New Year’s Resolution: Create A Home Gym

Last year your main goal might have been setting up a home office. This year, as many of us try to stay on top of our physical and mental health, you may be looking to set up or even improve your home gym. Here are 6 tips for creating a home gym.

determine your fitness goals

1. Determine Your Goals

Determine what type of fitness you want to focus on or that you’re interested in doing. Everyone’s fitness goals will be different. Some prefer to practice yoga or pilates for discipline, others strength training or building muscle, and others want to focus on cardio or weight loss. Knowing your goals and the area of fitness you want to focus on to meet those goals will help you decide what equipment you want to invest in.

2. Find the Right Space

Before you can start hitting the weights or running a marathon, you need to decide where you want to set up your home gym. At the very least, you’ll need a space that has enough room for a yoga mat to do stretching and core exercises. After that, the exact space for your home gym will depend on how much room you have and the workouts you want to accomplish. You can take advantage of an unused corner of a room, garage, an outdoor space when weather permits, or if you have an empty room you’ve got the perfect space to convert.

home fitness equipment

3. Research Exercise Equipment That Will Meet Your Goals

Now that you know what your goals are or what fitness areas you’d like to focus on, spend some time finding out what exercise equipment would be best for you, as well as will fit in the space you have. You don’t need a ton of workout equipment or machines to make an effective home gym.

Cardio

If you have limited space and budget, you can pick up a jump rope instead of a treadmill for cardio. If you have the room to fit a machine, you can go for a treadmill or elliptical to widen your cardio workout options. The Peloton bike is a popular option for many people right now. There are also some great space-saving machines that you can look into to get the same effects of a full machine, but will also fit into the space you have.

Strength

Limited space won’t allow for large weight machines, however you can invest in items like kettlebells, adjustable dumbbells, and a set of resistance bands which can help you achieve the same muscle toning goals. If you have tons of space, you can definitely invest in cable machines to give you the extra weight training you’re looking for.

equipment storage

4. Decide on Equipment Storage

Make the most out of your home gym space by using storage solutions to keep everything organized. If you are using a small section of a room and have decided on a minimalist workout routine, you can get storage containers that will easily store under the bed or in the closet to hold items like a yoga mat, resistance bands, and other portable pieces. Or if you have a free wall consider a hanging organizer for your bands and mat.

Dumbbells will need a bit more storage, so you can look into a compact weight rack if your set doesn’t already come with one. These racks can support a lot of weight so you don’t have to compromise on the weight of your equipment.

5. Create Your Setup

You don’t want to overcrowd your home gym area so much that you don’t have proper room to move about. Take some time to do some spatial planning on where you want to place everything in order to ensure you can complete your exercise routines with ease. If you can, make sure you have plenty of light and even possibly a mirror. This will allow the space to feel bigger and lets you keep an eye on your form.

If you’re converting an entire room and have the space, you may want to cover up the current flooring with some gym flooring or gym mats to help protect your floor and give your body a cushion when doing core workouts.

Clear your home gym of any distractions that will take away from your workout time, so you can focus on your fitness. If you like to follow online workout videos, set up your computer or TV at eye level and at a safe distance so you can easily follow along.

6. Think About Using A Storage Unit for Extra Items

To make some extra space for your home gym, you may need to declutter some unnecessary items or find another space for items you’re storing in your home. Consider using a storage unit for those items that you never use, but still want or need to hold on to or to store seasonal items that typically take up a lot of room. A storage unit can help you meet your fitness goals by giving you that little bit of extra space you might need for your home gym ideas.

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