The past couple of years have been pretty strange, to say the least. We’ve had to come to terms with a whole new set of realities while having to come face to face with a whole new set of realizations. For fitness and health enthusiasts, the biggest lesson learned during this period is that home gyms are very necessary.
Perhaps, you already knew this. Maybe you didn’t need a global pandemic to bring home this fact. In addition, there’s been a spike in anxiety and depression, so maybe building a home gym is just what you need.
Perhaps, building your very own home gym has been a lifelong dream of yours, but you’ve been put off by the potentially enormous outlay such a venture would require. Maybe you’ve even got the budget taken care of, but you don’t know the first thing about building a home gym.
If you fall under the first category, the good news is that you don’t need to spend so much to build your dream home gym. Knowing exactly what you need and going for only those things will help you avoid running up unnecessary costs. You’ll also need to know where to look for those things.
For those in the second category, that’s why we’re here. We’re going to walk you through the entire process in this article. First things first though, let’s talk about why a home gym is important.
Why You Need A Home Gym
Accessibility
We’ll start with the most obvious. The biggest advantage of having your gym in your home is that you have access to it anytime you want. There is no opening or closing hours, you don’t have to commute to get to it, and perhaps most importantly, you’re not affected by lockdown rules.
Convenience
There are people who just grit their teeth through their gym sessions, and not just for the reasons you expect. Something about waiting in line to use equipment and sharing these equipment with tons of other sweaty people just doesn’t appeal to several people. You don’t have to share your home gym, and you’re free to do whatever you like.
Comfort
Having your gym in your home gives you access to those amenities that can make your sessions a little more comfortable. You’ll have easy access to your bathroom and fridge, and you can avoid having people watch you while you work out.
Getting Started: Space Needed for a Home Gym
Before you head on to the market, you’ll need to ensure that you’ve got all loose ends tied up, and that you’ve carefully considered all the logistics. Space is a crucial deciding factor here, and you may need to put it into consideration before you even get started.
If you have a separate room for exercising, that’s great. If you don’t though, you’ll need to carefully consider your options. You don’t want to clutter your living space with gym equipment. It’s impractical, as well as unsafe.
It’s also important to have a good idea of what you want to achieve with your home gym, to avoid spending on things you don’t need, or forgetting to include things you do need. You may make a list of your fitness goals and tailor your purchases around them.
Getting Down To Business
After you’ve taken care of all the angles, it’s time to tackle the fun part: setting up your home gym equipment. Depending on your fitness goals, some equipment should have a higher priority to you than others. Don’t worry; we’ll help you identify the right ones for your needs, and for different categories.
Fitness and Cardio
The perfect starting point for beginners, cardio and fitness exercises are great at helping you lose weight and keeping you healthy in general. They require minimal core strength while helping you build up core strength in the long run. The following fitness and cardio equipment are perfect:
Treadmills
You can get and stay in shape just by maintaining a regular walking or running regimen, that’s why treadmills are so popular. They can help you enjoy the benefits of the workouts from the comfort of your home, and better still, they occupy less space than they used to, with folding options now being offered.
Smart Indoor Rowing Machines
Rowers offer a full body workout, which makes them perfect for shedding excess weight and even building muscle. There are have been numerous studies on how indoor rowing can help you lose weight. Three of the best smart indoor rowers for weight loss are Hydrow, Ergatta, and CITYROW Go Max. The downside of these machines is, you don’t have a lot of control over motion, so the exercise may be too intense.
Bikes
Bikes are also very popular cardio machines. They are pretty easy to use, are very effective, and are also very versatile. Whether you choose an assault bike or a recumbent bike, you pretty much cannot go wrong with a bike.
Cross Trainers
Cross trainers are great at helping you lose weight and also helping you maintain a good level of fitness. They offer a full body workout, and are pretty quiet, compared to others on this list.
Boxing
Boxing is perfect for strength building as well as calorie burning, as well as a myriad of other benefits. Some boxing equipment you can get are speed bags, free-standing punch bags, jab pads, and gloves.
Weight Training
Weight training helps you build muscle as well as burn calories. They are also perfect for everyone. This includes beginners to advanced weight lifters.
Here are some equipment that can help you with it:
Smart Home Gyms: Tempo, Tonal and Mirror Provide Strength Training And Cardio Workouts
Without question smart home gyms are taking the cake in the market today. So, whether you choose Tempo over Tonal vs Mirror, you’ll have a system that can help you reach your goals. The good news, according to Diet Plan Workout, is that you can get strength or cardio workouts with smart home gyms and it helps to relief stress. This is vitally important, especially considering the pandemic.
Multigyms support a pretty decent range of exercises, along with a lot of weight. They are perfect for you if you don’t have a very large workout space, and their safety features are great as well. However, they don’t offer the same versatility as free weights.
Free Weights
Free weights are great because they offer a great starting point for everyone. They offer a decent workout and are very versatile. The downside is, you’re going to need a lot of different kinds of them to get anywhere.
Racks and Smiths
These machines are heavy and take up a lot of space, but they are very versatile and they allow you to get so much more out of your workout sessions. They offer everything you need from a gym, making them almost perfect weight training equipment.
Bottom Line
If you’ve been wondering just how to go about building your very own home gym, this article offers tips on how to go about finally getting rid of that gym membership and achieving your dream. One thing that you should always remember, though, is to find out what works for you and build towards that. Building your own home gym might just be your key to a happier, healthier life.