Home workout equipment: game-changing designs

Invest in an exercise kit that's as easy on your eyes as it is tough on your muscles with our edit of the best home workout equipment.

Bala bangles 

Bala is an online workout haven that spans workout gear, online workout tutorials, and in-person NYC classes. Their range of chic equipment includes everything from weights, to body rollers, jump ropes and pilates balls. Our favourite are the Bala Bangles, which are designed to be worn on wrists or ankles for an extra strength boost to your typical training. Available in seven colours and wrapped in ultra-soft silicone, these weights are a perfect addition to your yoga, boxing, pilates routine or even just your evening walk home from work. 

shopbala.com

Jaques x Vincent Van Duysen tools 

New York based men’s performance wear brand Jaques has collaborated with Antwerp-based architect Vincent Van Duysen to create a series of minimalist exercise tools that include a Bō Stick for martial arts, a wooden block that can be used in pilates or yoga, a sand bag and, our favourite, an elegant wooden meditation stool. 

The pair are devoted practitioners of meditation and were inspired to create the collection during lockdown when spending unprecedented time at home meant, for many, more anxiety than ever. The final result is a range that is worth the investment even in our post-lockdown era. 

Kenko wall sets

Berlin-based Kenko aims to elevate sports equipment to the level of high design and their range of ‘wall sets’ prove that it’s possible. Wall Set L (pictured here) includes two pairs of dumbbells, ‘Expander Double’ and ‘Big’ resistance bands, a pair of push-up bars, and massage balls to help loosen your muscles post-workout. All the sets are available in either in dark brown American Walnut or beige Canadian Maple, and coated with a special lacquer that makes them resistant to sweat and dirt.

kenkostores.com

Conran Shop jump rope

The Smart Rope from the Conran Shop uses high-tech LED technology to project your fitness data in front of you while you jump. The rope can also be linked to Apple Healthkit, Google Fit and other apps for in-depth fitness feedback. Better yet, its compact storage bag means it can be stored practically anywhere whether that means a five minute jump break in the living room or a cardio workout in the park.  

conranshop.com

Technogym Run 

Technogym has just launched its quietest treadmill yet, the Technogym Run. The treadmill features the brand’s unique 27 inch console which comes equipped with exercises for cardio, strength, and HIIT workouts through on-demand videos or trainer-led sessions. If you need a distraction to get through your run, the console also comes with Netflix and TV.  

technogym.com

Addition Studio marble weights 

Addition Studio is ‘obsessed with designer wellness.’ It might seem like a strange thing to say but for the Australian studio its just a pithy way of expressing their belief that well-designed objects can be an effective tool for enhancing wellbeing. It’s not a radical concept, but it is an idea that Addition has approached with notable ingenuity.

Their Marble Dumbell is a prime example, as an object that is both a functional piece of gym equipment and a decorative sculpture. Available in marbled black or limestone white, the dumbbells are another example of the growing trend for workout accessories that double as decoration.

additionstudio.com

Ergatta rowing machine 

Rowing is a muscle-toning, fat-burning exercise that simultaneously works almost every part of your body. But practising it requires space- a lot of it. Those who want to try rowing themselves will need access to either a large body of water or a significant swath of floor space for an indoor machine. That is, until now. 

Ergatta is a new brand of rowing machines that are specifically designed to be used and stored in domestic spaces. The compact machine, crafted from American cherrywood, can be folded into the space of a barstool and easily wheeled between rooms for storage around the house. The rower comes with a monitor that displays Ergatta’s personalised exercises and gaming-inspired competitive workouts that can be played with other members of the Ergatta community.

ergatta.com

Loro Piana wellbeing kits 

Italian textiles brand Loro Piana has elevated workout gear to the luxury realm with it’s new ‘Art of Wellbeing’ collection. Comprised of a mindfulness kit for low-impact yoga and mediation, a shape kit for more dynamic cardio workouts, and an exploration kit for outdoor activity, the collection sees the brand applying its signature, superlative cashmere to all manner of exercise equipment. Items like weights padded with cashmere, a leather-handled jump rope, and a cashmere covered fitness ball are so soft to the touch that, maybe for the first time ever, you’ll actually want to pick up your workout gear. 

loropiana.com

H-o-tt workout furniture

When it comes to exercising from home, the very act of manoeuvring a yoga mat around your furniture can be its own form of gymnastics, one that's even more exhausting than your actual workout. In response to this dilemma, Amsterdam-based design studio H-o-tt has developed a line of workout equipment that doubles as stylish home furniture. Called ‘Furfit,’ the range includes dumbbells that are also coffee table legs, push-up bars that can be used as stools, lightweight dumbbells that can be turned into a coat hanger, a curl bar that’s also a high stool, and a kettlebell that creates a side-table.


‘Frufit’ is still in prototype stages but H-o-tt is hoping to launch purchasable versions of the line at Salone del Mobile next year.

h-o-tt.com

Work in Use equipment

Rhode Island-based design studio Work in Use designs high-end work out tools intended to be displayed around the home, rather than tucked away under the bed. Furniture designer Wu Hanyen established the studio in 2019 after an accident in the workshop inspired her to create objects that encouraged strengthening movement through elegant design. 

Items in the Work in Use range include an over-the-door pull-up bar crafted from oiled walnut and leather, brass weights stored in a minimal wooden block, and a balance rail crafted from oiled cherry wood, amongst others. If the objects themselves aren’t enough to encourage you to get moving, Wu also offers video workout classes specifically designed for artists through her website. 

workinuse.com

Forme mirror 

Leave it to Swiss designer Yves Béhar to rethink the home gym. Two years in the making, Forme Life is a stylishly integrated piece of equipment that takes the eyesore out of the typical home gym. Comprised of a single six-foot mirror with touchscreen capabilities, Forme transforms into an intelligent gym portal that comes with its own exclusive programming, ranging from interval training and boxing to meditation, stretching, and barre. It also tracks all movements and collects data with every use to encourage progress.

Pulleys and adjustable cast-aluminium arms for resistance exercises can be deployed or retracted from behind the mirror at will, while integrated speakers, camera, and microphones enable users to be guided through their workout interactively by instructors. Any additional attachments and accessories are neatly stored behind the elegant piece, ensuring that it never takes up too much space.

‘Forme sets itself apart from competing systems by not being a single sport or single-use product,’ says Behar. ‘It was developed thoroughly to be a beautiful functional solution that encompasses many wellbeing activities with great on-screen user experience, as well as an industrial design that makes Forme disappear in the home when not in use. It’s the first multi-activity home wellbeing system that can provide a single user or an entire family with the full gamut of activities and world-class trainers.’

formelife.com

Saint Laurent yoga mat

Given how many ways the humble yoga mat can be used, we’re all for this joint effort from Saint Laurent and the Italian activewear label No Ka’Oi. Made using No Ka’Oi’s signature quilted polyurethane and spongy gummed trimming to prevent any slipping, while embracing Saint Laurent’s sharp and glamorous aesthetic, the mat is available as a textured all-black version or in an extroverted leopard print to provide the perfect foundation for your exercising needs.

ysl.com

Equipt weights

The Los Angeles-based fitness company Equipt is behind a collection of hand weights that are worthy of being given pride of place in your home. Equipt’s signature U-barre is an ergonomic piece that combines weight with an element of support so that it can be used in lieu of a kettlebell, dumbbell, yoga block, or a resistance weight while doing high repetition exercises. Available in several sophisticated colours and four different weights (4lb, 8lb, 12lb, and 16lb), the U-barre purposefully cuts a sculptural figure to motivate users to keep it close to hand.

equiptmovement.com

Nike SuperRep Go trainer

Nike brings the outdoors in with its SuperRep Go trainers, which have been specifically designed with circuit-based fitness classes and streaming workouts in mind. Designed with responsive foam cushioning and a soft lightweight mesh that breathes while providing additional support around the foot, the shoe also possesses rubber tread in high-wear areas for added traction and an arc up the outer side of the shoe that supports side to side movement.

nike.com