Keep in mind I’m a 6′0″ (okay 5′11″ and 3/4″) tall man weighing 215lbs with many years experience with weight training. This list probably isn’t so good for a petite man or woman.

1.  Perfect Pushup - Original

This is a relatively new twist to the standard little floor pushup grips that have been around for as long as I can remember.  The logic here is that by twisting in an inverted or outverted manner, you’re going to work your chest and triceps muscles more effectively than doing a pushup with your hands, wrists, and arms staying stationary.

I must admit, I thought this was going to be a wast of money but because I can’t help myself when something new comes out, I bought a pair of these. The results? The perfect pushup is a very nice addition to my home gym equipment.

While doing push ups using this device, my chest and triceps feel a really nice burn and I get fatigued much faster than when I’m doing old-school push ups.  Also, this equipment looks and feels well built and is very comfortable to use.

Read Perfect Pushup Reviews

2. Lifeline Power Up Chinups

When working out at home or on the road, one of the hardest muscle groups to workout are your back muscles.  Unless you have some type of steel bar installed in your house that’s hanging from the ceiling, or maybe a thick tree branch growing through your livingroom, you’re pretty much shit outta luck if you want to work on your lats and delts.

Enter the lifeline power up chinups!

This product is beyond simple yet it’s extremely efficient.  Basically, you have two thick straps that get held between a closed door.  With these, you can put your hands close, far, grip under or over just like you would do on a lat pull-down machine at the gym.  Of coarse, these are going to be better suited for someone who already has developed the strength to pull up your entire body weight.

As long as your door is not made out of particleboard, you shouldn’t have a problem hooking these up and using them to work your back at home or on the go.  Also, you want to make sure you can lock the door for added safety.  Imagine if you were doing a pullup and your wife opened the door on you while using this. Not only will you probably hurt yourself, you’re also going to look ridiculous.

3. Ab Slider with digital counter

This little ab gadget has been around, in several forms, for some time now.  It started with a stick through a little wheel.  Today, we’re lucky enough to have products like this: an ab slider with a digital lcd readout that counts the number of repetitions performed.

The addition of the lcd on this fitness gadget is going to bring the price up an extra $10 but it’s worth it.  There’s something about being able to see the number of ab slides I’ve done that helps to motivate me through my workout.

I like to do 10-15 reps. at a time until I get to 100.  Being able to see 12, 25, 35, 50, 62, 75, 90, 100 makes the whole ordeal a lot easier and go by a lot faster.

4.  Stamina Versa Bell 25 lb. adjustable dumbbells

This is an important piece to the home gym puzzle.  These are 25 pound adjustable (in 2.5 lb. increments) dumbbells.  You may be wondering why I don’t choose a heavier set, like the 50 lb.  This is simple. These cost $75.00 and are a fine weight for me to work up a sweat for my triceps, biceps, chest (if i have a little bench to lay on), legs (lunges), and shoulders.

When I’m working out at home, it’s just to maintain. That’s the same as on the road. I want to tire my muscles with more reps and burn some calories. I do my serious muscle building at the gym.

Buy these dumbbells and then print out these dumbbell exercises.

5. Total Body Works 5000 (Weider?)
This bad boy is great for a quick, total body workout. You’ve probably seen a similar item on a television infomercial. That infomercial probably included Chuck Norris trying to sell what’s called a Total Gym.

The differences between the Total Body Works 5000 and the Total Gym are few.  The only glaring difference between the two is the cost.  The Total Gym Can cost anywhere from a couple hundred to a thousand dollars more than the very similar machine shown here.

The total body works does what the name says, and does it well, all while saving you a lot of money.  This home gym machine can be folded down and stored lying down or standing up.  Looking at the machine, you would think you don’t need a whole lot of space to put it in a closet or against a wall. The looks of the total body works total body trainer can be deceiving.  In a normal room, it really stands out while up against a wall.  If you’re cramped for space, it will fit damn near anywhere, you just need to accept the fact that it doesn’t “disappear”.

Last I checked, you could get this home gym here and it’s less than $140 with the shipping and all.

* If you’re wondering about cardio and why I don’t have an elliptical machine, stationary bike, or treadmill, that’s simples. These machines are too big and expensive. Why spend money on those when I can hit the streets or my local park for free?