Home Gym

bdbfangirl20

I'm turning my garage into my gym. I workout at a local gym in the mornings but spend a majority of exercise time at home. It's just more convienant. For those who have built their own gyms what's some do's and dont's? Any tips? What about affordable alternatives than buying brand new equipment? All opinions/thoughts are welcome

Xvapor

Craigslist. People start selling all the equipment they bought in January. Invest in a good incline/decline bench

Alatariel75

Xvapor wrote: »

Craigslist. People start selling all the equipment they bought in January. Invest in a good incline/decline bench

Heh that's my current plan, I'm haunting Gumtree (kind of like Craigslist in Australia) for unwanted Xmas gift and resolution gym gear.

Vanguard1

I have a squat cage,barbell, plates, dumbells and a power tower, all purchased used. I honestly have all I need, and haven't "wanted" for anything. I am into the entire set up about $600.

jemhh

Mention your search for secondhand equipment to friends/coworkers. Many people have various types of equipment around home that they'd like to get rid of so they can reclaim the space. I mentioned to somebody in my office that I was looking for a weight bench and she said that her college age son had one that she wanted out of her basement so she could use the space for entertaining. $25 later I had a bench, bar, and 80 lbs of weights delivered to my door.

Parents whose adults kids leave stuff behind are a goldmine for that kind of thing. I once found a Craigslist post for something like 200 lbs of plates for $60. The woman wanted to create a sewing room and the weights were in the way.

Fizbi

Install extra outlets for gadgets, monitors, entertainment, etc. before installing equipment. Make it easy to run wires and cables before the gym is put together. Maybe add some mirrors to make the space look bigger. Extra lighting helps as well.

singletrackmtbr

Insulate it. I wish I had done this. I freeze out there all winter.

peleroja

Echoing everyone else. We bought lots of our stuff on Kijiji (which I don't think is in the US but it's like Craigslist) and it was easy and inexpensive since soooo many people buy stuff and never use it.

I shelled out for a new treadmill, since I'm at least a 30 mpw runner and I do most of it indoors through the winter. I wanted something that I knew wasn't indifferently maintained and with a warranty.

We also paid full price for a set of those Bowflex Selecttech dumbbells since my husband needed the ones that go up to 90 lbs each and we could only find the lighter ones on Kijiji. They're awesome though, since they save quite a bit of space as we don't need to have a bunch of dumbbells and a rack for them.

As far as the actual space, our gym is in our unfinished basement and we just put a large washable IKEA area rug down for the floor and it's been fine. We have a couple thick yoga mats that we use as well if there will be weight dropping. All very cheap. We have a couple fans down there, a Jambox to play music, and I replaced the lightbulbs with brighter "daylight" ones so going down there is a little more cheerful.

Oh, and two of our best pieces of cheap equipment are a speed rope and a 20lb kettlebell. Both were like $20 and they're awesome for HIIT.

jemhh

My home gym is in our basement. I had it on the non-carpeted side but have now taken over the majority of the play room, which has berber carpet on it. I have squat stands ($50 off CL) and use a pair of sawhorses as safeties. My husband and I built a platform because the stands were slightly too tall for me. My first weights were a set of these dumbbells. When I moved to using a barbell I bought a standard bar so I could use the same plates. I've added plates since then and stuck with a standard bar and since then have gotten a couple more bars. I don't see myself increasing weight on the bar to the point where I'll need an Olympic set.

bdbfangirl20

Wow such great advice thanks everyone!!