Home gyms are becoming increasingly appealing to people living in busy modern lives. Here are our tips for creating your perfect home gym.
With busy schedules, and a rise in work-from-home lifestyles or usual work hours, getting to a gym isn’t the best option for everyone. With the wide variety of free or low cost workout content available online, working out from the convenience of your own home has never been a more attractive option. Plus, investing in a good home gym doesn’t have to be expensive, and can save you money in the long run. See our step-by-step guide to setting up your perfect home exercise studio.
First off you need to consider where you will have your home gym. You want to have a dedicated space for working out, free from distractions, that will help get you in the workout mind frame. If you live in a large house with an extra bedroom or unused garage space, you have hit the home gym jackpot! If you have less excess room, consider dedicating a corner of the lounge room as your gym, or find somewhere you can clear space easily during your workout such as moving the dining table to rest against a wall to clear space.
Once you have found your space, use it as a guide to deciding what equipment you want in your space, and what is realistically going to fit there. There are many workouts you can do with no equipment at all, but having some basic gym equipment provides you with more options for your workout. Variety helps stop you and your muscles from getting bored with the same routine.
If you are looking to purchase big ticket items such as a treadmill, stationary bike, bench or weight rack, consider buying second hand. You can find such items at greatly reduced prices on Facebook marketplace, Craigslist/Gumtree, or even at local garage sales.
If you don’t have the room or budget for these large gym items, consider the following. These are low cost, easy to store items for a home gym that challenges your fitness without challenging your budget:
- Yoga Mat: A yoga or Pilates style foam mat will make your floor exercises more comfortable, and will stop your sweating onto your home flooring!
- Resistance Bands: A 5 pack of resistance bands is an affordable way to make regular lower body exercises far more challenging.
- Kettle bells: A kettle bell is a versatile addition to your home gym. You can use them for upper body, lower body are core exercises, and they can also get your heart rate up.
- Adjustable dumbbells: These space-saving dumbbells are perfect if you are looking for variety in your weights, but don’t have the room for an entire rack of different sizes.
- Skipping rope: The perfect cardio accessory as a replacement to the treadmill or stationary bike. Skipping is sure to get your heart pumping, and the rope will simply fold away into a drawer.
Once you have all your equipment sorted, you need to take some time to make sure your home gym is appealing to work out in, so you work out at your best. Invest in a good speaker system or headphones that are comfortable to exercise in (wireless are a great option). A standing mirror is another great investment. You can use a mirror to watch your form and correct yourself as you train, and it won’t look out of place in a house when you pack the other equipment away. Even though you are training at home, you still want your clothing to be comfortable and functional, so make sure you invest in some gym wear!
Ultimately the ideal home gym is different for everyone, but a decent home gym is achievable no matter your space or budget. Have a plan, think through what you need and what is replaceable, and set some new fitness goals!
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