Working out at home can be a great way to achieve your health and fitness goals without incurring the expense of a gym subscription. However, before you get yourself outside in the market to hire your own gym equipment, you have to consider the type of exercises you would want to do.
The next step is to determine the amount of space you need and figure out the fitness equipment that will fit your home gym. So, if you want to build a home gym, here are some tips to get you started with the process;
Is it Worth it to Build a Home Gym?
As with any other project, a home gym can be quite costly to build from scratch. However, this doesn’t have to be the case. As a matter of fact, you can build a home gym with as little money as you currently have or even without a cent; by utilizing the stuff lying around your house.
When used appropriately, a home gym can have a tremendous positive impact on your physical, mental, and general health. Building a home gym can help you cut down your health and fitness expenses, increase energy, and reduce body fat.
Imagine the amount of money you pay for yourself and your family for a monthly gym subscription. Besides the gym membership fees, you always spend on gas, car maintenance. You also have to spare time to visit the gym, which might not be possible given the tight schedules.
Also, there is the fact that your gym or fitness center might not be close to your home. You might be spending so much money to use other people’s barbells and plates when you can build a home gym and get this gym equipment to use at your convenience.
What Do You Need to Build a Home Gym?
No matter how small your apartment is, you can always find some little extra space to build a home gym. However, if you have a large extra space for a home gym, you have many options on the table.
If the amount of space you have is limited, you should choose workouts that do not require a lot of room to make the best out of your home gym. Classic workouts, for example, push-ups, sit-ups, lunges, and squats, don’t require a lot of space and still produce excellent results when done correctly.
If you prefer cardio exercises at your home gym, you can try to jump rope. It is a great excuse that gets your blood pumping. What’s even better, it does not require a lot of space. Another useful option is to go for fitness equipment that saves space—for instance, a door-mounted toolbar or a TRx system workout.
Essential Equipment for a Home Gym
When building a home gym, you should start with the essential fitness equipment available in any other home gym.
To start with, get some simple, multipurpose gym equipment. You can purchase the following;
- Yoga Mat – a yoga mat for doing yoga, pilates, and stretching.
- Resistance Bands – for stretching and strength training exercises.
- Kettlebell – buy one or two for weight lifting workouts and add more resistance to bodyweight exercises.
If you already have the above essential fitness equipment and want more efficient but a little complicated stuff, you can add the following items;
- Dumbbells – for upper body workouts
- Medicine Balls – for strength training exercises.
- Foam Roller – purchase one or two depending on your family’s size to stretch and massage tight muscles.
What Size Should a Home Gym be?
Most people have a treadmill or dumbbells in their homes these days. However, a home gym is more than just a collection of equipment. A home gym is the product of a properly conceived design that is functional and motivating at the same time.
On the upside, building a home gym doesn’t occupy much space and also does not require any form of construction like plumbing or rewiring. It needs comprehensive planning to maximize the square footage available and create a safe, inviting, and motivating work out space.
Before you purchase your home gym fitness equipment, determine where you want to set up the gym. Space specification will significantly impact the size, quantity, and design layout of your fitness equipment. Therefore, depending on the floor space available to build a home gym, select gym equipment that will help you come up with a spacious yet resourceful home gym.
How to Build a Home Gym on a Budget
Fitness equipment varies from cheap to thousands of dollars in price equipment. You can always keep home gym building costs by starting with purchasing the items mentioned in the list above and adding new equipment one at a time.
You can start by conducting in-depth price research on an off-price department store in your city to cut costs. You will most likely find various cheap fitness equipment ranging from yoga mats, dumbbells, kettlebells, and other gym accessories.
You can do the same for big-box department stores. These stores might not have a wide variety of fitness equipment but can get some essential accessories for a lower price than other sporting goods stores.
Alternatively, you can save a lot of money by going second hand on the significant gym accessories. You can find numerous listings of dumbbells, treadmills, barbells, exercise bikes, benches, pull up bars, and other fitness equipment at surprisingly low prices. However, the listing selections will be based on your state of residence.
However, if you are starting to exercise from home, you can choose to forgo gym equipment at first and work with bodyweight workouts. The bodyweight workout exercises are free and still yield magnificent results. Remember, you can reach all your fitness goals without buying anything.
Conclusion
The cost of building a home gym versus a gym membership subscription is the primary determinant to whether you should build a home gym. Save up more money by cutting on health and fitness costs today by creating a home gym.