Creating a Home Gym: Everything You Need to Know

Rohan Mathew

With the Covid-19 pandemic forcing many gyms and workout facilities to close or limit the number of people they can serve in the local community, many people are looking at ways to get their daily dose of exercise from the comfort of their home. The good news is that, with the right amount of planning and research, creating a home gym that offers all the benefits of a professional gym is easy and can be relatively inexpensive. 

Consider Whether or Not You Need Equipment

While workout equipment may be nice to have, it is often expensive and takes up huge amounts of space. Therefore, now is the time to evaluate what workout equipment you consider essential and how much you can achieve without it. There are several equipment-free workouts available online that are just as effective as workouts that use expensive gym equipment. So, before you go out and spend any money on gym equipment, be sure to do some research into equipment-free exercises that will suit your workout plan.

Make the Best Use of Your Space

Once you have an idea of what kind of equipment you need, as well as what kinds of exercise you want to do in your home gym, it is important to make the best possible use of the space you have available to you. When planning your home gym, ensure that you have enough room for the exercises you want to perform and do not risk hurting yourself or damaging furniture in the process. 

Should you require more space than you have access to, consider making use of temporary off-site storage for items that you may not use all year round, such as Christmas decor or camping gear. Storing spare furniture and other items in a storage unit from a reputable storage company such as Safestore can free up valuable space in a home. Safestore has over 40 storage locations in London alone and offers competitive rates on a range of differently sized storage units. Storage space at Safestore is also fully adjustable, and clients can upgrade or downsize on their space quickly and easily should they need to. 

Essential Items for Your Home Gym

Whether you have chosen to exercise without equipment or you just can’t see yourself reaching your goals without at least a set of dumbbells, several other items can make your home gym feel more inviting and can help promote better workouts. For example, a yoga mat on the floor is a relatively inexpensive addition to the room that provides a soft workout surface that can help protect a person’s joints while they do cardio. They are also useful for pre-and post-workout sessions that require a person to do stretches.

According to fitness experts, full-length mirrors are also an essential item for home gyms as they allow a person to monitor their form while they are exercising to ensure they are performing their exercises correctly. In addition to the benefits during a workout, mirrors also make rooms appear larger and brighter than they are, which is especially important for home gyms that are located in small, dark spaces such as attics or storage rooms. 

Creating a home gym doesn’t need to be an expensive affair, and some of the best workouts can be achieved with just some basic items that are not only easy to find, but also don’t take up a huge amount of space (unlike the weight machine at your local fitness centre). So, why not kick your workout into the next gear and start creating your home gym today?