Forget about expensive and overcrowded gyms… A new trend is on the rise! And this one is about building muscle in the comfort of your own home. More and more people are longing to work on their fitness within their own four walls and are thinking about buying their own exercise equipment.
If you are one of these people, then you are in the right place, because in this article we take a look at the best exercise machines for building muscle at home and take a look at some important training advice. Have fun! ?
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Is It Possible To Build Muscle at Home?
The basic question that arises at the beginning of this article is whether it is even possible to build muscle at home. And here I can only say: “Yes! Yes! YES!” It is definitely possible to work on your fitness and build muscle in the comfort of your own home.
Even though there will certainly always be more training possibilities at the gym, with the right choice of exercise equipment it is also possible to train all muscle groups effectively at home without taking up too much space. Let’s now have a look at how we can manage this! ?
How Building Muscle Actually Works
Simply put, it is the same with our muscles as with our lives: If we want to grow, we have to push ourselves to our limits. So, if we want to make a muscle grow, we have to challenge it in order to push its performance capacity upwards.
This “challenge” is then expressed in the form of microscopically small tears in our muscle fibers. These tears are repaired by our body in the resting phase as a result of the muscle training and then come back in a stronger form in order for the muscle to be better prepared for the next workout.
This principle is also called supercompensation and it is the basic principle behind building muscle. But for it to happen at all, we have to push the muscle to its limit.
We can do this in two ways: Either by a high number of repetitions or by a high load.
We have to understand that our muscles do not always work in the same way and are capable of thousands of things. For example, the muscle of a marathon runner is much better trained to call up a certain amount of power over a long period of time than the muscle of a weightlifter, which is better able to cope with high loads.
But what is the best way to train for muscle growth?
It is said that building muscle is most probable when we train with a repetition rate of about 8-12. On the other hand, if we do an exercise only 2-4 times, we are more likely to work on our maximum strength, and with higher repetitions beyond 15 we improve our strength endurance.
Of course, the prerequisite here is always that we push our muscle to the limit within the scope of these numbers of repetitions with the right load. To build muscle, you should train with such a weight or load that you reach your limits within 8-12 repetitions.
How Should a Muscle-Building Exercise Machine Look Like?
A home exercise machine for building muscle should be able to ensure that you reach your limits within 8-12 repetitions. With the classic body weight exercises, such as push-ups or squats, you can build up some basic muscles and definitely improve your strength endurance.
However, you will quickly reach your limits for muscle growth, because you will quickly exceed the indicated number of repetitions and thus improve your endurance rather than building muscle.
And this is where exercise machines come into play! With an exercise machine you can get back into the muscle building area by increasing the load by adding weight.
So, a home muscle building exercise machine should allow you to set a weight that will take you to your physical limits in 8-12 repetitions.
It is also important that your safety is guaranteed of course. Unlike the gym, a home exercise machine does not require an instructor or a training partner. In order to avoid this to become a problem, safety should also be a top priority when choosing exercise equipment.
Last but not least, you should of course focus on high quality products. The fitness market is a booming business and therefore it is unfortunately flooded with cheap products that are polished up with fake ratings on the Internet. I don’t want you to fall into this trap, so I have put together the best exercise machines to build muscle at home in the following section. ?
The Best Exercise Machines to Build Muscle at Home
The Multi-Station Home Gym Machine
Ok enough of the theory… Let’s now talk about the best exercise machines to build muscle at home.
Probably the best muscle building exercise equipment is the multi-station home gym. Modern engineering makes it possible that you can train all of your muscle groups with just one piece of exercise equipment. Although you need a little bit of space, home gym machines are usually designed to save space.
They are also considered very safe because the execution of the exercises is supported and therefore no serious injuries can occur if you are ever left without energy during an exercise. This means that you can also use this exercise machine alone which makes it perfect for home use.
Most importantly, you will have the chance to adjust the weight as you like so that you can choose it in such a way that it will be perfect to build muscle.
Since there are numerous options that come with just one device, you should pay special attention to the quality of the product and stick to reliable manufacturers. One of these companies, which can actually always be recommended for workout equipment and exercise machines is Bowflex.
The Xtreme 2 SE Home Gym is another impressive product from the Bowflex collection. Here, you can really feel with every single screw that quality has been at the top of the manufacturing priority list. It is a very durable multi-station home gym made of high-quality materials, so that a safe and effective workout is guaranteed at all times.
In addition, there are more than 70 exercises that you can do with this exercise machine! So, you basically get a complete gym for your own four walls. Despite this enormous variety of training possibilities, this home gym is quite space-saving as well.
All in all, I can only say that I am absolutely thrilled by this machine and can recommend it without reservation! If you’re interested, you should definitely take a look at this home gym machine for further information. Here you will find it.
Dumbbells
If you have ever lived in a tiny little apartment, or if you are limited in space for another reason, then a home gym machine might not be the optimal choice. But don’t worry! There are still tons of other options helping you to build muscle at home! ?
Let’s talk about the mother of all exercise equipment, the dumbbells. Dumbbells are probably the most space-saving and inexpensive way to build muscle at home.
Personally, I am a big fan of dumbbells with nuts, because in this case you only need two dumbbell bars and some weight plates and can adjust the weight as you wish. With this setting you probably have the smallest gym in the world and can train all muscle groups effectively in the comfort of your own home.
I myself use this dumbbell set from Leadnovo, with which I have had very good experiences. How much weight you would like to train with should depend on your level of performance, your training style, and much more. This dumbbell set makes it possible to choose between different weights up to 44 pounds.
The nice thing about this dumbbell set is that it comes with a connecting rod that allows you to convert the dumbbell into a barbell in just a few seconds.
Additionally, the quality of the dumbbells seems to be very high. I’ve never had any issues with them so far although I am already using them for 3 years now.
If you’re interested in this space-saving, affordable way to build muscle at home, take a look at these dumbbells on Amazon. Here you will find them.
The Weighted Vest
If the home gym machine and dumbbells are too boring for you and you are looking for an alternative way to build muscle at home, then I’ve got something a little cooler for you here! ?
How about a weighted vest, for example? This one will certainly never get boring because you can use it for all the exercises you could think of! Push-ups, squats, sit-ups… All these exercises might become too easy after a short time without additional weights. But if you are doing them with a weighted vest, then you push yourself to the limit within the recommended 8-12 repetitions.
Of course, a weighted vest has its limits and you cannot achieve such high loads as with the weights of a home gym machine or a dumbbell set. Nevertheless, this option is especially suitable for beginners who want to start with the classic “Body Weight Exercises”. You can find a good weighted vest here.
Resistance Bands
An exercise device that is also great for building muscle at home is the Resistance Band. You can easily attach them to doors or other fixed objects and get started quickly.
Resistance bands have the advantage that they are extremely cheap, space-saving and also very suitable for building muscle. The special thing about them is that the resistance increases with increasing length, which means that your muscle has to adjust to the changing stimuli.
In addition, you have the big advantage that you can not only use this exercise device at home, but you can easily carry it in your suitcase or backpack and thus train on the go.
Personally, I have had the best experience with the following resistance band set. If you’re interested, take a look at it on Amazon.
The Pull-Up Bar
The pull-up bar, which is found in more and more people’s homes, should not go unmentioned. The big advantage here is of course that the bar is very space-saving and can really find a place in every home.
Likewise, pull-ups are very well suited for building muscle, since it is not as easy to reach repetitions that would go into the strength endurance category, as with push-ups for example. The disadvantage is that training with a pull-up bar is very monotonous and you can’t train every muscle group.
Especially for the growth of the back muscles, a pull-up bar is a very good choice and because of the low price, you can’t really go wrong here. Take a look at this pull-up bar on Amazon.
How Often Should You Train?
As described above, building muscle works in such a way that our body repairs the microscopic cracks in our muscle fibers that occur as a result of muscle training and lets them come back stronger.
This process happens during the post training period between our workouts. But for it to happen in the first place, we must also give the body the necessary regeneration time!
Many people make the mistake of overdoing it and working out the muscle every day. However, by doing so we rob our body of the time it needs to react to the muscle stimuli.
So overtraining is even counterproductive. For building muscle, I would advise you to take at least one day off between two sessions for the same muscle. But as always, it’s best to simply listen to your own body. If you still have a very sore muscle from the previous workout, you might want to take an extra day off.
Final Thoughts on the Best Exercise Machines to Build Muscle at Home
Progress in engineering has now made it possible for us to build muscle in the comfort of our own home. More and more people are longing for exercise machines for the home gym and are now encountering more and more options.
The home gym machine is probably the best, most complete and safest option for building muscle at home, while the classic dumbbell set is still an option worth considering because it is space-saving but still very effective.
I hope I could help you with this article. If you still have any questions or suggestions, feel free to write me an email.
Otherwise, I now wish you lots of fun and success in building muscle at home with your new exercise machine! ?
