October 16, 2024

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6 Best Workout Fitness Mirrors of 2021

6 Best Workout Fitness Mirrors of 2021

By now, you’ve probably seen the ads for workout fitness mirrors, whether on TV or up and down your social media feeds. It’s a cool concept, using connected technology to bring a boutique workout experience into your living room, complete with professional trainers barking words of inspiration. That said, the fitness industry has come out with some hokey products over the years, so you might be wondering if workout fitness mirrors are the next big thing — or just another fad.

To help settle the debate, the experts at the Good Housekeeping Institute reviewed the first batch of workout fitness mirrors available to consumers, applying the same rigorous testing used with other fitness products, from running shoes to folding treadmills. “Since this is a newer category, we had to come up with test protocols that measure each mirror’s utility and value in real-world conditions, and not just what you see in those advertisements on Instagram,” says Rachel Rothman, chief technologist with the Good Housekeeping Institute. In the end, our experts focused on the following criteria, which can help you decide if a workout fitness mirror is right for you.

✔️ Installation and set up: A workout fitness mirror is a serious piece of equipment, often measuring 6 feet tall and weighing 100+ pounds (not to mention bearing a four-figure price tag in some cases). Most manufacturers offer shipping and assembly, though some charge as much as $250 while others provide the service for free. A wall-mounted mirror has a smaller footprint than a freestanding unit, though the latter often includes some sort of storage compartment for free weights, yoga blocks, resistance bands and other accessories. Think about the additional floor space required, as you’ll need room around the mirror to do your workouts; also make sure you have adequate height clearance as the manufacturer instructs.

As for set up, many mirrors have a touchscreen interface that you use to create your initial profile; a couple models we looked at don’t have a touchscreen, requiring you to download a separate app to get started and to program content. Our experts and testers alike generally preferred the more streamlined touchscreen experience.

✔️ The exercise content: While the mirror itself matters, you’re ultimately paying for the workout experience. Our experts considered the breadth of classes, which might include everything from HIIT and strength training to yoga and Pilates, and how robust the library is. We also assessed the overall quality of the instructors. It’s important to choose a workout fitness mirror that matches the kind of exercise you prefer. Note as well that some mirrors offer live training for a more personalized experience, while with others you’re downloading recorded classes.

If you like to jam out while you exercise, pay attention to the music options. Some workout fitness mirrors have native music programs, while others make it easy to stream your favorite playlists from your smartphone.

✔️ Storage and pricing: As we noted earlier, some workout fitness mirrors have built-in storage to handle an array of accessories. This is great if you’re going for the total gym experience. Just know that you’re firmly in splurge territory with these all-inclusive machines, which can cost many times more than a typical yearly gym membership. Not only that, all mirrors charge a monthly subscription fee to access their live and on-demand classes.

Here are the best workout fitness mirrors you can buy now:

Best Overall Workout Fitness Mirror

Studio

Tempo
tempo.fit

$1,995.00

After testing the Tempo for six months, our experts, in this case led by the Good Housekeeping Institute’s health and fitness guru, Stefani Sassos, an RD and personal trainer, were extremely impressed by the results. “The sleek and efficient design, effective workouts, top-quality equipment and artificial intelligence capabilities all provide for a complete smart home gym,” Sassos noted in her initial review. 

Our team particularly liked Tempo’s strength training classes, but they also got a lot of out the HIIT, cardio, yoga, prenatal, boxing, mobility and recovery content. Indeed, the range of workout options is one of Tempo’s top selling points, along with the fact that classes are both live and on-demand. Testers also found the touchscreen controls to be responsive and intuitive and the picture quality on the 42-inch screen exceptionally crisp. The mirror’s built-in storage compartment corrals the supplemental equipment, including dumbbells, kettlebell, roller, mat and heart rate monitor. Bottom line: Tempo is all that workout fitness mirrors can be, with very little downside, outside of the steep price.

• Dimensions: 6′ x 26″ x 16″ 
• Delivery & assembly: $250
• Subscription fee: $39/month  

  • Wide array of top-notch workout classes
  • Intuitive touchscreen controls
  • Crisp picture quality

Best Value Workout Fitness Mirror

Reflect

Echelon
amazon.com

$1,478.88

$949.99 (36% off)

Echelon’s Reflect mirror costs thousands less than the priciest picks, while still delivering a solid workout experience. The wall-mounted design is extremely space-efficient, making Reflect a good choice for apartment dwellers or people with limited floor space in their home. Of course, that also means it does not include ancillary equipment, like barbells and kettlebells, so the mirror is best for body-weight exercises like yoga and Pilates or high-energy cardio programs like Zumba and shadow boxing. Our testers also noted that Echelon does a good job of fostering community: For example, a leader board lets you participate in friendly competition with pals or other members in the program.

• Dimensions39″ x 20″ x 2″
Delivery & assembly$199, or free with 1-year membership 
• 
Subscription fee$40/month  

  • Excellent value
  • Space-efficient design
  • Strong member community
  • Doesn’t include any supplemental equipment

Best Workout Fitness Mirror for Total-Gym Experience

Vault Complete

NordicTrack
nordictrack.com

$2,499.00

NordicTrack is one of the most established brands in home exercise equipment, and the company clearly brought its many decades of knowledge and expertise to the Vault Complete. Standing 6 feet tall, the oversize mirror is impossible to miss, but its elegant design should fit with any decor. The mirror’s content is equally eye-catching. “The workouts are beautifully shot with high-quality instructors, which I found quite motivating,” says Rothman, who tested the NordicTrack for several months during the pandemic from her home in New York. 

There’s plenty of substance to go along with all that style, thanks to the Vault Complete’s iFIT integration, which gets you access to thousands of workouts from world-class trainers. The user-friendly touchscreen on the 61.5-inch display makes it easy to search content, and the vertical storage cabinet keeps the included premium weights and accessories all in one place. If you already have weights, consider the NordicTrack Vault for about $1,000 less.

 Dimensions: 72.65” x 24.25” x 14”  
• Delivery & assembly$199 
 Subscription fee
$39/month   

  • Top-quality instruction
  • Supplemental equipment and storage
  • User-friendly touchscreen controls

Best Workout Fitness Mirror for Personalized Training

Basic

Launched in 2018 by Brynn Putnam, a former ballerina who was looking for a better at-home workout experience while pregnant with her first child, The Mirror gave rise to this new category of workout equipment. Now owned by Lululemon, it’s still a leading innovator, especially when it comes to personalized, one-on-one training. Our experts found its curated experience to be extremely effective and comprehensive. For example, you can start by designing personalized weekly programs across a range of activities, from dance cardio to HIIT. Then, if you want to go next level, you can hire a certified trainer for a private session, at a cost of $40. The two-way audio and video technology makes it possible to receive expert feedback in real-time, including form corrections and motivation. 

“If you’re worried about privacy, the camera has a physical privacy cover for added peace of mind,” says Rothman. In terms of aesthetics, the Mirror is among the better-looking units we reviewed, with a slim profile and sleek metal accents. One possible downside: The Mirror doesn’t have touchscreen controls, so you’ll need to control it via an app for your phone or tablet.

 Dimensions: 52.6″ × 21.1″ × 1.7″   
• Delivery & assembly$250 
 Subscription fee
$39/month    

  • Curated workout programs
  • Two-way audio lets you talk with trainers
  • Sleek design
  • Controlled by app, not touchscreen

Best for Strength Training

Home Gym

Tonal
tonal.com

$2,995.00

Tonal is a different animal from other workout fitness mirrors. For one thing, it’s not actually a mirror. Instead, the 24-inch display is more like an oversized LCD screen embedded in the housing that contains Tonal’s magnet-based resistance equipment. Think of it as a cross between a weight-training machine and a workout mirror. “It’s clearly geared toward strength training and on that note, it delivered superb results, though there’s a bit of a learning curve,” says Rothman. 

Our testers gave points to the intuitive touchscreen display and the ease with which they could stream their own music to the machine’s onboard speakers. Tonal is also more compact than most of the workout mirrors we reviewed, making it a good fit for smaller spaces. However, its arms don’t hide away when not in use, so it very much looks like an exercise machine, plus the frame has to be bolted to the wall, so it might not be suitable for renters. 

 Dimensions: 21.5″ × 50.9″ × 5.25″   
• Delivery & assembly: Free 
 Subscription fee
$49/month                 

  • Excellent resistance-based workouts
  • Easy music streaming
  • Compact design
  • Looks like an exercise machine — not a mirror — when not in use

Best Splurge Workout Fitness Mirror

Studio

Forme
formelife.com

$2,495.00

Forme’s Studio combines many of the best features of other workout fitness mirrors. For starters, it offers a rich array of top-notch classes across all activities and skill levels. Members are also paired with a personal fitness concierge who helps them create a custom plan based on their specific goals. 

In addition to the personal touch, the Studio’s technology is all first-in-class, including the 4K resolution on the life-size display and the stereoscoping cameras with two-way communication that allow trainers to provide pointed feedback in real time, as though they were right there in the room with you. Music sounds great as well, thanks to the high-fidelity, rear-firing speakers. And when not in use, the Studio acts as an elegant, full-length mirror, rather than a black box on the wall.

 Dimensions: 68″ × 26.3″ × 2.25″   
• Delivery & assemblyFree 
 Subscription fee
$39/month             

  • Concierge fitness service
  • Crisp, 4K screen resolution
  • Two-way communication

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