Introduction
This annual survey asked home gym owners to rate 14 common “issues” as either a large, medium, minor, or no issue at all.
While results didn’t change much from previous years, they’re a useful reminder for equipment makers about the challenges owners still face. Even minor or medium issues present opportunities for innovation.
Many owners start by tackling the biggest problems, then gradually work on smaller ones as the hobby becomes a bigger part of their lives. For example, over 15% say warming up for home gym workouts is at least a medium issue—that’s potentially millions of people.
Similarly, about 30% report ceiling height as at least a medium issue. That might not seem alarming to larger companies, but a business could likely thrive by focusing exclusively on solutions for that market—especially for basement gyms.
With the sheer number of home gym owners today, even the “small” problems represent opportunities to make a big impact.
Below, you’ll find a chart comparing all issues, followed by a closer breakdown by category.
Notes on the data: On average, 653 people responded to each question via Instagram Stories. Issues were ranked using a points system—3 points for a large issue, 2 for medium, 1 for minor, and 0 for not an issue—then averaged. The list below reflects those rankings.
| Issue | Not an issue | Minor Issue | Medium Issue | Large Issue | Rank |
| Lack of space for home gym is | 13.41% | 25.89% | 31.59% | 29.12% | 1 |
| Price of obtaining more equipment is | 11.52% | 26.97% | 36.97% | 24.55% | 2 |
| Temperature control is | 30.94% | 31.96% | 23.75% | 13.34% | 3 |
| Keeping home gym clean is | 31.75% | 38.34% | 23.01% | 6.90% | 4 |
| Amount of equipment is | 30.35% | 43.87% | 20.13% | 5.66% | 5 |
| Ceiling height is | 42.88% | 26.60% | 19.09% | 11.42% | 6 |
| Distractions during home wokrouts are | 37.46% | 43.42% | 13.48% | 5.64% | 7 |
| Working out safely is | 54.76% | 20.64% | 12.74% | 11.86% | 8 |
| Quality of equipment in home gym is | 55.67% | 22.54% | 11.79% | 10.00% | 9 |
| Not enough lighting is | 52.15% | 32.46% | 11.69% | 3.69% | 10 |
| Warming up for home workouts are | 60.43% | 24.20% | 11.11% | 4.26% | 11 |
| Concern about making too much noise is | 58.33% | 27.04% | 11.95% | 2.67% | 12 |
| Finishing workouts in home gym is | 66.19% | 22.54% | 9.52% | 1.75% | 13 |
| Equipment aging quickly is | 83.01% | 13.23% | 2.86% | 0.90% | 14 |
Biggest Issues – Space and Price of Equipment
As the numbers show, lack of space for a home gym and the cost of adding more equipment are each at least a “medium issue” for roughly two-thirds of respondents—a significant share.
These stand out as the two biggest challenges by far.
Middle-Ranked Issues – Temperature, Safety, Ceiling Height, Quality of Equipment
These were are all defined as middle-ranked issues, with over 10% voting them as “Large Issues.”
Small Issues – Keeping Clean, Amount of Equipment, Distractions
With between 5-7% voting these as large issues.
Smallest Issues – Warming Up, Lighting, Noise, Finishing Workouts, Equipment Aging
Less than 5% voted all of these as “large issues.”
Changes vs. 2024 and 2023
There was really only one category that made significant changes in the rankings – working out safely. This will be one to keep an eye on in the future.
As you can see with the numbers below, there usually isn’t too much change from year to year.
| Issue | 2023 Rank | 2024 Rank | 2025 Rank | Difference |
| Working out safely is | 14 | 14 | 8 | 6 |
| Keeping home gym clean is | 5 | 5 | 4 | 1 |
| Ceiling Height is | 7 | 7 | 6 | 1 |
| Lack of space for home gym is | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Price of obtaining more equipment is | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Temperature control is | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Quality of equipment in home gym is | 8 | 9 | 9 | 0 |
| Warming up for home workouts are | 11 | 11 | 11 | 0 |
| Amount of equipment is | 4 | 4 | 5 | -1 |
| Distractions during home wokrouts are | 6 | 6 | 7 | -1 |
| Finishing workouts in home gym is | 12 | 12 | 13 | -1 |
| Equipment aging quickly is | 13 | 13 | 14 | -1 |
| Not enough lighting is | 9 | 8 | 10 | -2 |
| Concern about making too much noise is | 10 | 10 | 12 | -2 |