardio machines.
The Italian Technogym company is also a very good manufacturer of gym equipment. It has better variety than Exigo and Iron King.
QUE: Are max fitness exercise balls better than others?
Yes, they are highly rated by many people and have got multiple uses.
For fitness, they can be used to improve balance, agility, strength, and to develop the core.
The best thing about them is that they are made using a high-quality material that makes them more durable.
They also come with an easy-to-use pump which is a plus!
QUE: Are power cages good for back training?
Of course. In fact, if you want to really train your back and to hit the various muscles that make it up, you will have to get a good power cage.
Other exercises may hit the back but nothing targets more back muscles than an Olympic power cage with pull up bars, and lat pulldown and low row cables.
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