The Best Functional Trainers For A Home Gym In 2022

The best functional trainers for a home gym have a few things in common. First, they are built at or near-commercial grade. Second, they feature a design that allows for proper movements while not taking up a ton of space, an important consideration for a majority of home gym owners. And third, they provide enough weight to grow with their owner’s gains.

Buying a functional trainer can quickly elevate your home gym experience by adding hundreds, perhaps even thousands of new movements to your arsenal. From pushdowns and curls to triceps, numerous types of pulls, various leg movements, and everything in between, functional trainers are a necessity if you want to reach peak home gym status.

We’ve chosen a handful of the best functional trainers at different price ranges and with slightly different features. There’s something on this list for everyone.

All of the units on our list include smooth pulling action, accessories to help you get started right away, and solid builds that are backed up with some of the best industry-leading warranties. They are also all priced under $3000.

REP FT-5000 – Rep Fitness Functional Trainer

This top-of-the-line Repfitness functional trainer is hands-down the best unit we’ve used in a home gym. While the $2499.99 price tag (with free shipping) is not cheap, you definitely get your money’s worth. In fact, it’s cheaper than most of the trainers on this list and yet provides a superior build.

The high-end Rep FT-5000 features a built-to-last design starting with a solid body made from 11-gauge steel and continuing through to the unit’s fiberglass reinforced pulleys.

We consider this unit to be the best functional trainer for a home gym because it’s overbuilt yet still shockingly affordable. Take for example the unit’s overall weight which comes in at a solid 1,001 pounds, making it the heaviest option on our list. In fact, it’s around 300 pounds heavier than our second-best choice from Titan Fitness.

Included in the weight are 220-pound weight stacks featured on each side of the unit. Keep in mind that like most functional trainers sold for home use, there is a 2-to-1 ratio which means each side feels like you’re pulling 110-pounds of weight. While the effort is reduced because of the unit’s weight ratio, it’s still more weight than most people require when using a functional trainer.

As an added bonus, the FT-5000 adjusts in 5.5-pound increments, allowing for smaller weight increment changes than most other functional trainers. This is great news for anyone who wants to slowly increase their pulls throughout their workout or from one day to the next. We really appreciate that Rep Fitness lists the actual weight being pulled with the 2:1 ratio rather than listing the actual weight of each plate and the stack in its entirety.

One thing to keep in mind is that this functional trainer is on the larger side with a build that checks in with a height of 85″, a depth of 45″, and a width of 72″ at its widest point. While I was able to test this product with help from a friend, it was simply to big to place in my own gym as a permanent fixture.

On a positive note, this Repfitness functional trainer is V2 of the unit. Rep Fitness is known for constantly upgrading its equipment based on user feedback. V2 features several new options that I didn’t test personally but received feedback about via online reviews. The new now features:

• Column handle height adjusts on wheels for super smooth 1-handed adjustments.
• Lowest handle height now allows users 5’3″+ to do standing cable curls next to the machine.

Speaking of handles, I absolutely love the pull-up bars on this functional trainer. The ability to easy grab inside and out is great for narrow and wide grip movements and the handles are very grippy, perfect for those times when you’re hands are sweating and you’re moving quickly between various workout movements.

Further, the powder coat on the Rep Fitness unit is among the best on our list. The company uses a two-layer electrostatic powder coating that looks commercial. The paint job feels like something you would encounter in a top-notch facility and the weld points are strong and polished.

The one negative is that the standard attachments featured with the Repfitness functional trainer (FT-5000) are not great. Yes, they will get the job done, but honestly, you’ll want to spend a few hundred dollars more, either out of the gate or down the road, and pick up the company’s much more competent premium upgrade kit.

Check out the products reviews and you’ll quickly see why we consider this to be the best functional trainer for a home gym in 2022.

You can check out all of the Rep Fitness Victory Functional Trainer features here.

Titan Fitness Functional Trainer

The Titan Fitness functional trainer came as a surprise to me when I ordered it for my home gym. At the time of purchase, I only found one YouTube video for the product and while it was a strong review, there were some obvious issues that appeared to exist.

I ended up waiting for V2 to arrive and now I consider this unit to be one of the best functional trainers available in 2022. In fact, it’s the mainstay in my garage gym where it has been used 1-2 times per day for more than a year.

Why do I love the Titan Fitness Functional Trainer? Let’s start with the most obvious features. First, the 200-pound weight stacks are among some of the best available for a home unit.

Sure, they’re not quite Rep Fitness good but this unit is often on-sale for under $2300 with shipping included. I honestly don’t need the extra 20 pounds per side so it wasn’t a huge deal.

Second, the Titan Fitness Functional Trainer takes up less space. The unit features a depth of just 48-inches and a width of 64-inches. It also features a height of just 82-inches. Other trainers would have stuck out too far in my home gym, causing a tripping hazard.

I also love just how smoothly my weight stacks glide along with the functional trainer’s aluminum pulleys. I use Super Lube’s synthetic product to keep the weight bars operating better than new and I highly recommend you do the same. Just avoid the non-synthetic version which can cause damage to your functional trainer’s paint job.

Speaking of the paint job, the Titan Fitness functional trainer offers a powder coat that is very solid. I have been buying Titan Fitness products for years and I’ve been increasingly impressed with how they’ve managed to improve their powder coating year-over-year.

I have to admit, I was shocked by how decent the included accessories are from Titan Fitness. The handles all pivot easily, allowing for one-handed motions on both sides of the product. Titan also created a pop-pin system that removed easily while the handled glide up and down their laser-cut bars. Just beware, I’ve pinched my fingers a few times which is more likely user error than product related.

Speaking of the handles, one qualm I have with the Titan Fitness functional trainer is that the laser cut numbering system skips every other number. This means only odd-numbered holes are labeled. I know it’s only a small design choice but it’s rather annoying when I’m exhausted from a workout and relying on my brain to think for an extra second about where I’m placing my handles for each workout, especially during faster-paced HiiT training.

For what it’s worth, the short bar is my favorite accessory. The grip on the bar feels great and it has held up for well over a year without any issues.

Inspire Fitness FT1 Functional Trainer

The Inspire Fitness Functional Trainer series is among the most sold and well-known home gym-based options on the market.

The only reason I have ranked the Inspire Fitness FT1 Functional Trainer lower on our list of the best functional trainers for 2022 is the size of its weight stacks. With a 2-to-1 ratio, 165-pound stacks don’t hold up well for users looking to pull more weight. The weight limit and ratio mean you won’t even pull 100 pounds on each side at maximum levels.

You can purchase additional 50-pound stacks to increase each side to 215 pounds but I’m not a fan of being upsold for something that comes standard on other products within the same class.

Honestly, that’s the only big downside. I’m a powerlifter and for me, weight means a lot.

I’m going to include a video at the bottom of this entry, I suggest you check it out to see how compact the Inspire Fitness FT1 functional trainer is. With a 47″ depth, 54″ depth, and a height of just 81.5″ it takes up very little space. This is great if you are lacking on square footage but the width is a bit small for my liking, making some movements feel cramped.

One of the best features of the Inspire Fitness FT1 Functional Trainer is the near commercial-grade accessories that come with the unit. Among those accessories is an Easy Curl Bar, Ankle Cuff, Straight Bar, Tricep Rope, 2-single handles, two 5-pound add-on weights, and a multi-functional belt.

The biggest letdown with the FT1 functional trainer is the pull-up bar that feels very generic compared to all of the other options on our list.

Admittedly, at $2999 the Inspire Fitness FT1 Functional Trainer is the most expensive option on our list. However, you can buy in on Amazon, and with your order, you’ll receive a 10-year warranty which is insanely good.

BodyCraft HFT Functional Trainer

The BodyCraft HFT Functional Trainer is the result of decades worth of know-how in the gym products business. With that being said, the company’s brand name helps it fetch a hefty price tag at $2799.99.

For that price, you’ll gain access to two weight stacks that come in at just 150-pounds each, although you can pay around $200 more and upgrade to 200-pounds per stack. The unit, like the others on our best functional trainers list, features a 2:1 ratio which means at the base level you’ll only pull a maximum of 75 pounds.

While the BodyCraft HFT Functional Trainer is not cheap, it does have high-quality parts. The glide is very smooth and the pulleys adjust quickly and with ease. BodyCraft doesn’t skimp on any part of its build which is echoed in its high review scores on Amazon.

For the $2799.99 starting price, you’ll gain access to seven attachments and the company includes an exercise booklet that can help you learn how to properly use a functional trainer if it’s your first time owning this piece of gym equipment.

One stand-out part of the BodyCraft HFT Functional Trainer is a unique pull-up bar that provides narrow and neutral grips. While our first several options also include pull-up bars, the BodyCraft pull-up bar gives us a different grip pattern that we really like.

As an added bonus, this functional trainer is also one of the smallest on the market with a width of only 56-inches, a depth of 40-inches, and a fairly standard height of 82-inches. I’m 5’10” and I find that a smaller height makes it easier to quickly grab the pull-up bar to stretch out quickly between sets or to add in a quick pull-up set with my other exercises.

XMark Functional Trainer Cable Machine

The XMark Functional Trainer comes in at a price of $2,700 with free shipping and for that cost the company delivers 200-pound weight stacks, fully adjustable pulleys, and a smooth glide that feels nearly commercial.

There is no noticeable drag and reviewers on Amazon have raved about the machine looking even better in person than in photos.

All of the pulleys on this unique are fully adjustable and feature 19 different positions that are clearly marked along each pulley bar. The pin pop is easy to pull out on these units and with a little bit of Super Lube your weights will experience no really noticeable drag.

One important thing to note is that this is a slightly larger unit. It measures in at a width of 65,” a length of 43.5” and a height of 83.”

The pull-up bar is pretty standard and looks much like a few others on our list. That’s fine because it has a solid grip and even with a few extra inches it’s still fully accessible for most people.

If that’s not enough to get you excited, the XMark offers a lifetime frame warranty, although the parts extend to just a 1-year warranty.

You can see all of the details for the XMark functional trainer cable machine here.

Functional training is a great way to target specific muscle groups and a solid functional trainer can last for years. For more than a year we’ve stood by our stance that the best functional trainer is the Rep Fitness FT-5000 and we continue to stand by that claim. However, if you want something a bit smaller and priced at a lower cost, be sure to also check out the features offered with the Rep Fitness FT-3000 Compact Functional Trainer if taking up less space is important to you.

Those are our picks for the best functional trainer options currently available in 2022. Remember, it doesn’t matter how you workout, as long as you do it safely and regularly. Now go lift heavy things!