power rack

I like your booty, but I’m not gay

Only cardio machine you need is a rower - it’s full body and is different from all other cardio which is simply an augmentation on something you probably already have access to already (bike, stairs, the ground) - most don’t have a rowboat/canoe. Also a fantastic workout and my personal go-to. But you can just walk and get all the cardio you need with less wear of your joints/free.

For strength exercise, you can use a combination of bodyweight, bands, kettlebells, adjustable dumbbells, rings and a weighted vest to get massively strong. I’d recommend an adjustable bench and a strong cross bar to hang things off to do rings and pull-ups. Rubber matting also makes things a bit nicer. You can build a home gym in a couple of meters of space if that’s all you have. I say this even though I have a vast array of gym toys (rack, barbells, FT, plyo, leg sled, leg extension/curl, rings, dip bars, bike, rower, treadmill, pool, kettlebells, dumbbells, vest etc) but I started off small with just rings and kettlebells.

Whatever you are going to use regularly and not get bored with. Consistency is key.

If you’re getting free weights, I’d get an adjustable bench as well. If you already have a bike, you can get a bike trainer to ride inside when weather isn’t cooperating. I’d avoid a treadmill since as you mentioned, the outside is accessible, and if you’re not in a climate with snow and ice, a little rain sometimes feels good during a run.

But like others mentioned, dumbbells and a kettlebell will be all you need to do a lot of strength exercises. An adjustable bench allows you to expand on that. You can get dumbbells that use plates, so you dont need a full set, just the bars and plates. In the future you could get other bars for different strength training if you feel the need and you can just use existing plates.

Otherwise as someone else mentioned, you can do a lot with just bodyweight traing too. A good mat will go a long ways for that. You can supplement that with resistance bands that take up minimal space.

I’m torn between rower (as lots of people here have said) and one of those pull up station racks that also has dip bars. I love rowers for the efficiency of movement and you get lots of big muscle groups at once but the first thing that got me consistently working out was body weight exercises in my local park. I started with bands on a pull up bar and worked my way up to different pull up variations.

Bench + weights. Cardio is easy without a machine, weightlifting is not. If you’re not into weightlifting, then yeah, small treadmills/walking pads are great.

Weights and a bench like many have said, and what a lot of people don’t realize is that lifting (even low weights) can be very cardio intensive.

I bought an exercise bike but I made the mistake of buying one that is like riding a road bike so it’s super uncomfortable. If I did it again I’d buy the recumbent one where you are sitting back while pedaling. Much more comfortable and therefore much more likely to be used.

Rower is my choice

Kettlebell, adjustable dumbbells. Still saves you space.

after my wife had knee surgery we got one of those cross country ski things where your arms and feet move sorta counter to each other left right with an incline mode. We got it because she needed something that would be almost zero impact. Its likely the best thing you can get if you want to excersise when you have limitations.

Shoes

Rowing machine.

Free weights. Especially something with changeable plates and a bench. Take up the same space as a machine but allow a higher range of exercises.