The Strategic Guide to Investing in Home-Exercise Equipment

Best Under $100

Fit Simplify Resistance Bands

With a free weight, your muscles only engage while working against gravity. When you use these jumbo rubber bands, your muscles also have to withstand the tension of the loop. That makes them an incredibly flexible tool for improving mobility, stability and muscular strength, according to CrossFit co-founder Lauren Jenai. A typical move: With the band around your calves, assume a squat and shuffle sideways. Made from durable natural latex that doesn’t irritate sweaty skin, Fit Simplify’s set lets you choose from five different levels of stretchiness depending on how much opposition your muscles are ready to face. Plus, unlike a clunky machine, you can easily stash the bands out of sight. ($16, fitsimplify.com)

Runner-Up Under $100

CrossRope Get Lean Jump Rope

You could steal a $3 jump rope from your daughter—if you’re willing to risk ending up on the floor bound in a jump-rope web. This adult-sized weighted version not only lets you avoid that fate, it adds resistance for a double-whammy of cardio and strength building, said PJ Shirdan, a trainer for the at-home boxing platform FightCamp. The Get Lean comes with interchangeable quarter-pound and half-pound ropes and flexible handles for more comfort. Jumping steadily can take the place of an easy run or ride, or you can vary your speed for a high-intensity workout that burns more calories in less time. ($99, crossrope.com)

Best Under $300

TRX HOME2 System

Hang these adjustable straps from a beam or shut the anchor piece in a door frame. When you place your palms on the handles and push the straps away from you to perform a chest press, for example, it creates an unstable dynamic that your body has to work against to control your movement. As you try to keep your limbs from flailing, your body has to work harder than if it were pushing against solid resistance, said Kenny Santucci, founder of workout program Strong New York. Not only are your working muscles engaged, so are smaller stabilizer muscles that don’t get as much attention. Adjusting your body’s angle (picture moving your feet closer to or further from the door frame) can increase the challenge, he added. The whole system comes down as easy as it goes up, letting you build muscle without marring your home. ($185, trxtraining.com)

Runner-Up Under $300

Epic Fitness Plyo Box

If you value your decor, you’re unlikely to do a squat jump onto your coffee table. That said, jump (or plyometric) training helps you build speed and power more affordably than many machines allow. This firm foam box can handle up to 450 pounds without tipping you onto the hardwood and comes cloaked in a durable no-slip surface, welcoming punishment in ways furniture can’t. Depending on how you orient the box, you have three heights to choose from, which allows you to create a home workout that includes both jumps and strength-building exercises such as incline push-ups, step-ups and single-leg lunges. Sessions with the Plyo Box leave you with “increased metabolism and fat-burning capacities well after your workout is complete,” said Ms. Jenai. ($150, shopepicfitness.com)

Best Under $500

Bowflex’s SelectTech 552 Adjustable Dumbbells

Why junk up your house with multiple free weights when you can get 15 sets in one? At the turn of a dial, each of these dumbbells adjusts from 5 to 52.5 pounds in 2.5- and 5-pound increments, an easy way to make workouts more challenging as you get stronger. “Use the lower settings for exercises like overhead presses, bicep curls and shoulder raises, and the heavier settings for deadlifts and squats,” said National Academy of Sports Medicine-certified personal trainer Martin Kelly. ($349, bowflex.com)

Runner-Up Under $500

Apple Watch and Fitness+

Most machines are single-purpose—bikes and treadmills for cardio, racks and weights for strength. Pair the Apple Watch with your iPhone, iPad, or AppleTV to stream a gym’s worth of on-demand, instructor-led classes including HIIT, yoga, core, strength, dance, running and more. You’ll feel like you have a coach at home with you as the Apple Watch’s sensors provide real-time heart rate and calorie burn data to encourage you to work harder during workouts. (Fom $399 plus $10 per month for Fitness+, apple.com)

Best Under $1,000

Rogue Squat Stand, Bar and Bench

This gym trifecta might be the most efficient way to build strength at home, says Dale Santiago, a trainer at boxing studio Rumble. “The barbell alone allows you to perform major functional movements like squats [and] deadlifts,” he said—exercises that build total-body strength. With a stand and bench, you can adjust the barbell to your height for safer lifting, and perform bench presses, shoulder presses and more with added weight plates (which cost an additional $415 for a 230-pound set). Caveat: You’ll probably want a private space to house this hulking contraption so as not to offend your family or housemates with your utilitarian tastes and grunting. ($910, roguefitness.com)

Runner-Up Under $1,000

Schwinn Airdyne AD7

Classic exercise bikes use a bike wheel and a motor to simulate the resistance of pedaling uphill. The Schwinn Airdyne, meanwhile, uses a giant fan to generate wind resistance. The harder you pedal and simultaneously pull the elliptical-machine-like handles, the more opposition you generate. “After just a few seconds you can feel every muscle working, from your arms to your core and most definitely your legs,” said Mr. Kelly. The best part: You’ll spend way less time in the saddle than you would on a traditional indoor cycle to get the same results. ($899, schwinnfitness.com)

Best Under $10,000

Technogym Skillmill Connect Treadmill

Unlike motorized treadmills, this manual machine features a curved-deck design and is powered by your efforts: Each fall of your foot pulls the belt underneath you. The faster you move, the speedier the belt gets. And because the only way to maintain your ideal pace is to keep the belt moving, you have to engage more muscles (which will burn more calories) than you would on a standard tread. Tap into Skillmill training programs via the built-in LCD screen and companion app. The design encourages better form, explained Ms. Jenai, and the rubber slats are more forgiving on your joints—all of which translates to a lower risk of injury during any run and better performance on the road, priceless benefits for rabid runners. ($9,740, technogym.com)

Runner-Up Under $10,000

NordicTrack Fusion CST

You could buy free weights, barbells, a bench and a rack. But this machine gives you weight-room benefits with way less clutter. The machine’s flywheel resistance—a fluid system more akin to resistance bands than gravity-based free weights—allows for a nearly unlimited number of exercises, according to NASM-certified personal trainer Danny Salto. “Think of it like a Peloton for strength training,” he added. The machine comes with on-demand strength sessions via the built-in 10-inch tablet, during which iFit trainers can digitally adjust the machine’s 20 power levels for you. ($1,899, nordictrack.com)

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