14 Best Compact Exercise Equipment Pieces for Apartments and Small Spaces

There are quite a number of benefits that come with working out at home. For starters, once you set it all up, it will be much cheaper than paying for a gym membership in the long run.

Also, it saves you a great deal of time, allows you to workout in a personalized space, and it's more convenient (workout at any time). However, if you have a small apartment or not much space for a personalized gym at home, you can simply get yourself compact exercise equipment that doesn't take up that much space.

There are a lot of options when it comes to compact exercise equipment and creating your own compact home gym. Which one you choose will depend on the kind of body training you want to do.

Here is a list of the best compact exercise equipment pieces for apartments and small spaces:

1. Power Rack/Cage

If you are heavy on lifting weights, then you should consider getting yourself a Power Cage/Rack. This is a great workout tool that allows you to lift heavy weights quite safely. The best part is that it's versatile.

With the right power rack exercise machine, you can do back squats, shoulder presses, front squats, deadlift, heavy rows, bench presses, and so much more. It is excellent for barbell training and doesn't take up that much space.

2. Compact Single Stack Gym

As the name would suggest, a compact single stack gym really is just that! These compact exercise equipment pieces have:

• A leg extension attachment to help you develop your thigh muscles
• A seated chest press that has two positions handle grips for your chest and shoulder development
• Seated rows and adjusting press rows for your arms
• Lat pulldown bar with an adjustable length chain
• Crossover chest pulley and dumbbell handles

They even have ab crunchers and adjustable weight stacks that cater to every level of trainer.

3. A Cross Trainer

Not everyone who works out wants to develop "killer guns." Some people want to lose weight and improve their cardio. In fact, every workout enthusiast should be focused on their cardio routines for better overall health.

A cross trainer is the perfect machine for that purpose. Not only is it compact and stylish enough to fit into small spaces while complementing your home decor, but it also allows you to work out the entire body.

The best cross trainers have adjustable elevation and difficulty levels with the pedals targeting your lower body, specifically targeting your glutes. The handles, on the other hand, workout your entire body, including your chest and shoulders, all the while burning calories by the hundreds.

4. Rowing Machine

Rowing machines are what you might consider an all-around excellent compact exercise equipment. For starters, the best rowing machines allow you to get in an incredible amount of aerobics workout as the increased resistance helps to up your heart rate, all the while toning those leg, arm, and back muscles.

Secondly, they are perfect for both upper and lower body muscles. The act of rowing using a machine with adjustable resistance helps to exercise the rhomboids in your shoulder, the trapezii in your upper back, and the lats in your lower back.

It also targets the quads, the calves, and glutes, all the while burning a great deal of calories as it works your abs, pecs, and biceps in the periphery.

5. Vertical Knee Raise and Pull Up Station

If you are keen on working out your upper body primarily by building those muscles, then you might want to buy a Vertical Knee Raise and Pull Up Station. This is a simple, compact exercise equipment that allows you to do pull up/chin-ups that target your arms and shoulders, leg raises which target your thighs and abs, as well as dips which target your triceps and chest. With this machine, you will develop incredible upper body strength and physique.

6. Dual Adjustable Pulley Machine

There are a wide variety of exercises that can be done using the best Dual Adjustable Pulley Machine. Some of the exercises that you can get done with this compact workout machine include:

• Standing shoulder presses
• Cable chest fly
• Woodchop exercises
• Glute kickback
• Romanian deadlifts

This one, in particular, has adjustable high and low pulley columns on both sides, thus allowing you to do an even wider variety of exercises. It also has a suitable rack that holds all the necessary accessories.

7. Compact 8 Stack Multi Gym

The Compact 8 Stack Multi Gym could very well qualify as a fully functional gym all on its own. The kind of versatility that this piece of fitness equipment brings into your exercise routines is unbelievable. Here are just a few things you can do with it:

• Seated leg extensions and leg curls
• Multi cable press exercises for your arms, back, and shoulders
• Woodchop exercises for your abs
• Lat and low row exercises for your legs and back

Couple all that with the fact that it's very easy to set up, and you have yourself a highly versatile piece of gym equipment for small spaces.

8. Functional Trainer Pulley System

This is an excellent option for people who want a versatile machine in one space. This Functional Trainer has adjustable pulley heights that allow you to change exercise angles, thus targeting a wide variety of muscle groups and sections. This is a highly versatile pulley machine that can be used for:

• Crossover pulley exercises
• Triceps press downs
• Bicep curls
• Woodchops
• Upright rows

What's even more is the fact that it has chin-up bars that add a whole new dimension to your workout variety.

9. Muscle D Deluxe 4 Stack Jungle Gym

Buying the Muscle D Deluxe 4, Stack Jungle Gym might just be the best idea for someone who wants a compact exercise equipment that will help target almost every part of their body without taking up too much space around the house.

This machine is designed to provide you with a wide array of workout options from:

• Multi chin up grips that target different parts of your arms and shoulders
• Multi pulley options for different types of lat pulldowns and triceps pulldown exercises
• A low row option for seated row exercises

The best part is that it's made using the best and most reliable cables for your safety.

10. Xtreme Monkey XM100 FID Bench

The Xtreme Monkey XM100 FID Bench is an extremely versatile flat, incline and decline bench that gives you the freedom to carry out a wide range of bench exercises without worrying about tipping over. This simple yet multifaceted bench even allows you to work out your abs since it has a leg pad.

Thanks to the three seat adjustment options, you can do a wide range of bench workouts at a host of different angles to target different muscle groups effectively. The bench even has an optional leg curl extension that lets you turn it into a complete gym in its own right.

11. StairMaster Machine

If you are interested in working out your lower body and getting those killer glutes and thighs while taking care of your cardio, then you might want to consider getting a stair machine. This stair stepper is small and compact enough for a small home gym and is great for a cardio workout.

It comes with a host of adjustments that allow you to change the speeds with the maximum speed being 120 steps per minute. This machine will essentially give you the excellent benefits you get from climbing a hill or taking the stairs instead of the lift every day.

Toned legs, perfect glutes, increased stamina, lower body strength, and increased oxygen intake are just some of the benefits you get when you use this machine.

12. Muscle D Corner Multi-Gym

Perhaps the ultimate compact exercise equipment on this list, this Muscle D Corner Multi-Gym, is quite capable of functioning as an entire gym even without optional extensions.

This single station features:

• Seated Row
• Chest Press
• Lat Pulldown
• Ab Crunches
• Crossover Pulley

This home gym equipment has all that and so many other options. It has a high and low pulley station that allows for a host of arm exercises such as triceps presses, upright rows, and arm shoulder presses. You can even do glute kicks on this thing.

13. Elite Leverage Abdominal Crunch Machine

This Muscle D Elite Leverage Abdominal Crunch is the perfect machine for people who want to improve their core stamina and develop killer abs. It's compact and only takes up a little section of the room. The machine:

• Has a seat that rotates 90 degrees to help you isolate those oblique muscles
• Is designed to give you the perfect positioning to do ab crunches
• Has foot rollers that allow you to isolate your lower abs as you lift your legs upwards
• Has a wide selection of handgrip positions that allow for micro-adjustment of the crunch exercise in question

It is also built to last with the best possible quality material.

14. Treadmill

Of course, any gym worth its salt must include a treadmill. As sophisticated as the other small exercise equipment can be, very few of them come close to the simple yet highly effective treadmill.

When it comes to cardio and a total body workout, it doesn't get more effective than simply going for a run. A treadmill is the perfect machine for that purpose.

These compact exercise equipment pieces will help you create a rather complete and space-efficient gym even in the smallest of apartments.