Unitree-pump-small-home-gym

Small Home Gyms

We all want to have a home gym right? The idea of them is great and let’s not forget it is fun kitting out a room with equipment you’re going to use for your workout. But realistically, a lot of this comes down to space and how to utilise it best. So what is the best equipment for a small home gym? Let’s dig deep and help you understand the pros and cons of the usual small home gym equipment to help you find what’s best for you.


Why are you building a home gym?


This is where to start. Knowing the purpose of your gym will determine what equipment you need. People usually fit into a few categories here…


The one that wants to top their routine up


Not all home gyms are the full wham you see on those YouTube reviewer videos that now get all their equipment for free (we’ve helped to that and you can see those reviews here). So this person is someone who has a home gym but perhaps has a busy life and can’t always make it to the gym, or has a gym at work that they can only go to a couple times a week. A part time gym member basically. So someone that wants to keep consistent by exercising most days. So think about what equipment you can’t get at home and only at the gym, likely the big machines and big weights. Leave those exercises for your main gym days and buy small gym equipment for your “top up” days.


Our suggestion: resistance bands, a bike machine, the Unitree PUMP (of course), exercise ball, and a stepper. Won’t take up too much room and you can do enough to keep you going.

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The one that wants to stop their gym membership


This is a tricky one. You really need to prioritise what your fitness goal is and scout for small gym equipment. If it’s more cardio focussed, avoid a treadmill and go outside for your run, maybe the same for cycling. If your fitness goal is strength training then you need resistance that is small and compact. A squat rack may be too big for your space (don’t forget they are tall) - maybe a half squat rack will do the job but be sure to measure carefully. If your squat bar is 7ft you need 9ft of width in the room to get round and put the weights on avoiding damaging your walls. Don’t buy a dumbbell set, they’re very expensive, and take up a huge space. Dumbbell bars where you can slide on weights are a much more efficient use of space. Now we don’t want to try selling to you but the Unitree PUMP really does help solve this issue - it provides varied resistance and takes up such a small space with a wide variety of resistance


Our suggestion: small cardio machine (bike would be good or a foldable rowing machine), free weight barbell and dumbbell and buy weight plates, Unitree PUMP (of course), resistance bands. A good variety here and still can fit in a small space.

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The one that is getting started in fitness


If you’re just getting started into fitness and have a small space to workout from home, don’t invest heavily in the equipment you get. You’re still figuring out what you like and what you need. You may get more confident and want to get a gym membership later on. We’d advise going on to second hand online stores (good luck on Facebook marketplace) to get a variety of home gym equipment cheaply and just try things out. Have a plan and exercises to stick to with what you get, but if you’re truly new and don’t know where to start, testing out cheaper home gym equipment will get you going, and you can figure it out from there.


Our suggestion: start small and build up. Yes you’ll still have a small space but getting started in fitness is the first hurdle. Hunt around and have a smaller budget (£100ish) and then you’ll figure out what you want your fitness goals to be.

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One big point to mention


If you have a small space for a home gym you may also have tight corners and stairs to get equipment up and through. Consider this before purchasing something larger… else you may have to PIVOT!

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The Friends fans out there may have picked up on the namings of groups here and if you haven’t, well here’s the photo.


Want to know more on home gym must haves? Read our longer blog here on what to consider when building a home gym.


Want to know more about the Unitree PUMP? Read unbiased reviews here.

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