If you’re anything like me, your social media feed will be awash with targeted ads for spurious fitness gizmos, questionable “supplements” and get-ripped-quick gadgets in January. “Get a rippling six-pack while you continue to rot on the sofa eating melted camembert,” they may as well say. Unfortunately, this is seldom the case.
. But certain tools can help you get there … or at least make the process slightly less harrowing. With that in mind, we asked ordinary people who got themselves in shape about the kit they couldn’t have done without.
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The top-rated fitness gear for 2025
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Pull-up bar
Everlast pull-up bar
I think I paid £12 for my pull-up bar during the pandemic, and it’s the best money I’ve ever spent. I hung it on my home-office door frame and made myself do one pull-up every time I went in or out of the room. One pull-up turned into two, then three and so on. Now I practise calisthenics (body weight exercises) almost daily and recently mastered my first muscle-up. It’s essentially a pull-up where you then push yourself up and over the bar, something I could only have dreamed of being able to do a few years ago.
For more ways to keep fit at home, read our PT-recommended guide to the
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Turbo trainer
Wahoo Kickr Snap turbo trainer
) so that you can ride indoors in a virtual world. There’s interactive training sessions, workouts and even races. You can ride with your friends, too, so it’s a good way to stay connected.
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Running buggy
Terrain buggy
£649.95 at Natural Baby Shower
I ran competitively before having a baby. When he arrived, training went out of the window. Eventually, I bit the bullet and bought a bells-and-whistles running buggy. It was expensive, but it really helped build my fitness back up. It gives me the freedom to get out on my own terms again, and he often naps in there, which is handy too. I’m not back to where I was pre-pregnancy just yet, but being able to participate in parkrun with the little one in tow is great.
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Sports bra
Nike Swoosh Flyknit sports bra
, a professor of biomechanics, that showed that a good sports bra is just as important as a proper pair of running shoes. Nike’s Swoosh Flyknit bras have been a gamechanger. My form has improved, and I no longer have soreness after a high-intensity workout. Expensive, but worth it.
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Running shoes
Karrimor Duma 6 men’s running shoes
Hoka Clifton 9 men’s running shoes
changed everything. I remember hating running at school. I would just get any pair of trainers for PE – whatever was in fashion. Often that meant a court-style shoe, so running just … hurt. When I started running regularly as an adult, I bought a pair of Karrimor Duma running shoes for £25. It made such a difference. I upgraded to a pair of Hoka Cliftons when I ran the Great North Run last year. I don’t have the luxury of a shoe “rotation” like some runners, but I find a solid all-rounder like the Clifton is really all I need.
Read our guide for more of the
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TRX kit
Suspension trainer kit
All-in-one suspension training system
I work away at sea, often for months at a time. The TRX (total resistance exercise) system is basically a portable gym I can pack in my bag and set up anywhere. I’ve recently been using it for rehabilitation. I had a knee issue, and the physio recommended using it to strengthen my legs, which worked great. I found it equally useful for strength training without the need for endless dumbbells. It’s all about angles and body weight. Adjusting the way you position yourself relative to the anchor point changes the difficulty. This makes it easy to ramp up the intensity as you progress with your training.
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Winter overshoes
Spatz Pro Stealth overshoe system
£104.99 at SpatzWear £93.60 at Sigma Sports
I’m a keen cyclist, but my fitness suffers in the winter. This is mostly because I struggle to keep my feet warm on longer rides. Overshoes are like little neoprene booties that go over your shoes. In the past, I’ve found them to be inadequate for keeping the chill off, but that changed when I bought my first pair of Spatz. They’re much thicker than regular overshoes, and they extend all the way up the shin with a thermal lining. I’ve since managed a couple of 100-mile rides in the winter, which I could never have done before.
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Weighted vest
Bulldog Gear 20kg adjustable weight vest
£119.95 at Bulldog Gear £119.95 at Amazon
Body weight exercises just weren’t cutting it during the pandemic, so I bought an adjustable 20kg vest that helped me to increase muscle and sweat buckets. It took dips, pull-ups, lunges and sprints to a whole new level. It also increased my core strength and improved my posture, something I needed drastically with the shift to working from home (I was hunched over daily like a king prawn).
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Walking boots
Terra GTX WMN
£195 at Scarpa £195 at Cotswold Outdoor
I used to spend my leisure time on the sofa, but I was overweight and not particularly happy. I started making a concerted effort to spend time outdoors whenever I could. Living in the Peak District means I have lots of lovely walks on my doorstep, so I began getting out regularly, increasing the distance as my fitness improved. The more miles I walked, the more I realised my trainers weren’t providing the support I needed, so I invested in some leather walking boots. They have enabled me to tackle more remote routes, and I have even completed a 26-mile charity hike in the Lake District.
Read our guide to
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Heart rate monitor
Coospo heart rate monitor chest strap
£49.99 at Amazon Garmin Dual heart rate monitor
I was riding my bike a lot, but I wasn’t getting any fitter. I decided to start paying attention to my heart rate, so I bought an inexpensive heart-rate monitor online. Turns out, cruising along flat paths by the sea isn’t enough to get your pulse racing. After arbitrarily choosing a highish heart rate and trying to ride at it for a week or so, I became noticeably fitter very quickly. Riding at a high heart rate means that I can go out two or three times a week for as little as an hour and still have a productive workout. As a result of this revelation, I’m now fitter than I’ve been in over a decade.
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Paddy Maddison is a freelance consumer journalist, outerwear enthusiast and exercise addict. If he’s not hiking in the hills, he’s grinding up them on his bike, hurtling down them on his snowboard, or lacing up his running shoes and hitting the pavements. As a result, he gets plenty of time to put all the latest gear through the wringer for the Filter
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