Creating your own home gym

One of the most common things to hear in regards to working out is that you will only see results if you are enjoying what you are doing. And the truth is that some people just can’t get along with going to the gym; they don’t like waiting for equipment, they don’t like the crowded atmosphere and they definitely don’t like the membership fees. As a result, what we are seeing now is an increase in the amount of people who are choosing to conduct some part of their training in the comfort of their own home.

The key part of that last sentence was ‘some part’. I have no doubt that there are people out there who conduct all of their exercise at home but where we are seeing a notable increase is with people who look to combine workouts at home and at their local gym. 

Home gyms are traditionally a luxury for the rich. After all, they had to buy all the equipment without depending on the reimbursement through membership fees. But now we understand so much more about creating challenging workouts with simple equipment in a smaller amount of space. Now that isn’t to say that treadmills and cross trainers are a waste of money, they are just an expenditure that a lot of people can’t afford. 

The first thing you need to create a home gym is the space. So whether you are waiting for your eldest to move out, or you are just letting dust collect in your garage, you need to find somewhere that could be better used as your new workout area. Obviously I accept that will be a major stumbling block for a lot of people; if you haven’t got the space then you probably aren’t going to be able to create your own gym. But that doesn’t mean you can’t take advantage of the space you do have with some clever home workouts.

Once you have the space, it is all about filling it with the right equipment. If you are using your home to supplement the work that you are doing in the gym then be sensible with what you buy. You don’t need to go out and buy all the expensive equipment, that’s what you are paying a membership for! So prioritise the kinds of things that are cheaper and easier to use at home. These include:

• Pull-up/Chin-up bar
• Skipping rope
• Exercise ball
• Kettlebells
• Free weights

Just like investing in any hobby, you don’t need to do everything right away. Buy new equipment that you need but only when you can afford it. 

We will have all had days where we just couldn’t get to the gym, for whatever reason. It doesn’t mean that you have failed, it just means that you couldn’t find the time that day. So imagine if you had the facilities at home to do some sort of a workout on those days when you just can’t get to the gym. 

It’s also a source of variety. We all know by now that we need to stick to a routine but try to mix it up where possible. Providing yourself with a change of scenery for your workouts every now and again can only be a good thing. Even if you feel like you are addicted to the gym, working out at home every now and again will help. 

And if you just find it impossible to work at a commercial gym then this might be perfect. You can try whichever exercises you want without the fear of being judged at the gym and like I mentioned before, you won’t be waiting in line for any of the equipment. 

If a traditional commercial gym isn’t the right thing for you then Ollie Lawrence Personal Trainer’s fitness studio could be the perfect thing for you. The private gym that we provide allows you to work in an environment void of the traditional pressures of the gym, while one-to-one training provides you with the information you need to get the best out of yourself.