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The Best Home Gym Equipment Ideas for The Elderly

23rd Oct 19

Exercising is essential at any stage in life. It’s one of the fundamental aspects of keeping good health. There’s no disputing it. For the elderly, however, exercising might not always be the easiest thing to do. It might not be accessible, available or even just practical. Everyone is different, after all. It’s important to know, however, that this doesn’t mean that’s all there is to it. There’s a whole load of equipment out there to help you exercise at home that’s perfect for this very situation and can be the ideal thing to help get elderly people moving back to better health.

Let’s look at some of the best:


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Recumbent Exercise Bikes

Older person using a recumbent exercise bike

One of the most popular pieces of exercise equipment for the elderly is the recumbent exercise bike. It’s essentially just like any other exercise bike, but with the peddles in front of you as you are seated with back support, rather than under you, as with a bike seat. That means they’re low impact, they put little to no stress on your joints, and they support you much more than other exercise equipment could do.

They still give you the opportunity for an excellent workout. It’s cycling, after all. You’re able to change the resistance, the time, and just about anything else you could want to on them to make the workout as hard or as easy as you need it to be. It’s a great way to get a good cardio workout.

Cross Trainers

Older woman using a cross trainer in her home gym

Next up on the list for similar reasons to the recumbent exercise bike is the cross-trainer. It’s one of the most iconic exercise machines out there, and it’s another low-impact but high-calorie-burning exercise machine. That makes it perfect for someone who may not be as mobile as they used to be or is trying not to put too much pressure on their joints in the long term.

Just like above again, they still have variable resistance to make things as hard or as easy as needed, and they are still an excellent workout. Cross trainers are known for the benefits of a full-body workout, which means you’re keeping all of your muscles in good shape, not just your legs. The real benefit is that your feet not leaving the floor just means you have no heavy impact steps or even knee bending really.

Treadmill

Older man using a treadmill

The last bit of cardio exercise kit we’ll look at that’s a great option for the elderly looking for a lighter workout is a walking treadmill. Any treadmill can do the job, but if you aren’t planning on doing much running, a lower-end treadmill will do the job just fine and save you a lot of money as well.

Walking on a treadmill is an incredible way to get low-intensity steady-state cardio (LISS), a preferred exercise method for many people. It means that you can do the exercise for longer periods since you aren’t pushing too hard, and that helps burn the same amount of calories. That’s absolutely perfect for weight management as well as all of the other cardio benefits. When you feel comfortable, you can even add inclines into the equation and change things up without having to increase the impact on your joints. That’s perfect for seniors.

Yoga Mat/Block

Couple using yoga equipment

Cardio isn’t everything when it comes to fitness, despite being the most famous. Yoga is a great way to help build up your balance, flexibility and your strength at the same time, and that’s why the right yoga exercise equipment can do incredible things for elderly people who may be struggling with their fitness. (It’s great for anyone, really).

The best place that you can start here is with a yoga mat and a yoga block if needed. They have their benefits (Check out our Yoga Mat or Yoga block articles here), and they can help you see the health improvements yoga offers you in the safest way possible.

Resistance Bands

Elderly man using resistance bands at home

Next up is resistance bands. It’s important to use some resistance training in your fitness regime to ensure that you’re getting the very most that exercise can give you. That’s the best way to get all of the benefits of exercise in later life. Resistance training is great for things like bone density, muscle strength, balance and even calorie burning, so it’s not one to forget about (it can even help with arthritis).

They come in huge ranges so that you can find the one to fit your needs and then find the exercises that are right for you. Squats pull aparts and bicep curls are just a few of the most famous. There’s a huge range out there.

Multi Gyms

Close up of multi gym

The last thing we’ll look at is a bit of a wild card, but we’ll explain ourselves. Multi gyms are up there with the best strength training pieces of equipment possible. They can be as easy or as hard as needed, and they offer you a huge range of opportunities for strength training.

Multigyms support you through every exercise and mean that you can take on all of the exercises involved safely and securely. They have a fixed motion range which means they take a lot of the stability work away from you, and it makes things easy to get a good strength workout and reap the benefits from it. For the support elements alone, they can be a perfect purchase as far as exercise equipment for the elderly can take you.

There’s a lot more equipment out there than just the things we have listed, but if you get the right setup, you’ll be amazed at what you can do and the progress you can make from doing it.

For more information, check out this NHS guide on the guidelines for exercise as an older adult.


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Before beginning any exercise or nutrition program, consult your physician, doctor or other professional. This is especially important for individuals over the age of 35 or persons with pre-existing health problems. Exercise.co.uk assumes no responsibility for personal injury or property damage sustained using our advice.

If you experience dizziness, nausea, chest pain, or any other abnormal symptoms, stop the workout at once and consult a physician or doctor immediately.

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