5 pieces of home gym equipment to smash your fitness goals

The past few years, when we were locked down and housebound, changed the way we exercise. With health clubs across Australia closed for long stretches, and not everyone loving jogging around the block, home gyms topped fitness trend reports alongside wearable technology. Whether streaming on-demand classes and virtual personal training workouts, or following Pilates sessions on YouTube, the living room became the new gym floor.

The return to ‘normal’ across Australia has also seen a lot of people return to their clubs, but many of us have no intention of abandoning the convenience of exercising at home. Recognising this, a lot of fitness facilities are now also offering virtual training options in addition to in-club services. This gives people the flexibility to train at home when they can’t - or don’t want to - make the trek to participate in aerobics classes, or use the gym’s barbells, bench press and cardio machines.

From strength building with charismatic kettlebells to cardio sessions on curvy treadmills, here are five ways to reach your fitness goals in 2023, with the help of some innovative fitness equipment ideal for your home gym.

Kettlebells have replaced dumbbells in a lot of home gyms in recent years - but what is a kettlebell? Essentially, it’s a flat-bottomed ball of cast iron with a handle on top. The handle allows you to adjust your grip, letting the weight move smoothly and freely - but safely - in the hand during dynamic movements. This enables a diverse range of exercises, and lets you easily swap the weight between hands, or transition between one- and two-handed grips during functional training workouts.

Using either static or dynamic movements, kettlebell exercises can be used to improve not only grip and arm strength, but also lower back and core strength, cardio fitness and flexibility.

A treadmill is a great way to get your steps up, because those 10,000 aren’t going to walk themselves - especially if you work from home and have less incidental physical activity in your life these days. It’s also a good option if you’re usually quick to skip exercise when the weather’s not looking great, because it gives you no excuse not to pull your runners on (similarly, when it’s dark out, a treadmill lets you jog in the safety of your own home). You can also mix up your training by alternating sprint intervals and weight lifting exercises in your living room (you can’t carry those dumbbells with you on your street run!).

These days you can get some high quality home treadmills, including innovative designs that help your running technique and posture, and also look pretty good around the house. Some are also foldable, freeing up space when not in use. Odds are, you spend an hour or two watching Netflix most evenings, so why not use this screen time to fire up your muscles and get fit while you watch? You can’t do that while you're pounding the pavement.

If you’ve ever felt as though running on treadmills doesn’t have quite the same motion as running on the pavement, you should check out this model from Lifespan Fitness which shakes things up by adding a little natural curvature to your run. With a 15-degree curved surface that imitates the effect of running or walking on natural terrain, it can also help you burn up to 30% more calories than regular treadmills - a bonus if weight loss is among your fitness goals for the new year. Entirely powered by your own motion, there’s no need to plug it in, letting you save energy by, erm, expending energy!

See price and full details of Lifespan Fitness TMCORSAIRFR100 Corsair FreeRun 100 Curved Treadmill

Fear not, exercising on a rowing machine isn’t only for those that intend to get out on the actual water. The unique motion performed by the body on a rower works a wide range of upper and lower muscle groups, so it delivers all-in-one full body conditioning that’s as beneficial for land lovers as for those with their sea legs. You’ll also get a good aerobic workout, elevating your heart rate and improving your cardio health as you race against the clock to achieve new personal best stroke rates.

Some modern rowers are particularly stylish, incorporating natural elements that transform a humble piece of fitness equipment into a talking point that you’ll be proud to display in your home.

Rowing machines are a staple of many gyms, but this wood and water rower looks so good that you won’t feel the need to hide it away in the garage or spare room. In fact, when you store it upright it can become a stylish part of the decor. The machine uses water resistance to enable a natural, fluid rhythm that mimics the motion of being on the water. The back-to-nature design doesn’t come at the expense of tech, though, with a large LCD display allowing you to track distance, speed and more with ease.

See price and full details of Lifespan Fitness ROWER-750 Water Resistance Rowing Machine

One of the best things about cycling, either indoor or outdoor, is that it’s a low impact form of exercise that doesn’t put repeated high impact pressure on your knees, hips and joints. If you want to get fit this year without aggravating old injuries, low impact physical activity makes sense.

With feet firmly in the pedals and bum comfortably in the saddle, the resistance of the flywheel and the drive of the challenge is all you need to get your heart racing and lower body muscles fully firing. Plus, just as a treadmill does for running, you can cycle whatever the weather, and no matter how cold and dark it may be outside.

Forget your mum’s rickety old exercise bike that worked better as a clothes horse than as something to help you get your sweat on, these days you can choose from a massive range of gym-quality cycles for your home. This sleek looking model from Lifespan Fitness boasts comfort, tech and functionality. Featuring a large LCD display to keep track of calories burnt, distance, speed, time and cadence (RPM), it also has a ‘comfort sports’ saddle and precision flywheel for a smoother, more stable ride.

See price and full details of Lifespan Fitness Spin Bike LFEX-SP870-M3

If your running days are behind you but you’re determined to not let your cardio fitness slide, a cross trainer, or elliptical, can mimic the movement of running, as well as the cardio and lower body muscle benefits, but without the jolts to the joints. Whether you’re harbouring an old, recurring injury or your joints just aren’t as forgiving as they used to be, low impact exercise that still gets the heart racing is a good way to go. Plus, by pushing and pulling the moveable handles of the elliptical, you can work the upper body as well, increasing the strength in your triceps, biceps and shoulders.

If you’re looking for an elliptical cross trainer that offers you more control, this model from Lifespan Fitness allows you to easily alter resistance at the push of a button. With a heavy duty magnetic flywheel, your strides feel extremely smooth and stable, and the quiet belt drive means you won’t drown out your music or annoy anyone else at home. If you’re not sure how to get the most from your training, the multiple built-in programs make it easy to choose a workout that matches your goals - and the LCD display lets you monitor your progress as you work towards them.

See price and full details of Lifespan Fitness X-41 Cross Trainer