The spare room gym

Every spare room eventually gets asked to be two things at once: guest room, office, storage for the ironing board, and now, apparently, a gym. No need for a full rack of equipment. A bit of floor space and something heavy enough to matter will do.

For the lightest entry point, the HUSH dumbbell case keeps six small weights in their own compartments, which solves the problem of hand weights migrating under the sofa one at a time. Compare more dumbbells.

Step up in both weight and ambition with the Umbro dumbbell and barbell set, which adds a connecting bar to the usual pair of handles, so the same plates can be worked as two dumbbells or one barbell depending on the exercise. The best halter sets.

Tunturi's 28kg vinyl set throws a kettlebell and push-up handles into the mix, which is less about the weight total and more about not having to buy three separate pieces of equipment that all do roughly the same job. Compare more dumbbells.

For anyone who prefers the clank of old-fashioned iron to the quieter thud of vinyl, Tunturi's cast iron 20kg set has the screw collars and bar that a dumbbell set had thirty years ago, because that design never really needed improving. The best dumbbells.

At the heavier end, the 50kg plate set comes with two short dumbbell bars and a longer curl bar, which covers most of what a beginner's strength routine actually asks for. Compare more halter sets.

And for the room that's decided to commit, the 65kg adjustable set stacks six dumbbells' worth of plates plus a curl bar, enough range to keep adding weight long after the novelty of a home gym would normally have worn off. The best halter sets.