Where Is The Best Place For A Home Gym


where should you put a home gym

Having a home gym is a luxury many should take advantage of. Being able to go to the next room, basement or garage is convenient and quick. You wouldn’t have to face the mental barriers that involve leaving your home and going to the gym.

Starting a home gym could be costly but would also pay for itself over time. Before buying all the equipment, first decide on where everything would be set up. In this article, we will talk about where the best place would be to build your home gym.

When picking a particular space for your home gym, having a free spacious room that has climate control would be the ideal solution. Gym equipment tend to be heavy and bulky, having enough room to set up your space that includes the equipment and ample room to move around and finish your exercises should be what you’re looking for. You also wouldn’t want your space to get too hot or too cold causing you to avoid it altogether during certain seasons.

A basement and garage, are typically the go to areas to build out a home gym. And likely they would be the best option for most. Both serve the purpose of having enough space and is mostly out of the way. Especially for those who like to play music or just tend to have workouts that can get really loud.

Having A Home Gym Inside Versus Outside

There is often a debate as to where a home gym should be. In your garage, in the basement, outside in the back yard. Which one is best? If you actually have an option to freely choose any of those, then consider yourself lucky. Often times with homeowners, we really don’t have too much of a choice since space in your home is often filled very quickly.

So which one would be best? Well, choosing the space that gives you the most likelihood of showing up everyday would be the best choice. If a dingy old basement with low ceiling will keep you away from the workout equipment, find another space. If the garage gets too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter, find another space. Working out in the elements is not your style? Find another space.

Here is our article as to why the basement is the perfect fit for a home gym.

The best space for a home gym is the space you feel most comfortable in that would allow you to stay motivated to return over and over again. I’ve chosen a room in the basement to build my home gym. I wanted something that is easily accessible, somewhat out of the way of daily family traffic, and in an area where my workouts wouldn’t be a noise problem for anyone else in the house. It has worked out fine so far.

Having a home gym outside or even in a typical garage may not be so practical. Having equipment exposed to the element will deteriorate your equipment quicker. And if you don’t live in an area that has warm weather year round. Then you wouldn’t have much options during the winter months.

With a garage however, it could be a different story if it is already insulated. If thats the case, then having your home gym in there could be the ideal situation. Having a more climate controlled space that won’t become too hot or cold will give you more of a comfortable workout overtime. Even though it is insulated you may still want to look into getting a heater or fan for any extreme weather days that would warrant them.

Is A Spare Bedroom A Good Place For A Home Gym?

If the spare bedroom is the only place you have open for a home gym then go for it. However, if you have options out there, I would probably put the spare bedroom near the bottom of the list. Here’s why. Although it is super convenient to wake up and walk to the next room to get your cardio in. Filling out the room with a whole gym would likely cause more problems down the road.

Especially if you use a lot of weights in your workouts and have loa ds of equipment. The loud and heavy banging from the dumb bells, the thumping from running on the treadmill. It will take its toll over time.

Having one or two stations for easy access would be the maximum I’d shoot for. Something along the lines of a treadmill and/or a bowflex. When adding much more to it you would need to consider the weight you’re applying to the floor. It’s not to say that adding all your equipment would cause the floor to collapse, but over time it would likely warp or be damaged from the general use. Not to mention the damage from dropping weight which will happen from time to time.

To be sure, double check with your builder and look at what regulations you have in your city. This would give you a better idea of the options you have.

Hybrid Home Gym Room

Creating a dual purpose room where you can work out and also do other tasks during the day can be a helpful option. Utilizing an area that is large enough to serve more than one purpose could help save space overall as well as time.

This really only works if:

  1. You have the space
  2. You don’t mind having only some of your equipment in the room
  3. You don’t have overly loud workouts

Unless you have an extremely large room, and everything fits comfortably. You would likely have to pick and choose which piece of equipment would make sense in your room.

Whether it is the home office, bedroom or living room. Choose the equipment that would be most complementary to that space. For example, if you plan on doing work, sleeping, lounging, or any activities that fall along those lines. Having an elliptical, treadmill, stationary bike all would work well with the room. They are typically quieter exercises and would allow you to focus on other things while working out. Like taking a business call or catching up on your favourite show.

You could also switch things up and place your weights in there, however you would need to keep in mind that the noise level would be higher at times, limiting the other activities you would want to do.

Things to Consider Before Setting Up Your Home Gym

When setting up your workout space, there are a couple of things that may not be apparent right off the bat. The room may look like the perfect spot to place a home gym, but often times an empty room is deceiving in size when looking at it bare. Take the time to measure out your space and ensure that all the equipment you plan on setting up will fit comfortably in the room.

  • How Much Space Is Available?
    Take a hard look at what you have to work with. Do you have a spare bedroom? Extra room in the basement? A cleared out garage? Can the extra free area that you have fulfill the needs of your home gym. This may be a good time, to clear out anything unwanted and taking up space. Make it an opportunity to redesign it and make it a productive area that you would actually use. Find out if you have enough light, power outlets, windows etc. Anything that you would likely look for in the long term.
  • Ceilings
    Ceilings are something to consider. It may not be a realization right away, but making sure that the ceiling gives you sufficient height to complete your workout should be looked at. After setting up all your equipment, take into account how high you would be after getting on the machine. For example, using an elliptical could give you a foot or two extra from the ground. Make sure you also have enough head room before putting in all the effort of setting everything up.
  • Types Of Workouts
    What you would be doing in your home gym can also help you finalize where you could set up. Do your exercises require many different stations? Is a yoga mat all you need? Are you planning on using video on demand services? Answering these questions will help determine how big or small you need your space to be. If possible allow your space to feel larger then it actually is. Give yourself sufficient room in between all your different workout stations. Have more than enough room to fully complete your exercises and not feel cramped.
  • Are The Workouts Going To Be Loud
    This may not be important if you live alone or have no neighbours. But considering how much noise there is when you’re working out can also be a factor of where to build your gym. The spare bedroom may be an amazing space with ample light and climate control. But the sounds of heavy metal clanging and loud thumping early in the morning or late at night, may not be something your family wants to have consistently.

Conclusion

Creating your own personalized home gym should be a fun experience. Building out your workout space exactly the way you want will allow you to stay focused on your health goals. Having it all in close proximity is a major plus. Filling out the room would be the easy part. You have the workout style you want, and you should know how to fill the needs depending on the equipment.

Having a home gym to be happy about and proud of, starts with deciding on the right area of your home to set it up. If you’re just starting one from scratch for the first time, keep it simple. Make sure it is a space you want to spend time in. Clean it up, make it your own. Personalizing your home gym will also increase the chances of you using it more frequently.

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