How To Start A Home Gym

 

Are you looking for ways to be more active this year? Going to the gym isn’t for everyone. It can be hard to take time out of your day to drive to a gym, especially if you don’t have one really close. And let’s be honest, gym memberships can get expensive.

So we’ve got some tips from Quality Home Fitness, the pros in home fitness equipment from Rexburg to Twin Falls, Idaho. These tips will guide you in how and what you’ll need to get your home gym started.

Space

Obviously you’re going to need space for your home gym. So, the first thing you need to determine is how much space. Do you plan on having larger equipment like treadmills and ellipticals? Or do you want to keep it simple with a yoga mat and some free weights?

Determine what kind of equipment you want (we’ll go into more details below) and that will help you know how much space you need. If you’re keeping it small – like a yoga mat, medicine ball and some free weights – the corner of a room might suffice. But if you want the larger equipment, you might need a room, or large space dedicated to this.

A garage or basement could be the perfect place if you need a larger space for your home gym.

Yoga Mat (or foam pads)

You’re going to need something for the ground if you’re doing a lot of floor workouts. Whether you simply get a yoga mat or foam gym pads, your knees and feet will thank you later.

These mats also help you dedicate a space specifically for working out. If you lay out your yoga mat or gym pads and leave them there, you’ll feel more like you have a dedicated workout space – even if it’s just a corner in your living room.

Weights

Free weights, or dumbbell weights, are a great addition to any home gym. With the versatility of the workouts that you can do with this type of equipment, consider adding a variety of weights to your home gym.

A good starting point is to obtain a set of 5 lbs, 10 lbs, and 20 lbs. This will give you a range of weight for different intensities to work with.

Resistance Bands

Resistance bands are another good option for a home gym. They’re small for storage purposes, and they can give you a wide range of workouts – from your biceps to your glutes.

Jump Rope

Small, versatile, and lightweight for the perfect cardio workout. Jump ropes can be stored away easy and you can get really good cardio and aerobic workouts with this item.

Barbell and Weight Plates

If you really want to start going hard with the weights and pushing yourself to the max, consider getting a barbell and weight plates for workouts like squats and bench press (of course you’ll want to make sure you have a bench for this one). They don’t take up a lot of space.

This list is a great starting point for your home gym. It offers diversity in your workouts, with cardio, toning, and intense weight training.

Bonus Tip

If you do have a gym membership but want to cancel it and start a home gym, use the money you spent on your gym membership each month to start saving for some of the larger gym equipment that you want. You’ll find that in a year, you can have most of the gym equipment you want for the money you would have spent on a yearlong membership.