Building a Home Gym

Tom Rooney

 A home gym is worth the investment for most people. Here’s how: If you take the money you would spend on a year’s membership to your gym and invest it in quality equipment you’ve given yourself a lifetime gym membership right in your own home. In addition to that, if you only need to go down to the basement or into the study to exercise, it’s often easier to get there instead of lugging everything to the gym – plus it saves time because you don’t have to figure in the travel time.

Additionally, by having a home gym you know that your favorite exercise equipment will always be available because no one else has access to it.

If you want to make the move to a home gym, consider these tips:

Find a Space. Ideally, you’ll want to have a space dedicated strictly to your home gym. This could be in a spare bedroom, the basement or the garage. If this isn’t possible, then you can look into portable or foldable equipment that can be easily moved out of the way when needed.

Purchase the Equipment. Before you go out and purchase a piece of home gym equipment, you’ll want to make sure that you have enough space to not only fit the equipment, but use it as well – some equipment has a range of motion larger than it’s “sitting” size – be sure to check that out first. You also want to consider your goals to determine if you should get resistance equipment, cardio equipment or both. Finally, think carefully about your budget and shop around so that you can get the best equipment that you can afford. If you end up buying second-hand equipment, try to buy it from a dealer that will offer a warranty and search for recalls on the equipment.

If your budget is particularly tight, you might want to start with one piece of equipment and build up from there. It’s better to have one good piece of equipment and have to improvise with the rest than an entire gym of mediocre equipment that isn’t going to do what you want in your exercise program.

Don’t Overlook the Extras. One of the biggest benefits of a home gym is that you can design it so that you’re comfortable. What are the extras you like while you’re exercising? If you like to watch television, include one in your home gym budget (and cable, if necessary) or if you prefer music you can invest in a sound system or simply purchase a personal music player. You’ll also want to have some towels, stretching and floor exercise mats and a few free weights to supplement your bigger home gym machines.