In all honesty, building your own home gym on a budget is not a cheap endeavor. Depending on the quality of equipment you want, the cost of putting everything together can vary wildly. In your head, when you imagine a home gym, you probably have a mental picture of something extraordinary you saw on YouTube or in a movie. The problem is not everyone has a budget to duplicate those excellent gyms.
The good news is you can build a nice home gym without being downright “cheap.” You need to know where to look, be patient, and be diligent in your search — and who knows what you might put together. In this guide, we’ll dive deep and take a look at how to build your own home gym on a budget.
Why Build Your Own Home Gym?
Before we dive into the details of how to build your own home gym on a budget, let’s look at why you may need a home gym in the first place. Having your own home gym is actually very practical if you have an active lifestyle. Whether you want to use it as your primary workout place or not, having a gym in your own home presents countless benefits.
The first and obvious benefit of having a gym in your house is the ease of access. We live in a busy world, and having a gym close by can enable you to work out where it might have been otherwise impossible because of tight schedules.
Imagine being a doorway or two away from all your workout needs and equipment. With the ability to get into your gym any time of day, you will undoubtedly save a lot of time in the long run. All the time you allocate to your workouts will actually be spent working out, not driving, or worse, stuck in traffic. Going to the gym is never about just working out; most often, you end up chit-chatting with random people and spending time in the locker rooms before and after your workout session. With a home gym, all of that is non-existent.
Another thing, there really is no need to try and bend your schedule so that you can catch gym times if something pops up at work or with the family. Maybe you work out in the morning, before work, and now your partner asks if you can drop the child off at the daycare before you go to work. Usually, that would mean a missed gym session. With a home gym, all that is a thing of the past. It’s open 24/7; therefore, you can work out whenever you get the time.
There are more benefits to opening a home gym than we can mention here, from the ability to personalize everything to your taste to the freedom to make your own rules. The bottom line is there are more than a few solid reasons why you might want to learn how to build your own home gym on a budget.
Which Room Can Be Transformed Into a Gym?
An important part of figuring out how to build your own home gym on a budget is finding out where you will set up the gym. Which room you turn into a gym depends on a number of things. Firstly, you might want to look at how much space you have. If you stay in a small home, then there’s really not a lot of options as compared to someone who has an attic, a basement, and a few extra bedrooms.
Your choice of room also depends on your family structure and who else you are sharing space with. If your options are open, it doesn’t really matter which room you use, as long as you can fit the equipment there. If, however, you are concerned about noise and disturbing others as your workout, maybe you might want to consider the basement. You can play your workout music there, and no one will be disturbed.
When choosing a room, start by measuring it first to ensure that you have enough space to fit all your equipment. If you pick a basement and there are things that can be changed, you might have to consider hiring some basement remodeling contractors to make some quick tweaks.
Pay attention to the door swing and consider the closet doors placement as well. Take note of where the power sources are in the room if you have equipment that needs connecting to electrical outlets. If the room available doesn’t have enough space, then it might be time to choose only the equipment that’s absolutely necessary and do away with the rest.
Fixing Up Your Soon-to-Be Home Gym
Before drafting a shortlist of the equipment you need, fix up your intended gym space first. If you don’t have an entire room to devote to the home gym, clear whatever space is available and try to figure out how you will arrange everything. This process will allow you to see what can fit into your home gym and what to leave out.
Besides the issue of space, you also need to ensure that your home gym space has the right energy. For starters, you need to assess if there is adequate light in the room or if you need additional light sources. You will need a bright enough space to influence your workout sessions and give you a natural boost.
An important factor when it comes to how to build your own home gym on a budget is that you should avoid the most costly solutions to your challenges. To increase the brightness, consider adding some mirrors to the walls. They are cheap, and they will make the space seem more open if it’s smaller. Additionally, mirrors are a great way to track your progress.
Another great addition to the space would be plants. They can significantly boost the energy of your chosen space. Also, plants are known to increase the levels of oxygen in a room. That’s something you will need if there are not enough windows or ventilation in your space. You will need oxygen during and after your workouts.
Finally, before you start adding some equipment, contact a plumber and have them set up a shower and toilet in your gym. While this, of course, depends on many things, but if you can do it, then why not. If it does not fit on your list of tips on how to build your own home gym on a budget, you can drop it and use the shower in your home.
If you are setting up in a garage, it’s possible to make a few changes in there as well. For instance, you might want to have the garage door modified so that you won’t have to struggle with the large door every time you want to get in there. You can create another smaller entry for everyday use.
Add Insulation and Comfort
When it comes to how to build your own home gym on a budget, there are things you can’t skip even if you don’t have a lot of money to invest in the project. If you know you are going to spend a considerable amount of time in a room, it is worthwhile to put lots of effort into making the room comfortable. To ensure that the changes in weather won’t be an issue for your workout sessions, invest in a good heating and cooling installation. If your options are limited to a garage, you will also want to consider some garage floor covering. Naturally, people don’t concern themselves much with garage flooring. After all, the garage is not meant to be a place for comfort. Rubber mats or a carpet can be a quick fix for that.
Most people recommend using vinyl flooring if you want to utilize heavy equipment. It’s low-maintenance and highly durable compared to timber or carpet. If your home gym also doubles as a guest bedroom, you might want to consider leaving some space for a sleeper couch that can be used as a bed.
Purchase Used or Low-Cost Exercise Equipment
This directly answers the question of how to build your own home gym on a budget: buying used equipment is a good move. When you’re setting up a budget home gym, you need to consider how best you can spend your money. You can always purchase new equipment, but sometimes it makes financial sense to go for used equipment. There are also several advantages to buying previously-owned gym equipment.
There are many people who buy gym equipment to serve a short-term purpose. For instance, someone might have had an accident and just needed back pain relief. Most of these people, when they are healed, will sell off their equipment at a low price. If you are lucky, you can buy a piece of equipment that’s as good as new at a reasonable price.
Hang Motivational Materials
While some individuals are self-motivated and will work hard on the way to their aim without ever stopping, others find it rather challenging to stay motivated at all times. After you figure out how to build your own home gym on a budget, you now need to ensure that the gym will deliver the intended results.
If you are one of those people who need extra motivation, hanging motivational materials on the walls can be incredibly beneficial to you. Besides, it’s normal to need a little push sometimes for us to keep going on, especially when it comes to working out.
Motivational materials are hung in both private home gyms and public gyms. They not only provide inspiration and encourage people to achieve better results but also display some examples of what you can achieve with great dedication and hard work.
There are a wide variety of images that can be chosen for use on inspirational gym materials. In some gyms, people use motivational fitness posters. A little push is good and sometimes necessary for you to kickstart your training. Some posters have messages on them, while others have pictures showing the results of hard work. For instance, you can find posters with messages like “if you push yourself, you will reach unbeatable heights.” This, coupled with a good image, can encourage you to keep on pushing your limits when you would have otherwise decided to give up.
Consider How Your Backyard Can Be a Gym in Warmer Weather
If you have done a lot of research on how to build your own home gym on a budget, you’ll understand why an outdoor gym is a good choice as well. While an indoor gym is a great idea, not every has the space to fit some gym equipment in their house. Plus, even if the room is available, taking your gym outside can free up that space so you can use it for other things. For instance, it can be used as a children’s playroom, an art studio, or a home office.
With an outdoor gym, you also get the added benefit of fresh air and being surrounded by nature. This can be enough to boost your mood and get you to work out on days you feel low and unmotivated. It’s at least better than being surrounded by walls all the time.
When setting up an outdoor gym, the first thing you need to decide is whether you want it in the open or in a covered outdoor space. If you already have such a space, like a patio, then it would be an ideal spot to put your equipment. A patio is usually the best option for outdoor gym purposes.
In a covered space, like a patio or gazebo, your gym equipment will be more protected against the elements; therefore, it will last longer. Furthermore, you will also be able to work out even when you don’t have good weather. In terms of safety, a closed outdoor space also ensures that your equipment won’t just be in the open where thieves can take it easily.
A shade structure is a good option as well. You can do some fence installation and turn it into a lovely home gym surrounded by the lawn. If your lawn is out of shape, you can do a bit of lawn maintenance to ensure the surroundings of your gym are inspiring. It is a relatively inexpensive way of quickly putting everything together for you to start working out. In an uncovered area, you are guaranteed an unlimited supply of cool, fresh air. And while it might not protect you from a hail storm, a shade will do just fine to keep you out of the blazing sun.
Think About Buying a Used Pool for Additional Exercise
There are a lot of used above ground swimming pools for sale that you can turn into an additional piece of gym equipment. Water offers more resistance than air; therefore, working out in a pool can make the exact same workouts that you’d do on land a lot more impactful. The increased resistance can enable you to engage your muscles better and burn more calories. Research also shows that aquatic exercises can increase strength, endurance, and flexibility.
With increasingly busier schedules and expensive gym memberships nowadays, it makes a lot of sense to invest in a home gym. Now that you know how to build your own home gym on a budget, you will be able to meet your exercise and workout needs with much ease. Even if you don’t have a lot of money to invest in the project, there are a lot of options that will allow you to set up something sensible and efficient.
