“I want to build my own gym at home – where do I start?”
That’s exactly what we’re going to help you find out. Creating the perfect home workout space is just like any other home improvement project – it takes a good amount of planning and some initial thoughts on design to get started.
So let’s start there, at the beginning of your journey of setting up a home fitness studio.
Finding the Perfect Space for a Home Gym
First up, you have to decide where your home gym is going to go. Do you have space in your home already? Then it’s a case of simply finding the best room for a home gym. If you don’t have any space, you have to make some.
You can do this in a few different ways:
- You could build an extension onto your property to house your new home gym
- You could renovate your home to make some extra room for a home gym
- You could build an outbuilding in your garden solely for a home gym
When designating space for a home gym, you first want to make your decision based on these home gym placement tips, including that you ensure your chosen area offers enough space, taking noise considerations into account, and having proper ventilation is ideal.
Here’s a tip from Bespoke Construction Group: if you have an unused garage on your property, you could convert your garage into your brand-new home gym.
When you’ve taken some home gym location considerations into account and found the ideal spot, it’s time for the real work to begin.
Creating a Functional Home Gym Layout
The design of your home gym starts with addressing the layout. The number one assurance you need is that you are maximising space for a fitness area; make sure you have the right amount of room to perform all of your normal exercises, so proper space planning for a home gym is vital.
The following tips will make sure you’re maximising efficiency in your home gym design and creating a layout that works for you.
- Zone spaces in your gym – assign different sections of your home gym to different purposes. For example, have a dedicated zone for warming up and down, another for cardio, a space for weights, and so on.
- Proper space planning for a home gym – Remember, if fitness is a big part of your life, you are most likely going to be spending a lot of time here, so make sure you don’t feel cramped. You want to enjoy being in this space.
- Draw a floor plan beforehand – Don’t go into this blind. Take some time to draft up different floor plans. These can be as basic or as detailed as you like.
- Think about adding a WC with shower – nothing beats a shower after a workout session, so instead of traipsing through the house and sticking the place out in search of a shower, install an en-suite with a shower in your home gym.
There are plenty of home gym layout ideas online to inspire your project.
Don’t Forget These Top Home Gym Essentials
There are a few essentials that you don’t want to forget about when designing your home fitness studio.
Of course, you want to stock your gym with all the exercise equipment you need, such as weights, racks, yoga mats, benches, and even some machines.
But you also must remember these home gym must-buy items and features.
The Best Lighting for a Home Gym
You will need a main lighting source ideally, but you should also consider installing multiple light sources. For specific workouts, some closer task lighting may be useful.
Also, don’t forget about natural light – it’s so good for you and having windows or glazing as part of your home gym design will give you a view while you’re exercising…unless your home gym has been ordered to the basement by your other half.
Organising Your Home Gym With Storage Space
With all of that equipment, like weights, ropes and mats, and other things like towels and water bottles, you need to ensure you have plenty of storage space in your home gym.
Remember when we said you must make your home gym somewhere you enjoy being? Well, a messy and untidy gym floor is just the thing to put you off the whole idea.
Home Gym Temperature Control
We bet you avid gym-goers have felt the urge to skip a workout to avoid a cold gym on a winter night, or perhaps working out in the summer heat is far from what you would consider an enjoyable afternoon.
So investing in home gym heating and cooling systems is a great way to eliminate those uncomfortable sessions where you’re sweating buckets or shivering between sets.
Durable Flooring for a Home Workout Space
Choosing the right flooring for a home gym can be tricky and confusing. But really you just need to do some homework on what flooring would be best for your gym and what you’re using said gym for – is your gym mostly for aerobics and yoga or will you be lifting weights most of the time?
Rubber flooring is a great choice as it can handle the general wear and tear a gym environment promotes.
Installing Mirrors in a Home Workout Space
What are the benefits of using mirrors in a home gym? Mirrors are used in gyms for members to track and monitor their body changes and also so they can check their form while performing exercises, so installing mirrors in your home gym is a good idea.
Not even that, but is there any point in working out if you can’t check yourself out in the mirror?
Reasons to Invest in a Home Gym
To some, a home gym is a luxury – something that would be nice to have but it isn’t essential, and yes that is true but the positive impact of a home gym could be incredibly huge on someone who enjoys keeping fit.
So why have a home gym? Here are our top advantages of a home gym:
- A home gym offers complete and total privacy, allowing you to workout in solitude
- With a home gym, gone are the days of travelling to your local fitness centre, saving you some pennies on travel costs
- Your fitness studio is something you can truly make your own – you’re the boss
- Struggling to make time for the gym? It’s easy to do so when you have one in your home
- No expensive gym membership means you’re saving money in the long run
- The gym setting isn’t for everyone, so if you’re not as confident working out in public or simply enjoy being on your own, a home gym is the answer
- Share your home gym with your friends and family; they do say working out is better with a gym buddy
- If fitness is your passion, you could use your home gym to set up your own personal training business
There are so many home fitness benefits and perks that we just don’t have enough time to list them all for you now. But as you can see from the above, the advantages of a home gym are clear as crystals.
Final Thoughts
If our reasons to invest in a home gym have swayed you, then what are you waiting for? Creating the perfect workout space has never been so easy. You can do it yourself with the help of YouTube or maybe a handyman you know, or you could work with a construction company to build one for you.
Bespoke Construction Group have created home gyms for clients in the past as part of larger renovation/extension projects, and we could do the same for you. Just get in touch with our team and we’ll let you know if we can be of service.
