All of us have a desire to exercise more, have healthier bodies and minds, and even lose a few pounds. However, going to the gym sometimes feels too much like a chore, or you simply don’t love being among sweaty people or paying too high gym memberships every month. Luckily, there is a solution to such a problem and it involves building your own home gym. Having your own home gym area is a healthy and simple enough way to motivate yourself to exercise more frequently and to work on yourself in the most private way. Additionally, you design the area to your liking and change something about the gym whenever you want to. However, there are some things that you should consider before you engage in this project, and here is a small guide on how to create your home gym area.
Decide on the Equipment You Need
The first step towards a fully functional home gym that will motivate you to workout is the equipment. Depending on the type of exercise you’d like to perform and depending on your personal fitness goal, you should carefully choose the piece of equipment you will going to purchase.
However, a nice start is having some pieces for your strength, core, cardio, and flexibility. This all can easily be covered with only a few pieces of gear. So, if you’re overwhelmed, start with simple things, including, resistance bands, a medicine ball, jumping rope, dumbbells, and an exercise ball. With these, you can cover a wide range of exercises and have a nice start before you invest in more equipment.
On the other hand, if you’d like something more advanced, consider the gear they are using in cross-fit gyms. A couple for different weights of free weights is always necessary, along with a sturdy enough bar. Also, a few kettlebells are always welcome, especially because you can perform a variety of different exercises using them. Additionally, a plyo box is another piece you could add, and always have a piece of equipment that can be used both for cardio and strength exercises. However, if you’d like to save some money, you can always build your own plyo box, but make sure it is sturdy enough.
Lastly, if you are more of a type that loves the machines, you can always add a treadmill to your home gym, a stepper, stationary bike, or a weights bench. Just make sure you have enough space at home for these and that’s it.
Work with the Space You Have
The beauty of gyms is that they have plenty of space for all the equipment and enough space for exercising. However, even those can get crowded often, and in order to have enough space at home both for your equipment and your workouts, you need to think smart.
Use the garage
If you don’t have enough space in your house for all the exercises you’d like to do and for all the equipment, consider turning your garage into a gym. Clear out the space, throw out any piled up boxes of things that you don’t use, and start building your home gym. Here, you don’t have to worry too much about the flooring, and you don’t have to worry about cluttering a living room or a bedroom.
Use the spare room or the basement
That empty guest room that almost no one uses is a perfect place for a home gym. If you can, rearrange the furniture to leave enough foot space, and add a gym-appropriate flooring that can withstand weights, jumping, and a lot of foot action. Another great option is giving your basement a makeover and instead of using it for piling up boxes of things you don’t need, turn it into a personal gym.
Just be careful with room makeovers, and always make sure there is enough fresh air inside, that the flooring is sturdy and that you have enough storage space for all your equipment.
Use a corner of your bedroom
Maybe you don’t have a spare room or a garage to turn into a gym, but that doesn’t mean you should give up. If your bedroom is big enough, you can always dedicate a corner of it for exercising. Think about the exercises you’d like to do, and maybe downsize on the equipment a bit and you can easily fit a bench, some weights and a few mats into that corner and still have enough room to workout.
Organize Your Home Gym
Once you’ve figured out how much space you have and how much equipment you’d like to use, it’s time to organize your gym. It is highly important to keep it clean and organized in order to avoid any infections, injuries due to tripping over equipment and so it would look nice and professional. Plus, if the gym is clean and organized it will always keep motivating you to go inside and workout.
In order to organize the gym nicely, you will need a few pieces of furniture. For example, you can buy or even build a weight rack and keep the dumbbells all in one place. Another idea is getting a corner shelf, but if it’s not sturdy enough, use it for smaller weights at the bottom and other accessories in higher shelves. Also, for the resistance bands and jumping ropes, you can always add a few hooks in the wall, or simply use a smaller closet for all of your equipment.
Use Your Gym
Now that everything is organized, equipment is here and space is cleared out and configured for your exercising, the only thing that’s left is to use it. In order to stay regular and never miss out on an exercising session, make sure to create a schedule and add workouts to your daily calendar. If you do this and stick to your plan, you will reach your goals with ease and your gym will be used to its full potential.
Everyone wants to be fit and lead a healthier lifestyle and with a home gym all that is possible. Consider the exercises you’d love to do, buy appropriate equipment and figure out the space you can use for your gym. When you do that, you will have your own gym and there will be no excuses not to work out, which is only a step further to achieving your fitness goal.
Author bio:
Bily Bum is an electrical engineer, tech, and gaming fan with 15 years of experience in the technology world. He uses every spare moment to workout to stay in shape. With his family and friends, he likes to go camping or picnicking where he enjoys the benefits of nature. He is also a contributor on site Techiezer.
