The best way to start with planning your home gym is to think about your workout routine and the space you have available. These are equally important since you are only going to workout if you can do the exercises you want. However, you can only do the exercises you want if your space allows it! So that being said, use these steps to begin planning your workout environment at home:
- Decide which room will be used for your home gym. If you are building a room as an addition and plan to add space for your home gym, then you are in a great position to build your dream-gym, planning the space to your needs!
- Use a program like Floorplanner.com to lay out the room, new or existing, with room dimensions as well as ceiling height, windows, etc.
- Think about zone training when you are laying out your gym and planning for space. For example, you may want to commit a certain area to stretching before your workout, and then an area for strength training, an aerobic space, etc. Now is the time to plan since these are much harder to fit into an existing workout room.
- Decide on your routine and what equipment you will need in order to have the workout routine or routines you will be doing. This could include, for example, a stationary bicycle and some free weights, such as dumbbells. You could add other workout items like kettlebells, a weight bench, a mat for yoga and stretching, and a thera-ball. A treadmill or rower would be your largest items, so plan for those first if you are bringing them into your workout room
- Do a complete floor plan using the design tool, arranging your equipment so that you have plenty of space to move around. This is perhaps the most important step in assuring you will have a successful home gym..it’s better to have less equipment and freedom of movement, assuring you get the most out of your workout and avoid frustrating down-time rearranging your equipment just to work out.Remember how heavy gym equipment can be, and that you will be pounding on a treadmill or throwing weights around, or just jumping up and down.
If you are in a multi-story building, it’s very important to consider the impact of this movement and weight from both a structural and noise perspective. If you have downstairs neighbors, maybe certain types of equipment may not be appropriate, like a treadmill. Instead, you could substitute a rower or stationary bicycle. Instead of weights, you could consider isometric exercise or resistance bands, which can offer as much of a workout as weights. If you are on the first floor or even in the basement, of course you can go much heavier, but even at that, consider your flooring and how much it can sustain. - Lastly, as you plan your workout room, think about lighting and airflow. It is very important that you be able to see what you are doing, without having glaring lights in your eyes.