Functional trainers can elevate your garage gym by adding various exercises to your daily routine. We love this piece of gym equipment for pulls, fly’s, curls, tricep push-downs, and everything in between. For the past few years, we’ve been examining the best functional trainers, and we’ve updated our list for 2023.
While high-end commercial-grade functional trainers can cost $5000 or more, a near-commercial-grade system built for home gyms can often set you back at less than $2500.
Our team at Garage Gym Products has six personal favorites regarding this particular piece of equipment specifically for home use. These units offer smooth pulling action, provide a decent set of included accessories, and offer solid builds that are backed by warranties meant to put your mind at ease.
Here are the best functional trainers for your home gym.
Titan Fitness Functional Trainer
Titan Fitness has been completely upping its game in recent years. The company’s work towards better-built products has culminated with V2 of its functional trainer. This particular unit is the mainstay option for the Garage Gym Products gym.
Why do we love this product from Titan Fitness? First, it features 200-pound weight stacks that glide smoothly across the unit’s aluminum pullies. There’s no noticeable drag on the unit, which makes it feels truly like a piece of equipment that can be used in a commercial gym.
In our opinion, functional trainers need to have easy one-handed maneuverability, and Titan Fitness has built that feature nicely into the unit. The adjustable handles glide up and down the left and right sides of the functional trainer, providing a great experience. The handles also pivot easily to the left and right, allowing for a ton of different exercises to be performed with ease.
Titan Fitness has provided a solid build for the unit, which comes in at nearly 700 pounds, and the powder coat is excellent. In fact, after nearly two years of daily use, my unit’s powder coat still looks like it did on day one.
We also love that it arrived in just 7 pieces plus the weight stacks and that the entire unit was shipped inside a giant wooden crate. There was zero damage on our unit, which is pretty hard to come by these days, thanks to FedEx and UPS shipping issues.
When we started looking at functional trainers that could reside permanently in our gym, a big consideration was the small profile of this unit. The depth is just 44″, which allows it to fit on a single stall mat which typically measures 48″ in depth.
It’s also less wide than others on our list, coming in at just 64″ at its widest point. The 82″ depth also provides enough room to perform pull-ups on the unit’s excellent pull-up bar, even in rooms with 8-foot ceilings.
Finally, this unit from Titan Fitness comes equipped with many included accessories. We particularly love the short bar, which has added a lot of dynamic hammer and swing movements to our routines. Check out the full list of accessories right here.
You can pick up the Titan Fitness Functional Trainer for $2599 with free shipping. There are plenty of reviews from customers that you can browse HERE.
You should also check out our full Titan Fitness Functional Trainer review.
REP FT-5000 Functional Trainer
We’ve only had the ability to test the Rep Fitness FT-5000 Functional Trainer in the wild, but we were immediately impressed with every aspect of this absolute beast, especially at a cost of just $2499.99 with free shipping.
Let’s start with some of the obvious winning components found on the FT-5000. Rep Fitness has chosen fiberglass-reinforced pulleys that are smooth as butter and built to last. That’s actually the theme for this unit; built-to-last. In fact, after using this product, we truly believe all functional trainers should feature fiberglass-reinforced pulleys.
The powder coat on the Rep Fitness unit is better than most units we’ve tested. Rep uses a two-layer electrostatic powder coating that they claim is chip resistant. Indeed, the paint job feels and looks incredibly professional.
Rep has gone with a rather impressive 220-pound weight stack on each side of the unit. The weight stacks, just like our Titan Fitness pick, feature a 2-to-1 ratio, which means 100 pounds equates to 50 pounds of effort. The ratio is pretty standard on these types of units but the additional 20 pounds on each weight stack is a nice added bonus.
The 11-gauge steel on this unit is pretty standard on top-notch functional trainers; with that being said, this unit is incredibly solid, and there is no shifting of the machine, even when swinging around on its very nice pull-up bar. The lack of swinging can also be attributed to the machine’s weight, which pops in at 1,001 pounds, more than 300 pounds heavier than the Titan Fitness choice. Part of the weight is attributed to the extra 20 pounds on each side of the machine’s weight stacks but also to a larger build that features a height of 85″, a depth of 45″, and a width of 72″ at its widest point.
As an added bonus, Rep Fitness changed up the V2 version of this unit, making it possible for users as short as 5’3″ to perform curls.
Rep Fitness doesn’t send as many attachments along with its unit but a premium upgrade kit is available if you want additional attachments that are also well-made and worth the additional cost. You can see all of the Rep Fitness Victory Functional Trainer features here.
Bells Of Steel Functional Trainer – A Budget-Friendly Winner
If you want to pump the breaks at high prices, the Bells of Steel Functional Trainer offers one of the best price points. Not only is this option under $2000, but it’s also a solid choice made by a company known for producing high-quality gym products at rock-bottom prices.
With dual-weight stacks totaling 160 pounds each and a 2:1 pull ratio, this unit packs enough power for most casual to mid-level workout enthusiasts.
Much like our options for Rep Fitness, Titan Fitness, and Inspire Fitness, the team at Bells of Steel chose to include aluminum pulleys and a smooth bearing set that ensure very little drag is felt during even your heaviest of lifts.
The Bells of Steel functional trainer also includes a solid powder coat and four spots to hold your accessories.
While you’ll have to pay for your own accessories, the company offers some excellent options in the $19.99 to $59.99 range. You can click here to see a bunch of options or check out some of the accessories below.
One of my personal favorites from this trainer is the multi-grip pull-up bar. This option is often reserved as an additional add-on or a standard option on higher-end functional trainers. The entire point of a functional trainer is to work various muscle groups utilizing hundreds of different movements. A multi-grip pull-up bar allows for even more variation.
Still not convinced this is the right trainer for you? Check out various user reviews for the Bells of Steel Functional Trainer.
Inspire Fitness FT1 Functional Trainer
A good friend of mine swears by their Inspire Fitness Functional Trainer. They’ve been using their unit almost every day for two years, and I have been awestruck by the condition of the unit after several years of use.
The Inspire Fitness Functional Trainer (Ft1) offers glide rails that are incredibly smooth with no real noticeable drag.
The Ft1 comes standard with 165-pound weight stacks, which are pretty low for functional trainers considering the 2:1 ratio on pulls. However, you can purchase additional 50-pound stacks for each side of the functional trainer, creating an effective pull of 215 pounds.
One of the best selling points for garage gym owners with limited space is the dimensions of the unit. The Ft1 is just 47” in depth by 54” in width and features a height of 81.5″.
We absolutely love the attachments that come standard; they feel more commercial-grade than what Titan Fitness and Rep Fitness provide. Among the included accessories are a Multi-Functional Belt, Easy Curl Bar, Straight Bar, Ankle Cuff, Swing Handle, Tricep Rope, 2- Single Handles, and two 5-pound add-on weights.
The one big drawback to this system, in our opinion, is the pull-up bar which doesn’t offer as many grip options as the units offered by many other functional trainers.
This unit is more expensive than our top two trainers, but it has a benefit that’s hard to ignore, a limited lifetime warranty on the unit’s frame and parts.
The Inspire Fitness FT1 Functional Trainer is a bit more expensive at a starting cost of $2599.99 but it’s also a proven option that will last you for years. You can see all of its features here.
BodyCraft HFT Functional Trainer
The BodyCraft HFT Functional Trainer is a solid unit built by a team that has been making quality gym equipment since the 1990s.
Admittedly, this unit isn’t as aesthetically pleasing as the others on our list so far. Still, it’s a solid choice that reviewers and customers have given high marks.
The 150-pound weight stacks that come standard and feature a 2:1 ratio are not the best option on our list, but for around $200, you can purchase an additional 50-pound add-on. Given that the unit starts at $2299, you’ll pay less than the cost of an Ft1, and you’ll receive 200-pound weight stacks on each end.
The pulley system glides smoothly on this unit, which, as you may have noticed, we’ve come to expect from functional trainers in the $2000 to $3000 range. The pulleys are easy to adjust, and they operate independently of each other, which is standard for these units.
The Bodycraft HFT also features seven attachments that provide plenty of exercises. Bodycraft also features a nice exercise booklet that will have you trying out new workouts right after assembly.
The pull-up bar on this unit is also different than the others. The bar provides narrow and neutral grips. We love the alternate grips since we already have an awesome Rogue Cerakote socket bar featured on our Rogue RM-4 power rack.
If space is a concern, the BodyCraft HFT is one of the smallest functional trainers on the market. The unit comes in at a width of just 56″, a depth of 40″, and a height of 82″.
The HFT also features a lifetime warranty on its frame and parts, making it the cheapest high-quality functional trainer to offer such an awesome long-term commitment. You can check out the unit here.
XMark Functional Trainer Cable Machine
The XMark Functional Trainer comes standard with 200-pound weight stacks and for a cost of $2,699 with free shipping; we’ll get into why the cost is justified.
First, like the other four functional trainers on our list, the pulleys are fully adjustable, glide easily on their guide bars, and feel commercial grade.
The pulleys feel great on this unit with no noticeable drag, something that other reviews and customers agree upon.
Much like the other five functional trainers on our list, the unit also features a bunch of different attachments with seven options that provide a ton of different exercises right out of the box.
The split pull-up bar closely matches the setup on our Titan Fitness functional trainer, which we love.
The dimensions of this unit are also small but not as compact as several others on our list. It comes in at a width of 65”, a length of 43.5”, and a height of 83”.
This XMark unit features a lifetime frame warranty and a 1-year warranty on parts. You can check out the full unit here.
We love all of the functional trainers on our list. While they are not commercial grade, they are darn close to reaching that level. While there are some shortcomings for all non-commercial grade equipment, with all things considered alongside price, you’ll be happy with any of these machines.
