Pulley systems are a killer tool for better workouts. Here’s a breakdown of the top home gym pulley systems for leveling up your workouts at home.
Pulley systems are a versatile tool that you can add to your home gym.
Significantly cheaper than a lat pulldown machine, pulley systems can be hung and attached from any stable surface, whether it’s a pull-up bar, the top of your power cage, or an anchored hook on your ceiling or wall.
Cable exercises, with a home gym pulley system or otherwise, creates a constant tension in the muscles, allow you to isolate and target smaller and large muscle groups, and much more.
Until recently, you have to go to the gym or buy an expensive cable crossover machine to get the benefits of cable training.
Key Features:
Here is a breakdown of the best home gym pulley systems for every kind of lifter, athlete, and budget.
Let’s get right into it.
Mikolo Fitness Home Gym Pulley System
Mikolo’s home gym pulley system is an Amazon’s Choice and highly well-reviewed set, with over 2,000 five-star ratings (click here to see reviews on Amazon).
The set comes with a straight row bar and a triceps rope, as well as up to 90-inch of cable for plenty of versatility with the exercises you perform with it.
A heavy-duty buckle keeps the weights on the pulley, and the small size and easy to hook-up construction means you can quickly attach it to anything sturdy you have at home, from your power rack of choice to a free-standing pull-up bar to metal beams.
Maximum weight that the pulley can handle is 280lbs, making it a home gym pulley suitable for even the strongest among us. Priced at just over $60 (check Amazon for current pricing and stock), the Mikolo is my favorite home gym pulley system for most gym users.
Rogue Fitness Spud Inc Pulley Systems
Rogue makes some of the toughest and long-lasting gym equipment on the planet. I’ve never made much of a secret of my affinity for their gear, whether it’s the Rogue Hip Thrust pad, Olympic barbells for home gyms, adjustable weight bench, the “kettlestrap,” and so on.
So it’s no surprise that Spud Inc.’s Econo Pulley (sold and backed by Rogue) is a total monster on the pulley. It features a 75” cable and a maximum weight of 550lbs, far and away the strongest on the market.
Made to be latched onto a squat rack or cage, the high and low pulley systems are sold separately or in a combo package (the pair of the systems runs about $200—check Rogue’s website for current prices).
On the downside, the pulley systems don’t come with a ton of accessories and bars. The lat system, for example, has a tricep rope but no lat pulldown bar.
If you’ve already got some bars at home, or have the budget for it, the Spud Inc Pulley Systems are the best for experienced lifters and athletes.
LFJ Lat Pulldown Pulley System
If you are looking solely for a pulldown pulley, and don’t need a lot of the bonuses and bells and whistles, LFJ makes the pulley system for you.
It comes with the pulley, the peg to rack weight plates onto, a straight bar and a triceps rope. That’s it. All for under $40, which makes it an awesome low-cost alternative to some of the more heavy-duty sets on this list.
Despite the low-price tag, LFJ’s Pulley System can handle up to 220lbs, which is plenty for the majority of us. Installation is super easy too—simply loop the double-stitched nylon strap and carabiner over your pull-up bar, power rack, or anywhere else that is anchored and ready to hang heavy stuff.
LFJ also sells a “premium” version for $69 that includes a whole bunch of ankle straps, handles, and extra carabiners (check Amazon for current pricing here).
SYL Fitness Cable Pulley System for Home Gyms
Another low-cost and affordable cable pulley system is this offering from SYL Fitness.
Easy to set-up, and backed by a lifetime warranty on the pulley and pins, each set comes with a heavy-duty cable and pulley, nylon loop to attach and anchor to any bar, and a variety of handles and bars.
(The set has a few different options depending on the size of your weight plates, with both 1” and 2” pins that fit non-Olympic and Olympic plates.)
One much-appreciated feature of this pulley is the added 20” extension chain that you can add to the cable for exercises that require a long cable and wider range of motion.
Price-wise, you are looking at $35-45, depending on the pin size of your weight plates (check current pricing at Amazon here).
Trendbox Wall-Mounted Cable Pulley System
While most pulley systems are designed to be dangled from a pull-up bar or from the top of a squat rack, there are a few wall-mounted options.
The best one is this set from Trendbox, which is designed to be installed in load-bearing walls. A heavy-duty steel arm holds the pulley system, with a maximum weight capacity of 280lbs.
Trendbox ships their pulley system with a wide variety of attachments and handles, including tricep ropes, dual handles, straight bar, and a pair nylon cables (71” and 138”).
The only downside is that the weight pin that you get is 1”, designed for non-Olympic weight plates. (You can buy 2” pins separately from other sellers and gym manufacturers.)
Trendbox retails this pulley system for about $100 on Amazon (check Amazon for current pricing and stock), and once set-up provides a gym-like pull workout.