I'm looking to add some options to lift at my house without having to install a home gym in my garage. Any recommendations? My doctor recommended an x3 bar system since he has one but I am open to other ideas. My wife and I have small workout space in our bedroom that currently houses a Peloton and some mats.

We have two young kids and getting to a gym isn't likely to happen these days and I want something that I can knock out fairly quickly either before or after work.

For reference I am 40 and a physical therapist and have a good understanding of biomechanics and form and I used to lift a fair amount but it has been years since I have done it. I have mostly run for exercise recently.

The Tonal thing looks real interesting.

Kinda depends on the amount of space you have available and what you're looking to do as far as resistance training. I love my Bowflex 90lb adjustable dumbbell set. Below is half of my home gym, the other half is in my garage which includes a power rack and some additional equipment.

I am always very skeptical of new home training "systems". It's just my bias as I'm an old fashioned "just need a rack, a bench, and a barbell" guy".

That's said I just watched this review of the x3 and I'm impressed. It's probably a little overpriced but seems like it's high quality and comes with a comprehensive training program app.

This is the review I watched. This guy is a dork but he does good reviews of all things home gym.

My challenge is space. My wife won't let me convert our garage into a home gym because she has 5 bikes she never rides and a bunch of other that she "might" need one day.

I would love to have a rack and some free weights but this will go in a bump out room in our bedroom which is upstairs and carpeted.

aznaggiegirl07 said:

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The Tonal thing looks real interesting.

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We had our Tonal installed this week and we love it. We both use it daily.

My wife uses the guided workouts, and I do custom workouts for the lifts that I want.

Deciding factor was that the resistance machine I wanted was professional/gym grade and not much more than the Tonal. I don't love the monthly fee (required for first 12 months) but my wife uses it for the workouts every day. I have always preferred resistance/cable lifts to free weights.

I haven't really found a lift I couldn't do that I wanted to do… obviously things like traditional squats are out but I was not interested in those anyway. The stat tracking and form feedback features are really pretty cool.