Functional Trainers

Functional trainers may not be at the top of everyone’s home gym shopping list, mostly due to their size and price tag, but there’s a place for them in everyone’s setup.

Yup, that includes people looking for the best compact exercise equipment, those in apartments, people who are always on the go, or those who are on a tight budget.

Don’t believe us? We’ve picked the best functional trainers on the market today, and we’re willing to bet there’s one on this list that works for you. We’ll go over what makes each one so special, why a functional trainer is a great addition to your home gym, and what you should look for when shopping for one.

Our team of certified personal trainers, competitive weightlifters, and home gym equipment experts has assembled dozens of functional trainers, performed tens of thousands of reps to test cable pulleys, and tested attachments for durability and versatility. In addition to our own testing, we consulted with Michael Masi, DPT, to get his input on the best functional trainers.

This article was also medically reviewed by Raj Panchal, D.O., who specializes in Interventional Pain Management and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, to ensure accuracy.

We’ve helped over 107,000 athletes find the best strength equipment for their needs, and we’re here to help you, too.

After testing each functional trainer, we used our equipment testing methodology to rate them based on an important set of factors, including:

• Footprint: How much room does it take up? Most functional trainers aren’t small, but we only gave 5-out-of-5-star ratings to those that include plenty of storage for attachments, have a height that works for most home gyms, and can be moved by two or three people.
• Stability: Does it stay still during use? Can you perform pull-ups (if it has a pull-up bar) without it shaking? A little bit of movement is normal with some activities; however, a 5-out-of-5 rating means the rack didn’t move at all with any cable exercises or pull-ups.
• Attachment versatility: Are the attachments of good quality? Are they included, or do you have to purchase them separately? We considered both the quality and quantity with attachments, looking for accessories such as ankle straps, a variety of handles, pull-up bars, and more.
• Pulleys: Are the cables smooth? Do the cables feel sticky at certain angles? A little bit of movement and stickiness is common with average functional trainers, but those that felt buttery-smooth through all movements earned 5 out of 5 stars
• Gym Pros offers a large variety of Selection on many of our Manufactures, Body solid, Hoist and Nautilus offer great selection
• https://www.gympros.com/product-category/functional-trainers/