Back

The Only Home Gym Equipment You’ll Ever Need (From Minimalist to Ultimate Setups)

When it comes to building strength, staying fit, and saving time, nothing beats the convenience of a home gym. But figuring out what home gym equipment you need can feel overwhelming—especially if you’re working with limited space or a tight budget. I know I’ve experienced these issues so I’m going to share all I’ve learned!

This post was inspired by the fact that I just finished listening to a podcast with Daniel Vadnal from FitnessFAQs with Alex Leonidas and they were talking about the pros and cons of training in a home gym. I also get a lot of e-mails where people say they have zero equipment and are not sure what to do or have issues with figuring out what to install. So here goes!

Note: All the hyperlinks in this article are to the specific products I personally recommend after researching thoroughly while writing this. I may earn a small commission if you purchase through these links.

The Ultimate Home Gym Setup For Both Weightlifting and Calisthenics

Daniel and Alex concluded that if you have the following gym equipment at home, you will have more than enough to maximize your genetic potential because it will allow you to incorporate literally any kind of exercise into your training routine: bodyweight exercises, weightlifting and active mobility work.

 

Having the following pieces of equipment in your home gym will allow you to utilize any and every weightlifting and calisthenics exercise at home. In other words, you don’t need anymore than this for strength and hypertrophy training.

Squat Rack + Barbell + PlatesGymnastics RingsAdjustable Dumbbells

Squat Rack with Pullup Bar ($160) and a Barbell with Plates ($150+) enables you to do the bread-and-butter “Big 5” compound lifts below.

These compound lifts form the foundation of any weightlifting program.

Wooden Gymnastics Rings ($30) add tremendous versatility by allowing you to utilize countless bodyweight exercises to build strength, stability and mobility in a highly scalable fashion for people of all levels. They can be hung from the squat racks pullup bar.

Here’s a playlist of my tutorial videos for the above exercises on the rings.

This 55lb Adjustable Dumbbell ($150) will allow you to do isolation exercises that are not possible with a barbell or bodyweight exercises, (such as delt raises, bicep curls and more) filling in any gaps and offering greater versatility.

This 43lb adjustable dumbbell set ($230) has the added benefit of allowing the plates to also mimic a kettle bell and small barbell.

But what if you don’t have the space or money for all this? What do you actually NEED at home? What is essential for a home gym? Check out the next section.

The Ultimate Home Gym for Minimalists or Small Spaces

Most of us are not trying to be elite-level trainees. We want to train to be fit and healthy. We want to look and feel good. And many of us live in small spaces, such as apartments, where a squat rack, barbell and plates are out of the question. Or it may be too costly. So here’s my comprehensive recommendation given this scenario.

First and foremost: You’ll save a lot of space and cost by focusing on bodyweight exercises (aka calisthenics).

Weightlifting is not a necessity to workout. Both calisthenics and weightlifting are valid resistance-training methods that can build great strength and muscle. This way, you won’t need a squat rack and barbell and plates which is a significant cost and takes up more space.

But just because it’s bodyweight fitness, doesn’t mean it’s no-equipment fitness.

You must have either a pull-up bar or a pair of gymnastics rings or ideally, both, to train your entire body effectively and efficiently with bodyweight-exercises.
  • A place to hang is the minimum requirement because you need a place to hang to do pulling exercises.
  • Pulling exercises are the only ones that can effectively target the upper back with bodyweight exercises. (All other bodyweight exercises can be done without special equipment.)
    • More detailed info about this is in the last section of this post, titled “How do I workout my entire body with bodyweight exercises and calisthenics?””

Now, whether that hanging is done with a pull-up bar or a pair of rings is up to you. But I will say that having both is ideal. And if you had to pick just one, rings are far more useful than a pullup bar. And that’s because…

Rings are not only for advanced folks. In fact, far from it! Because all the exercises on it are scalable for all levels. They add tremendous fun and versatility by allowing you to do countless exercises that are not possible with a pullup bar. They’re also very affordable and fit in a small bag.

Rings Exercises Not Possible With Just a Pull-Up Bar:

Here’s a playlist of my tutorial videos for the above exercises on the rings.

Note how you do NOT need a bulky dip-bar station when you have rings. You can do progression exercises leading to dips on the rings.

Next: You must figure out how and where to install the pullup bar or rings at home.

Pullup Bar Installation Options at Home

Synopsis:

  • Doorway pullup bars are the easiest to install (no drilling), but some people don’t have door-frames that can handle the tension.
  • A wall-mounted or ceiling-mounted pullup bar is superior in everyway with a very high loading capacity but requires drilling.
  • A dedicated pullup bar rack is equally solid, with no drilling required, but takes up the most room. However, if you get the foldable one, it can mitigate the space being an issue as you can put it away when you’re done.

Here is the detailed explanation and view of your options:

Option 1: Doorway Pullup Bars, Cantilever StyleOption 2: Doorway Pullup Bars That Go Between The DoorframeOption 3: Wall or Ceiling Mounted Pullup BarOption 4: Dedicated Pullup Bar Rack

No drilling required. Installation takes a second but you need a door frame with sturdy molding on the top. You cannot do any kipping exercises with these and the capacity is limited to 250lbs (113kg).

Again, no drilling required. This kind of bar use massive tension to press the sides against the door frame. They are generally extremely strong but only if the wood frame can handle the tension. If your door frame is not strong enough or it’s just dry-wall, it can crack when tensioning it.

  • Sportneer Pull Up Bar doesn’t require any tools (you turn the entire bar to tension it), can support up to 440lbs (200kg) and can be installed in a narrow corridor as well because it can go as wide as 37 inches (94cm). However, it cannot support 440lbs (200kg) if you are going to set it up that wide.

Drilling required into studs or concrete wall. Extremely strong (500lbs capacity). If you don’t know how to use a stud finder and drill, it would be worth it to hire a handyman.

  • Rage Fitness Wall Mounted Pullup Bar can extend up to 52 inches wide (it depends how far apart your studs are) and extends 36 inches away from the wall, giving you great clearance in both directions. It can also be mounted on the ceiling if you prefer.

No drilling required. Extremely strong but takes up the most footprint. If space is an issue, get the 2nd option (KT Stand) as it is easily foldable so you could put it away when you’re not using it.

  • CAP Barbell Power Rack ($120) stands 85 inches (2.1m) tall with a 500lb capacity.
  • KT Pull Up Bar Stand ($345) has the same footprint but with far more benefits: Foldable in 10-seconds, can stand much taller (101 inches/2.5m) and has a 770lb capacity due to its better design, and it’s the half the weight of the power rack.
Gymnastics Rings Installation Options at Home
First, buy these gymnastics rings because they are wooden and have the longest straps. Here’s my guide on how to hang them up. 

Here are the 3 options you have for hanging them.

Option 1: Hang from any pull up bar or outdoors.Option 2: Install hooks on your ceilingOption 3: Install a ceiling mounted bracket on your ceiling

The rings can be hung from a pull-up bar or outdoors on monkey bars at playgrounds, metal railings above balconies or stairs, tree branches, and anything else that catches your eye. The higher up, the better, but if the bar is low you could still do tons of things on them.

The rings can also be hung very high if you buy these hanger mounts and install them on your ceiling. The width will be fixed so you’re going to want to make the distance between them to be the length of your elbow tip to the tip of your middle finger (known as a “cubit”).

If you want to be able to adjust the width of the rings, you can install this ceiling mounted bracket and hang the rings from there so you’re not limited to mounts that are fixed in position.

You may need to hire a handyman to help install the hooks or bracket properly. Here is a video that explains how to install it here if you are handy with a stud finder and drill. If you have any doubts, I would say hiring a professional is well worth it as it will be a quick job for them and you’ll have peace of mind it’s done safe!

But my landlord won’t allow me to drill or install a pullup bar or rings anywhere!

Click here to see the solution

No excuses! Review Option 4 from the Pullup Installation Options here:

Option 4: Dedicated Pullup Bar RackOption 3: Wall or Ceiling Mounted Pullup BarOption 2: Doorway Pullup Bars That Go Between The DoorframeOption 1: Doorway Pullup Bars, Cantilever Style

No drilling required. Extremely strong but takes up the most footprint. If space is an issue, get the 2nd option (KT Stand) as it is easily foldable so you could put it away when you’re not using it.

  • CAP Barbell Power Rack ($120) stands 85 inches (2.1m) tall with a 500lb capacity.
  • KT Pull Up Bar Stand ($345) has the same footprint but with far more benefits: Foldable in 10-seconds, can stand much taller (101 inches/2.5m) and has a 770lb capacity due to its better design, and it’s half the weight of the power rack.

Recommended Equipment For Therapeutic or Mobility Purposes

Click here to expand

The following are some very useful additions that also don’t take much space but add great therapeutic touches to your home gym.

Recommended Equipment For Intermediate & Advanced Trainees

Click here to expand

If you already have your pull-up bar and rings and are looking for greater gains, you should add the following equipment to be able to run my hypertrophy training routine which is a “hybrid” calisthenics routine.

    • These Adjustable Dumbbells will allow you to do isolation exercises that cannot be replicated with bodyweight exercises (looking at you, lateral delts!)
    • Weighted Dip Belt + Plates for weighted pullups/dips

Note: a doorway pullup bar will not be strong enough to support beyond 250lbs total so be aware of the limits here.

If you have all these things, you will be more than well equipped to be extremely strong on all fronts by utilizing bodyweight exercises AND have the tools to take care of yourself therapeutically.

How do I workout my entire body with bodyweight exercises and calisthenics?

As you can tell by now, I am not a fan of gimmicky equipment. I focus on what matters, and what you physically need is very little to train right now. So now you may be wondering, how do you workout with such little equipment? Here’s a quick primer:

Bodyweight exercises are split into a few different categories:

  • Upper Body:
    • Pushing (No equipment or rings)
    • Pulling (Pull-up bar or rings)
  • Lower Body
    • Squat (No Special Equipment but possibly dumbbells eventually)
    • Hip Hinges (No Equipment or Rings, but not entirely necessary)
Here is the importance of each category:

Pushing exercises such as all pushup and dip variations target the front of your body (chest, triceps, front delts) and you could do all of them with your hands on the floor or on the rings.

Pulling exercises such as rows and pullups target the opposite of pushing: the back of your body (lats, biceps, rear delts) and are essential for having strong postural muscles. There are no (effective) bodyweight exercises that strongly target the upper back without hanging.

A pullup bar allows you to work on chinup/pullup progressions. And if you hang a pair of rings, you can also do rows in a highly scalable manner that is far superior to any alternative. 

You can also do rows at home with just a bed-sheet and a door until you get more appropriate equipment.

As for squats, instead of barbell squats, you can opt for single leg squat progressions (“pistol squats”) or shrimp/skater squat progressions and if you start using a dumbbell (or any sort of weight) outstretched with your arms as a counterweight, you can build plenty of leg strength through a full range.

As for hip hinging, the ultimate hip-hinging exercise is the barbell-deadlift which targets the hamstrings, glutes and lower back and it is not directly replicable with just one bodyweight exercise. However, you can target strengthen those muscles with glute bridges, single leg glute bridges, reverse hyperextensions, and rings hamstring curls.

In the bodyweight fitness world, you can also easily do core exercises without equipment and practice inversions such as the crow pose, headstand and handstand with a wall.

What bodyweight workout program should you follow? For that, I have several options to guide you:

Now that you know how simple and effective a home gym can be, it’s time to take the next step. Contact me with any questions you have or share your setup—I’d love to hear from you!

Read This Next