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Given the gym closings and changes, home workouts have increased dramatically. We all know we should exercise more, but going to the gym isn’t always practical due to time or distance constraints. And while walking and / or jogging are basically free, it’s not always the most enjoyable activity when it’s raining outside. There is a Home gym comes into play.
We looked at how you can before Turn limited spaces into home gyms or alternatively like Turn your garage into a home training zoneHowever, once you’ve established your spacing, you need to consider the equipment to be installed.
It is clear that it will be a little different depending on your fitness goals and types of exercise, as well as whether you will be exclusively exercising at your home gym. If you just want an area in between your regular workouts, less equipment is required. Remember, however, that you can always start small and scale up too. With a little work and moderate investment, it’s possible to say goodbye to the gym fees forever when you find a workout solution that will get you up and active at home.
Things To Consider For Your Home Gym:
Budget: Sure, it sounds obvious, but the reality is you can spend a little, or quite a lot, on creating a home gym. It is not an absolute correlation that simply spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on fitness equipment will give you better results, but it is also not wise to save on items that break easily, which can be either frustrating or, in some cases, dangerous. Finding out how much you want to spend and how much you can afford is crucial. Keep in mind that a home gym can expand over time so you don’t have to buy everything at once. If you were to cancel your gym membership in favor of fitness at home, the easiest thing to do is to just calculate your annual membership fees and allocate them as a budget, since you would be spending money on fitness anyway.
Room: You are limited by your circumstances, but it is best to try to keep your home gym as distraction free as possible. For this reason, the garage or guest room is ideal as the easiest way to ignore the gym equipment in the corner – or just use it as an impromptu clothes rack – and watch Netflix, but that won’t get you any further, just fat. So what do you do when you only have one common room? Get creative with how to create your isolation. A simple portable curtain frame (or a projection screen, or a large object) can block an area so you’re not tempted to do anything other than get physical.
Sound: One of the great things about having a home gym is that you are 100 percent in control of your choice of exercise music, whether you prefer electronic rapid-fire beats, heavy guitar, or the sheer annoyance of not being allowed to stop baby hear shark until you’ve done 100 repetitions. Okay, so maybe the last one is a bit of an exaggeration, but it’s worth considering your options when it comes to what to hear while you sweat.
When you’re after the immersion, consider investing in a good pair of smaller, noise-canceling bluetooth headphones. I would prefer the Beats Powerbeats Pro (you can Get them here on Amazon), but there are plenty of choices in this category, including many specifically designed for workouts. You can also buy a high quality speaker or speaker setup here. something like the Sonos One (which you can Access Amazon here) can make solid sound that will keep you moving, and with the right playlist, you will get better results from simple motivation.
Basic equipment for the home gym:
Exercise mats: Choose from a wide variety of options here, whether you have a simple yoga cool-down mat, a modular system that you clip together and pack away to save space, or something in between. Having a defined safe area is useful, and it can help not only with your own training but also with simple practical things like reducing the noise your training makes when you share a household.
Gym weights and bars: Again, you have plenty of choices, and a lot of it depends on where you are on your fitness journey and what your goals are. Starting small with a set of handweights is fine if you’re more of an aerobic goal, while people who want a more bodybuilder-like approach may need to invest a little more in set weights and bars. Here is our Guide to fitness bars if you are confused about choosing there.
Racks: You can spend a lot of bucks on a fancy high-end gym, but if you’re just starting out, simpler, cheaper piece of equipment may be fine. Remember, the gym can be your gateway to many alternative exercise, and it is one of the ways you can too Manage solo bench press more securely too. Aside from benches, good racks are usually items that people upgrade from. So it’s also worth considering the second hand market if you’re looking to save a few dollars.
Bank: The bench is the other essential piece of your permanent gear, although “permanent” is a misnomer here. Better gymnastics benches allow quick and easy adjustment, as the last thing you want during a home workout is to switch bench positions and play around with the adjustment screws if you’re just about to go to work. That being said, there’s nothing wrong with starting with a simple flat bench, and that’s usually the cheapest way to start your journey home to the gym.
Skipping rope: One of the easiest (and cheapest) parts of a home gym is the jump rope. Even if your focus is on muscle growth, this should not be ignored wide range of exercise options that include a jump rope workout can offer you.
What about dedicated exercise equipment?
There is nothing wrong with using items like a Treadmill or Exercise bike in your home gym. However, these are more expensive items, and they are generally best if you’ve already hit the gym for them.
If you step on the treadmill while catching up on podcasts or doing a few miles on an exercise bike while Netflix is already in your exercise queue on your phone, go for it! However, this is a category where equipment is worn out and it can be more difficult to sell later if it pushes you beyond its capabilities.
