Home gyms are having a moment. With gyms closed due to coronavirus, people are setting up shop at home. Creating a home fitness space isn’t always easy though – city dwellers in particular know that space is at a premium, and high-quality equipment is expensive no matter where you live.
Keeping that in mind, it’s important to carefully plan your home workout space. Considering these 4 factors will help you build the foundation that you need for a great home workout, whether you’re sweating in a corner of your office or have a whole basement studio for your self-improvement project.
The Best In Basics
When outfitting a home gym, the first thing you should do is invest in the basics. For example, yoga is one of the most popular fitness practices in the US, but even if you don’t typically do yoga, it’s worth having at least one quality yoga mat for stretching and other floor exercises. Other popular home gym basics include resistance bands, kettlebells, and a foam roller. If you’re looking for a few more basics to expand your workouts, grab a medicine ball, dumbbells, and an exercise or Bosu ball.
Evaluate The Space
The great thing about the supply list above is that you can fit all of that equipment in a coat closet if you don’t have a permanent workout space, but if you’re opting out of the typical gym experience, you’ll ideally want some real floorspace. That might mean finding part of a room where you can install some full-length mirrors to check your form, converting a shed or garage into a workout room, or adapting household storage like a coat rack or bar cart to store equipment and save space.
Wherever you choose to work out at home, it’s important to make sure the space is comfortable, so place oscillating fans or install ceiling fans as needed. You don’t want to risk overheating, especially if you’re in a stuffy, adapted space like a garage or attic.
Equipment Considerations
One reason that people are so devoted to gym memberships is that they want access to equipment, and that gear can be prohibitively expensive for individual buyers. If you’re determined to get some larger pieces, though, don’t let prices stop you. You can often find secondhand treadmills, exercise bikes, and other gear secondhand on Craigslist and other community sites. Depending on how determined your neighbors are to offload their gear, you may even find functioning workout equipment on Freecycle or Buy Nothing. The trick is just to be patient. If you play the long game, you’ll find what you need.
Skip The Trends
Television commercials are always promoting various trendy fitness items, from Bowflex to the Shake Weight, but if you’re a former gym enthusiast, then you know that regular gyms don’t invest in these items. There’s a good reason for that: they’re fleeting trends, many don’t work very well, and no one will want to use them a year or two from now. When planning your own fitness space, then, ignore the fashionable fitness pieces and put function first. If you didn’t regularly use a piece of equipment when you belonged to a gym, you won’t use it now.
At the end of the day, every home gym will be a little different, shaped by the space available, its users’ fitness preferences, and the design budget. Whatever your space looks like, though, if it allows you to get in a high-quality workout, then you’ve been successful.