This smart home gym doesn't ruin your apartment aesthetic

This Smart Home Gym Doesn't Look Like It Belongs In A Basement

Your apartment is 600 square feet. You pay too much for it. The idea of dedicating a corner to bulky gym equipment that screams "I work out" feels about as appealing as overhead lighting.

But skipping the gym because you don't have time to commute there, shower there, and pretend you enjoy being around that many people at 7 AM isn't working either.

Here is something that could change all of that.

Amp is a smart home gym that mounts on your wall, takes up less space than most shelving units, and doesn't look like fitness equipment straight out of a direct-mail catalog. It's designed for people who live in cities, work from apartments that double as offices, and care about how things look in their space.

The device costs $1,795, includes a $23 monthly subscription that works for up to 15 people, and can replace both the gym membership you weren't using and the Pilates classes you kept meaning to book.

Why Traditional Home Gyms Don't Work For Apartment Living

Dumbbells take up floor space and make your room look like a locker room. Resistance bands live in a drawer you forget about. Those adjustable weight sets are massive and are probably in violation of your lease agreement anyway.

Most home workout equipment was designed for people with garages and basements. If you live in a city where square footage is a hot (and expensive) commodity, dedicating an entire corner to equipment you use three times a week doesn't make sense.

Amp operates in about 21 square feet when you're using it. Wall-mounted, minimal depth, clean lines. When you're done, it's just there on the wall looking like intentional design rather than something you're trying to hide.

How electromagnetic resistance works

Instead of weight plates or stacks, amp uses electromagnetic motors to create resistance. This isn't new technology — many athletes have been using similar systems for years — but bringing it into residential spaces at this price point is.

The system offers three smart modes. Fixed Mode keeps tension constant through your entire range of motion. Band Mode progressively increases resistance as you extend, and Eccentric Mode adds extra load during the lowering phase, which is where most muscle building happens, but usually requires a spotter. At the heart of it all is a single dial that controls resistance up to 100 pounds in single-pound increments, so you can go from steady tension to a slow eccentric burn in seconds without ever having to input weights or count reps. The tech might be advanced, but the experience is simple. Twist the dial, start moving, and let the system handle the math. It's the kind of design thinking you'd expect from a brand that was built by tech engineers and performance designers — people who understand both technology and movement. The result is home fitness for people who like their homes (and workouts) clean, intentional, and efficient.

The Aesthetic Argument

Fitness equipment typically looks utilitarian at best, aggressively gym-bro at worst, but amp was designed with the same priorities as furniture — materials, proportions, and how it reads in a space.

Aluminum and steel construction. Minimal footprint. The kind of industrial design that fits into apartments, where everything else is considered.

Five premium accessories: handles, rope, T-bar, ankle straps unlock over 500 exercises without accumulating equipment or dealing with storage solutions that take up more space than the actual gear. For people living in small spaces where every object needs to justify its existence, equipment that doesn't dominate the room visually or physically changes what's feasible.

Why Amp Works Better Than Class Subscriptions

Boutique fitness classes can cost $30-40 per session. You may be spending $200+ monthly if you go twice a week, which requires coordinating your schedule around class times and commuting to a specific location.

Streaming workout subscriptions are cheaper but require you to already own equipment and figure out your own programming. They solve the content problem but not the gear problem.

Amp combines both. The equipment handles the full workout. The subscription includes programming, tracking, and adaptive resistance that adjusts to your fitness level automatically.

You work out when your schedule allows, in your apartment, without coordinating around anyone else's timing.

The Multi-Use Space Reality

Most people working from home are doing it from apartments that weren't designed for it. Your bedroom is also your office. Your living room is also your gym. Everything needs to serve multiple purposes.

Amp doesn't require reconfiguring your space or dedicating a room to fitness. It exists on the wall until you need it, takes up minimal floor space during use, and goes back to being nearly invisible when you're done.

The 15-user subscription means roommates can split costs and each have their own profile. The system adapts to different fitness levels automatically, tracking progress separately for each person.

What The Workouts Look Like

Guided programs walk you through exercises targeting different muscle groups. The interface is simple. Choose a workout, follow along, let the system handle resistance adjustments and rep counting.

If you know what you're doing and want to build your own routine, you can. Over 500 movements means you're not limited to whatever programming the app offers.

Workouts range from 15 minutes to an hour, depending on what you have time for. The system adjusts recommendations based on performance patterns rather than arbitrary schedules that assume you work out the same way every session.

The Silent Operation Thing

Living in apartments with shared walls means noise is your — and everyone else’s — enemy. Amp's motor operates quietly enough that you're not disturbing neighbors or roommates. There are no clanking weights or dropping dumbbells echoing through thin walls at 6 am. You can work out early, you can work out late, without ever waking up the baby in apartment 204.

For People Who Don’t Do “Routine”

The convergence of remote work, expensive urban housing, and people caring about maintaining fitness routines created demand for equipment that works in small spaces without looking terrible.

Amp addresses all three. Compact enough for city apartments, designed well enough that it doesn't ruin your aesthetic, functional enough that it replaces gym memberships and class subscriptions.

The tech isn't new — electromagnetic resistance and smart AI both exist in professional settings. But packaging it for residential use at under $2,000 with intuitive software makes it irresistible for people who aren't professional athletes or don't live part-time in the weight room.

Finally, A Device That Works With Your Space, Not Against It

If you live in a small space, care about how your apartment looks, and want to work out without commuting to a gym or accumulating equipment that takes over your room, amp solves the actual problems rather than adding new ones.

Fitness that fits into your apartment without dominating it. That's the whole point.

Prices and availability are accurate as of the time of publication and are subject to change without notice. Please check the retailer’s website for the most up-to-date pricing information.

BDG Media newsroom and editorial staff were not involved in the creation of this content.