The Total Gym 1700 was the most-reviewed home gym we found in this price range. With this machine you use your own body as resistance, lifting a percentage of your own weight against gravity.  Increasing the incline of the bench increases the resistance offered as the 1700 gym provides a total body workout.  There is also a weight bar that lets you optionally add up to 75 pounds of your own weights (sold separately).  Pilates Bar, Dip Bar, and Press Up Bar add to the range of workouts available.  The Total 1700 comes with an exercise mat to protect your floor, and can handle body weights up to 350 pounds.

One writer of a Total Gym 1700 review worked in a hospital, and noticed that this gym was used in their rehab units. She decided to buy one for herself, and was impressed with the smooth movement, the ease with which it folds up when done, and the fact that it folds up small enough to slide under a bed. “You can get a great workout on this piece of equipment,” she wrote.  Another reviewer was pleased that it arrived fully assembled (although you have to install the extras that come with it, like the Pilates Bar), and she looks forward to her workouts on the Total 1700 all day.  “Like a Six Flags ride that you have to work hard for,” she wrote as she praised the excellent video that comes with the home gym system, and the fact that you can do most any exercise you’d do at a commercial gym.  Yet another owner of this Total home gym said it is a “great motivator,” and enjoys the gym even though getting used to positioning her body correctly (since you are the resistance) took a little while to get used to.

The 1700 gym has a little brother, the Total Gym 1100, that is even less expensive and also highly regarded. As with the other Total home gym machines, the 1100 uses your body weight as resistance. One reviewer was pleased that this home gym was pretty simple, but still managed to target all of the major muscle groups. Another reviewer says it lives up to celebrity endorser Chuck Norris’ claim of a complete workout in 6 to 8 minutes, and said his entire family uses it, even his 6 year old son. Other reviewers wrote, “you don’t need a spotter as you do with free weights,” and praised the ability to “progressively increase the workout to stay challenged.” Reviewers were also pleased to get a strength and aerobic workout from the same equipment.

The Marcy Home Gym is a highly regarded choice for those who prefer more traditional home gym equipment with pulleys and weights. With this machine you can perform a wide variety of exercises, including lat pulldown, bench press, leg extension and kickback, and upright rowing.  It comes with 100 lbs. of weights for resistance, and there’s an optional 50 lb. weight stack extension.

One owner of the Marcy home gym praised the poster listing over 20 different exercises that came with the gym.  She said it is very well built, the most sturdy and stable of any home gym equipment she had used.  She appreciated the ease with which the seat adjusts, important because she and her husband both use it and are more than a foot apart in height.  Another Marcy home gym owner appreciated that there is “no unhooking one feature to use another,” and said he was really impressed with the quality, as the Marcy gym eliminated his drive back and forth to a commercial gym. Two reviewers complimented its efficient use of space, and reviewers also agreed it is a top-notch piece of equipment for the money.

Another well-liked home gym machine was the Total Trainer DLX. Offering 11 levels of resistance and a weight limit of 400 pounds, a reviewer who stands 6′4″ and weighs 285 found the Total Trainer gym capable of giving him a complete workout. The machine is “quite heavy and quality made,” and ships 95% assembled, according to reviewers.  The Total Trainer home gym comes with instructions, a video, and workout cards with prescribed routines.  A reviewer thought the accessories that come with the Total Trainer – leg attachment, deluxe oversized platform for leg exercises, straight bar, pull up and incline bar – were superior to much more expensive units such as the Bowflex. He wrote in to provide an update 5 years after purchasing the Total Trainer DLX, and commented that the chrome was as good as new, and the cords were still holding up.  Obviously this is a quality-made home gym machine.  The Total Trainer 4000XL, made by the same company, is another home gym that received great reviews and is worth considering.

While doing our research, we found that the Weider Max home gym was one of the most widely-searched names in home gyms. However, reviewers for this machine experienced problems – they reported that it took hours to assemble, and both reviewers had the machine break on its first use. They had to wait for the company to ship replacement parts.

If you have any health problems or risks, you should consult with your physician before beginning a workout routine using any of these machines.

For more home gym machines, check out Amazon’s complete line of home gym equipment in the $200-499 range. You’ll find that it is indeed possible to get a quality home gym, with a wide range of exercises that provide a total body workout, for under $500.