Home Gym Set-Up
Before Covid, if you told me I would someday be teaching virtual fitness out of my basement, I would have looked at you like you had two heads.
I have been a gym rat since I was in high school. I love the social aspect of belonging to a gym and I love the variety of equipment. I have been teaching group exercise since I was in college and where does that typically happen? In a gym!
Never in a million years did I think I would be happy working out at home. And had I not taken my in-person classes online “temporarily” during the pandemic, I would probably still be singing the same tune.
BUT I can’t imagine my life without my virtual community and my home gym. It allows me to be more present and available with my family. It cuts down on travel time and I love to shower 5 minutes after I finish the sweat sesh. And I LOVE my simple little studio.
In this blog, I will share my TOP Home Gym Recommendations and why I love them.
But first, some tips on getting started with your home gym set-up:
Planning Your Home Gym
Define your fitness goals: whether it's strength training, cardio, flexibility, or a combination. This will determine the set up and the type of equipment you will need.
Determine your budget: a home gym can be very cost-effective compared to a gym membership, so keep this in mind if as you are selecting equipment. Quality does matter - you want your equipment to stand the test of time.
Choose a suitable space: you might consider the size/layout, lighting, and ventilation. For example, we had to push our couch way farther forward in order to fit our gym- but the amount of time we use the gym way exceeds the amount of time we occasionally sit on the couch, so it’s worth it! You also want to think about the traffic in that area - for me my gym is right by our “mud room” so I see people coming and going often, but it’s not by our front door which might be awkward if the delivery man saw me doing hip thrusts, lol.
Selecting Equipment
Dumbbells - my top recommendation for strength training. They are the most effective and versatile of all the strength training equipment.
A yoga mat or large floor covering - it’s super important to have a comfortable and cushioned surface for yoga, stretching, and bodyweight exercises. I use a combo of horse stall mats plus a thick yoga mat.
A mirror - great for monitoring your form (or I use my zoom screen instead of a mirror)
Extras - jump rope, mini loop band, and pilates ball, etc for keeping things interesting.
Setting Up Your Home Gym
Placement: Make sure you leave open space for working out. I like to use the perimeter of my space for storage in order to maximize my area for exercise. You’ll want to move through all the planes of movement to test out the space. You might not know if you’ll have room to do a burpee until you try.
Organization: I recommend a rack for dumbbells and bins/baskets for smaller items. This will keep your space tidy and you’ll feel more in control when you know where everything is.
Safety considerations: For the safety of your joints, you’ll want a cushioned flooring. To prevent tripping and falling, be sure to have level flooring and clear pathways. And adequate lighting is really important to ensure you can see what you are doing.
Personal touches: I love house plants, but because my gym is in my basement, I have added some artificial plants so it feels decorated and pretty, but I don’t have to worry about the plants not getting sunlight. We decided to paint the walls of the gym area - that plus the flooring really helps to clearly define the space. Adding a sound system to enhance your workout environment is a great idea too - we have a google home mini that we use and the speaker is actually pretty powerful.
Here are my top Recommendations for Building your own home gym:
Fun little addition to your home gym. Great for balance, core, inner thighs, and many other applications in a fitness routine.
Such a great addition to your home gym. Takes up no space at all and adds resistance to body weight exercises. Great for outer thigh, glutes, back, shoulders and core work.
I love these neoprene weights because they are gentler on the hands and more comfortable to hold than metal dumbbells. I recommend starting out with 5’s and 10’s, but eventually it’s a good idea to get some 8’s and 12’s - maybe even 15’s when you are ready.
This was one of the best purchases I made for my home gym. It helps to keep my area organized and I’m not tripping over weights. I love that it has all the weights I need from 5lbs to 25lbs. BUT I do use my 8’s and 12’s which is why I also use the neoprene ones.
Whether for step ups, seated exercises or a bench press, the bench is an essential part of a home gym. If you don’t have one, you can always use a chair or other sturdy surface for step-ups. But if you can fit it, a bench is a great addition.
I recommend getting a large surface mat or installing horse stall flooring in your home gym. When I first started working out in my basement, I was on carpet. It wasn’t long before the carpet showed wear and tear. I got a large mat like the one shown here, and that worked well. But when we decided to really invest in our space, we upgraded to horse stall flooring and it was the best decision.
We got 3/4 inch thick and it’s very supportive. We laid it right over our carpet. It clearly defines the space and gives the feel of a genuine gym floor.
Check out my previous blog post all about this amazing mat. It’s worth the investment. Cheap yoga mats are just annoying and don’t stand the test of time. This one does!!
If you are looking to up your strength game this season, check out my Fall Fit Zone Special where you get unlimited access to live and recorded classes for the months of Nov and Dec. If you attend 2 classes / week, it averages out to $6/class and just think how strong you’ll be by 2024!
Do you have some home gym equipment you love? If so, I would love to hear about it! Email Me