What are the benefits of the home gym?
There are definitely some benefits of the home gym. Here are some benefits and depend on the individual.
- You will have more time with family. You can even work out when your kids are around. However, you need to be careful with safety.
- You can save some time. Actually time saving is an important factor to anyone. With a busy schedule, you can save at least 30 – 60 minutes which reduces your gym session from 2 hours to 1 hour. Imagine if you had to go to the local gym, pop up your car, drive there, park your car, change clothes, it would not take less than 30-60 minutes for two travel rounds for a gym session.
- As your gym is in your home, you can increase your discipline. You won’t skip the gym session very often. As a frequent gym goer, I know if we skip our session, our progress is not going as planned and it really makes me stressed. I have to start again. My muscles get weak and not up to the peak.
- Increased discipline
- It leads to the point you actually use the gym. I believe you know many of your friends, people around you have gym membership but not actually use it.
- It can be a money saver. This point I’m not sure but it can be for some people. Average amount of money people spend on their home gym is around $900/ £750 with average gym membership $50/ £40, it will take 18 months to get your ROI (Return on Investment). However, I know most enthusiastic home gym owners keep spending more money on their equipment and construction side of their home gym.
Which exercise are you going to do?
I would like you to answer this question first. Actually, most gym goers we go to the gym with fancy equipment but however we do not really use all the equipment or we need all the equipment to do your exercises. There is always a group of muscles with alternative exercises. Example if you don’t have the lat pulldown machine, you can use a pull up bar to work your back. If you don’t have a leg press machine like you have in the gym, you can use lunges and exercise with dumbbells. Also, it depends on your goals as well. Are you up to strength training or duration training? Based on this you can add the exercise list of your own and from there to get the equipment and design your own home gym.
What home gym equipment do you need to start?
So now you have your exercise in mind, which equipment do you need to start? My advice is start slowly with the basic equipment to see how you are getting on. If you see something missing, you can always add it later so avoid buying the equipment you will never use from the start. It will drain down your pocket.
Most people start with these equipments:
- A Barbell
- A Weight Bench
- Weight Plates
- A Squat Rack (ideally with a pull-up bar attached)
- Pull up bar
- Dumbbells
- A gym mat or even a yoga mat.
With above equipment, you can probably work out most of the muscle groups. You can do either an upper/lower body routine or pull push leg routine with Bench press, Squats, Deadlift, Tricep press, Lunges, Pull ups…Also, please bear in mind technical is important as well. If you have fancy gym equipment but with poor technique, it won’t do you any good.
Where can you build your home gyms?
With most people, there are a couple of options: a spare room, a garage or outside. There are advantages and disadvantages of each options:
Building a gym in a garage is possibly the best option because it won’t take up the space in your house. The space is really good as well even with a single garage so you can load up your equipment. The disadvantages can be cold in the winter, especially if you don’t insulate your garage. But you always can spend some money to upgrade it to a workable place for your workout. Many people spend some money to convert their garage into a home gym, change the floor, insulate the garage, change the door, paint the wall and put some decoration on.
Building your gym outside like in your garden is also an option but it can make your garden look ugly. In the cold weather, you are more likely not going to workout there. Also, it will rust and damage your equipment. So it is a no for me.
Go with a spare room if you have a house which is big enough. It is more convenient compared to a garage. The temperature control is good as it is a part of your house. You will need to protect the floor and also make sure it is secure when your children are around.
Where to buy your gym equipment?
You can buy your equipment on Amazon, Physical store or Reputation online store. If you are on budget and have time, you can hunt the bargains on Facebook Marketplace. There are a lot of people selling their gym equipment there with the price is much cheaper than buying a new one.
Gym flooring
Gym flooring is the one you need to pay attention to. The good gym flooring will make your home gym more professional, safer, and protect from damage to your floor and yourself.
But once again, depending on the exercise you are going to do. If you do a deadlift with really heavy weight, probably you’d better get the flooring done.
There are couple of flooring option where you either can buy off Amazon to install yourself or get some professional do it for you if you’re opt to industrial gym flooring
- EVA foam
- Rubber horse stall mats
- Lifting platform
- Rubber flooring
What else can I add to the gym?
Now you have done most of the setup for your home gym. You can add things to make the place where you would like to spend your time in your own home. Minors are a must as it will
encourage you, check your form and see the progress. Poster, a favourite quote, a flag, a sound system, lighting or even a fridge also can help as well. It is all up to personal taste.
Conclusion
Above are basic things about setting up your own gym. I hope you have some basic ideas and see your home gym coming out soon.
