The BodyBoss Home Gym 2.0 was designed with one thing in mind- portability. The most common excuse people have for not working out is that they don’t have enough time. For a lot of folks out there (myself included) with work and family obligations, there isn’t always time to get to the gym. Knowing this, the minds behind the BodyBoss designed a home gym you can take with you wherever you go- instead of going to the gym, the gym goes with you.
Sounds great in theory. There’s obviously a demand for this type of portable fitness equipment. But BodyBoss isn’t the only brand that thought of this. Turns out there is a whole market aimed at meeting the portable fitness demand.
My aim with this review is to help determine what (if anything) sets the BodyBoss Home Gym 2.0 apart from the rest of the pack. Is this the right fitness solution for you? Keep reading and find out for yourself.
The BodyBoss 2.o Home Gym
The BodyBoss 2.0 is a resistance band based fitness product designed to travel with you whether you’re on the road for work or pleasure. The design, although simple, is pretty ingenious. The entire system is pulled off by using a base, resistance bands, and a series of attachments.
I want to start with my favorite feature, the base.
The Base
The BodyBoss base is what makes this home gym system stand out from any of the other numerous resistance band sets on the market these days. The base allows you to connect the bands to the floor in different configurations to perform the various exercises.
Personally, the biggest downfall for using any resistance band is having to step on it for moves like bicep curls and shoulder presses. I’m usually exercising barefoot, so it’s really uncomfortable to step on the band as it digs into the bottom of my foot. Even with shoes on it feels kind of awkward to me.
BodyBoss’s solution is to provide a platform that allows you to connect the bands to the floor, instead of having to step on them. Not only does this make the exercises a lot more comfortable, but it gives you more exercise variety and control over the resistance.
The base has 5 fold-up hooks for attaching the resistance bands to each side. You can play with the resistance by attaching a band to one hook and snaking it through another, in essence shortening the band. This gives the user a little more control with resistance adjustments and it’s sometimes enough difference to make adding another band or upgrading a band unnecessary.
The base has the following dimensions when lying flat on the floor: 19.75 “(L) x 34″(W) x 1″(H). This is wide enough for most people to stand on comfortably for squats. To keep the system portable (as is the primary goal), the base folds in half and can be carried like a suitcase.
The non-slip grip will keep the base from sliding on you during use. It also has a little padding for added comfort during your workouts.
The Bands
The bands that come with the BodyBoss are pretty standard. There isn’t much particularly interesting to say about them, but I did want to point out a few things.
The provided bands provide up to 30 lb of resistance each. I say “up to” because resistance bands offer variable resistance based on how far they are stretched (basically the farther they are stretched the more resistance you get). All bands are like this, but different bands provide different levels of resistance based on how thick they are and how easily they are stretched.
These bands have clips at both ends that allow you to connect them to the base, the handles, and all of the attachments. They are also covered in a cloth material that I think is supposed to help protect the band from wearing down.
The provided bands are fine, but only 2 come with the home gym package. For exercises like squats, that’s only 1 band per side. You can add additional bands to the bar (and BodyBoss reports you could fit between 4-5 bands on each side of the bar) but you would have to purchase additional bands separately or use ones you may already own.
Which is fine, any band will work with the BodyBoss 2.0 as long as it has clips to attach it. But it would be nice if BodyBoss would include a few additional bands. It would also be nice to have bands of varying resistance levels for a little extra control over your resistance.
The included bands are about 30 in long and some users reported they wished they were a little longer. Taller folks might feel a little restricted on some exercises. With the BodyBoss gym you can make the bands a little shorter, but you can’t make them any longer.
The Attachments
The BodyBoss 2.0 comes with several attachments that are used to perform the various exercises. The following attachments are included with the home gym package:
- 2 padded handles
- 2 padded wrist/ankle straps
- Workout bar
- Door anchor
Whereas I feel BodyBoss skimped a little with only giving you 2 bands, I think they do a good job with the included attachments. They include everything you need to get your portable home gym up and running. I like that the door anchor is included- this means you don’t have to use the base for every exercise.
The workout bar comes in handy for doing squats. It also has padded grips so you can treat it as you would a barbell, using it for really any exercise you would do with a barbell. The part of the bar where the bands clip on rotates, which allows the band to always be oriented in the right position as you move- this makes sure the bands don’t start getting all kinked up on ya while you’e working out.
It also separates into two parts making it easy to transport.
The handles and straps are pretty standard. The wrist/ankle straps do give you the option of doing a lot of exercises you otherwise wouldn’t be able to do.
It’s great all of these attachments are included, but what about transporting all this stuff? This is suppose to be a portable home gym. To solve this BodyBoss includes a carrying case that stores all of the attachments together.
I think it would be nice if the attachments could fit inside the base when it’s folded- that way everything would be self-contained with no need for an additional storage bag.
The Exercises
Speaking of exercises, BodyBoss claims you can perform over 300 different moves with their home gym system. I’m not sure I could even think of that many exercises (maybe if you count unilateral moves with each side as a different exercise, as some home gyms do), but basically any exercise you can think of you can probably do on the BodyBoss 2.0.
Although users report performing an effective deadlift on this system is difficult- probably because it’s hard to get the band short enough to provide resistance early enough during the movement.
Bench press doesn’t work particularly well with this system either.
But with the provided base and door anchor you can definitely perform all the standards, stuff like: squats, chest flys, bicep curls, tricep extensions, shoulder flys, and lat pulldown.
You can also choose between using the bar or individual handles for your moves- similar to choosing between dumbbells or a barbell.
BodyBoss includes an exercise manual to help get you started and they have 100’s of workout videos online.
The overall exercise variety offered by the BodyBoss is pretty impressive. It offers more exercise variety than most standard home gyms, with the exception of the Total Gyms and some of the Bowflex’s (neither of which is portable by the way).
Warranty
The BodyBoss website states they offer a lifetime warranty on their gym. That sounded way too good to be true for a product in this price range so I did some digging. Turns out they offer a 1 -year warranty on everything in the home gym package.
This is a lot more believable because the resistance bands are going to breakdown eventually. All bands do. The repeated stretching causes stress to the band and with time they lose their ability to withstand it.
A 1 year warranty on a product like this is pretty average- some are better and some are worse.
Pros
- Portable home gym system allows you to workout anywhere
- Folding base adds extra exercise variety
- Included bar allows you to perform moves like squats
- Door anchor included
- Comes with handles and wrist/ankle cuffs
- Carrying case for attachments included
- Ton of online workouts to help you reach your goals
- Price
Cons
- Only 2 bands included
- Attachments don’t fit inside folded base
Final Thoughts
The BodyBoss 2.0 Home Gym is a portable resistance band system designed to help you get a great workout regardless of where you find yourself.
In terms of exercise variety, the BodyBoss scores high. With all of the included attachments and the base, you can pretty much perform any exercise you can think of (with some adjustments).
Users agree the quality of the materials is impressive and everything seems to work the way it should. The biggest downside in my opinion is that it only comes with 2 resistance bands.
This probably isn’t going to be enough resistance for most people, so you will have to purchase additional bands or use ones you already own.
In terms of portability, the BodyBoss isn’t bad. You can definitely throw this in the back of your car easy enough and hit the road, but it would’ve been nice if the attachments didn’t require an additional bag to carry them in.
This system might also be a bit bulky to fly with (the base and attachments together weight about 15 lb).
Overall, I like the BodyBoss 2.0. The base is well designed and will make exercising with bands significantly more comfortable. I also think it’s priced well for what you get.
Although this system is designed for portability, I think it would also work well as a stand alone home gym system, especially if space is limited.
