Do you feel uncomfortable when working out in front of strangers? Is your gym located on the other side of the town? Are you spending a fortune on all those monthly memberships? If so, consider investing in your own piece of heaven – a home gym. Having a place of your own where you can work out whenever you feel like it, where your favorite music is always playing and where you won’t have to wait for equipment will help you stick to your exercise program and do wonders for your physical as well as mental health. Just imagine how much time you will save! You won’t waste hours in transit, so you can use that time to do something more useful.
If having your own home gym seems like a great idea to you, here are several tips that will help you turn your dream into reality.
Set the mood
Before you start buying all types of equipment, look at the space you want to turn into your personal gym, whether it is your garage or basement, and see how you can create a place that will motivate you to give your 100% and keep you focused on your goals. You can paint the falls however you like, put up posters, blast the speakers or even bring in a huge TV where you will play workout videos. When you have personalized your gym, it is time to buy equipment.
Invest in barbell and weights
Depending on how much weight you want to lift, you will need a standard or Olympic barbell. Keep in mind that standard ones can’t hold more than 200 pounds, so if you are planning to do some heavy weightlifting you will need the other kind. Weight plates are easy to find and they usually cost $1 per pound. If you want to save money you can search flea markets, online ads or garage sales, and you will be able to find used weights that cost less than 50 cents per pound.
Rack up!
Every gym should have a power rack, since it allows you to do all kinds of exercises, from bench presses, overhead presses, rack pulls, to inverted rows and many others. Regardless of whether you are training to lose weight or gain muscle, you need to have one of these in your home gym. Keep in mind that power racks can take up too much space, so make sure you put that into consideration when planning where you will place your equipment. If you have friends who have free time on their hands, they can help you build your rack by hand, so you will automatically save a lot of money.
Get benched
Since there are a lot of exercises that require you to lie down, consider buying a bench. Again, check out sales and classifieds, and you might be lucky enough to find a used one in great condition. If you don’t want to invest in a bench right now, it is not a problem. A lot of the exercises you would do on the bench can be done on the floor.
Dumbbells are a must
They come in such a wide variety and at numerous price points. However, if you want to save money, opt for standard handles. You can find these small weights at garage sales almost all the time, so they won’t cost a lot. On the other hand, if you are willing to splurge on equipment, check out Tonal home gym that features digital weights.
Battle of the bands
Workout bands might look like something you see on those infomercials late at night, but they can provide up to 200 pounds of dynamic resistance, so they will help you increase your strength level. You can use them to add dynamic resistance to your usual routine, and the best thing about them is that they don’t take up a lot of space and are extremely portable.
Although all of these pieces of equipment are very useful, feel free to include only bodyweight workouts into your exercise routine. This way you can start working out at home today and spend the next several months buying everything you need for your personal gym. If your savings are not enough for building your home gym, you can consider payday loans.
