Home Gym

How To Set Up Your Own Home Gym

Like many, your New Year’s Resolution might be to do with your health and fitness.

Maybe you’ll want to go walking more, maybe you want to work a new exercise class into your routine. Another option is taking all the obstacles, like the commute to the gym, out of the way, and bringing the gym home to set up your own home gym.

While it may sound ambitious, you don’t need to make a huge investment right off the bat. The first and most important thing to do, however, is to find the spot in your home. Whether it’s an ignored room in the basement or a spare room, the space you choose should have enough room so you can move around comfortably, as well as put some equipment in there, if desired. 

Getting Started

Before you really start getting set up though, know how you work out. Do you like lots of light? The garage may not be the best idea. Procrastinate going to the gym until it’s too late in the day and you might as well go to bed? Make the room accessible. Bottom line, you want the environment somewhere you want to be, some place you know you’ll thrive in and be able to put in a solid effort.

Another thing you’ll want to do to prepare your space to minimize distractions. If you’re re-purposing another room, you may want to put some existing things, like papers or books, out of sight. Try putting an exercise workout on your phone or computer so you’re not tempted to sit and derail your workout.

Now that your environment is set, here comes the tricky part — how much equipment to buy? It’ll depend on your fitness savviness and goals, but you can always start small and work your way up. Once you have an idea what kind of exercises you want to do, pretend to layout the room with gaffer tape. Gaffer tape can be stuck on the floor and removed easily, with no adhesive residue. Mark off the footprint of any equipment or racking you’d like to have. You may find that you have more or less room than you initially thought — adjust accordingly.

Another benefit to using tape is that you can mark off miniature circuits in your home gym area. Use tape instead of buying pylons, training hurdles, or a ladder and get your heart rate up. Easy exercises that can be translated to working out include hopscotch in a ladder and quick footwork drills. Check out Chad Johnson (known as Chad Ochocinco, NFL wide receiver) and his drills to get some quick starter ideas. An aerobic stepper, especially an adjustable one, would be an easy-to-store way to push your cardio circuits to the next level by adding an additional challenge.

When it comes to equipment itself, a good approach is to start small with adjustable free weights/dumbbells and resistance bands. Adjustable weights allow you to add or remove weight easily, while resistance bands are light, don’t take up a lot of room, and allow you to do a variety of exercises. You’ll be able to work every muscle group with both compound and isolated movements.

If you do pick up a set of weights, an adjustable bench is a good idea. You’ll be able to do a range of exercises, both on a flat or incline.

Thinking about adding in a power rack or heavyweight cardio equipment? Break out the gaffer tape again and re-outline the room. Make sure you leave extra room as well for any exercises that may be done outside the equipment. For example, you may want to use the barbell and deadlift behind the rack. Be mindful, however, of the flooring and your neighbors. Make sure that any extra weight can be supported.

If you do add in an electric machine of some kind, make sure the cables are taped down and out of the way to reduce tripping hazards and keep your workout area neat.

Gaffer tape to the rescue again!

secure-cables

Tape down the cables with either a bright color — to make sure the potential tripping hazards is seen — or black so it blends in.

You may also want to put down some soft flooring to protect the surface and dampen any accidental drops. Available in a wide variety of types (mats, lock-together panels, and soft tiles), you may want to get something easy to move around around, depending on the type of exercises you do.

A home gym doesn’t have to be expensive, either. Look for secondhand equipment, liquidation sales and the like. Maybe you even have a relative or friend that’s trying to clean out some home equipment of their own. Reduce waste and put it to good use.

While putting together a home gym may seem daunting, it’s easy to do if the approach is broken down in easily achievable steps — just like a journey towards better health and fitness. Once you enjoy the convenience of a home gym, you might wonder why you didn’t do it sooner.

Interested in other ways you can use Gaffer Power Tape around the house? Check out these posts:

 

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