Ben Court, Men's Health's executive editor, constructed a home gym designed to sustain long-term engagement rather than collect dust. The setup reflects practical thinking about what equipment actually gets used versus what sits idle.
Court prioritized versatility and workout variety. His space includes equipment that supports multiple training modalities—strength work, conditioning, and mobility—rather than single-purpose machines that force repetitive routines. This approach addresses a real problem: home gyms fail when they bore users into abandonment.
The editor selected pieces that grow with fitness progression. Adjustable dumbbells, resistance bands, and pull-up capability replace fixed-weight equipment that becomes obsolete as strength improves. This scaling matters for sustained training. A lifter outgrowing their equipment faces a choice: buy more gear or quit. Court's setup eliminates that friction.
Space efficiency shaped decisions too. He avoided sprawling cable machines and bulky leg presses, choosing compact tools that deliver results without consuming real estate. This matters for anyone with limited square footage. A smaller, well-designed gym beats a massive setup that occupies half your garage.
Court included environmental elements beyond equipment. Lighting, flooring, and layout affect whether you actually use the space. A gym that feels like a basement corner attracts less traffic than one designed as an inviting training environment. Aesthetics influence behavior.
The setup reflects research on habit formation and exercise adherence. People stick with routines in spaces they enjoy entering. Equipment variety prevents the adaptation plateau where bodies stop responding to identical stimuli. Progressive overload requires flexibility—not just heavier weights, but different movement patterns and rep ranges.
Court's approach skips the common mistake of mirroring commercial gyms. Instead, he built something aligned with realistic home-training limitations and his actual training needs. That practical honesty—recognizing what you'll genuinely use versus what sounds impressive—separ