Help in planning a home gym

MissMaggie3

We are buying a new house, and we will be lucky enough to have an outbuilding with electricity that I want to use as a gym. The dimensions are 17' 2" x 9' 9" (for metric people that's 5.23m x 2.97m), with wood over a concrete floor. I must have a treadmill in there, as I have Osteopaenia and am trying to minimise deterioration through daily brisk walking. I have an elliptical cross-trainer already, and I would like a bike too. But I also want an area for free weights, and I'm thinking this might all be too much for the size of the room. Can anyone advise? How big should a free weights area be? I may need to use dumbbells only, as it feels like not enough room for a rack and barbells. I have a set of dumbbells, but if I can afford it, I'm thinking of switching to Bowflex adjustable weights to save on space.

Also, I'm assuming I will need to take the wooden floor up and lay some kind of rubberised flooring. Is that right?

Thanks in advance.

pondee629

Big enough for a squat rack. The unused weights should be able to be stored on pegs on the rack. Five foot square, or thereabouts.

lorrpb

You need to look at the footprint of the machines you’re considering. They can vary a lot in size. Some can fold away but might be less sturdy. My free weight area is probably about 4x6. 6x6 would be better. I use dB and a 5 ft bar, no rack. Also confident whether you want room for floor work. Rubberized flooring is very nice especially if you find a good deal. I got mine from a fitness studio that was closing. Also plan for heat A/C ventilation depending on your weather.

MissMaggie3

Thanks both; very reassuring in terms of space (but I take the point about the footprints @lorrpb). I'm in the UK, and until this summer I would have said no need for AC, but if we are going to have regular heatwaves like the one we are having this year, then it will be essential!

DrBarbarian

rack and barbell would be good if space permits....

waytoofat3

My home gym is in a room that is 17' 2" x 12' 5". I have a treadmill,rowing machine,2 benches and a power rack. The benches get moved around depending on how I'm using the space but everything else remains in place.I have the bowflex dumbbells as well. You will have enough room for your cardio machines;a power rack would be a tight fit but could work depending on it's size.

Duck_Puddle

My home gym is 12x15 and includes a rowing machine, treadmill, assault bike, stack weight machine, heavy bag and freestanding bag, and a half cage with pulleys (plus bench). I have enough floor space to do lifts from the floor, or yoga/burpees/calesthenics/jump rope/etc. although if I’m doing lifts from the floor, I don’t also have room to do these other things.

Storage of stuff takes up a lot of my other floor space. I have Dumbbells, kettlebells, iron and bumper plates, medicine balls, plyo boxes, etc. I’ve got a lot on the walls, in vertical storage and attached to other things as much as possible, but it still takes space to store all the stuff. Just something to keep in mind.

Lastly-I think my cage is 4x6 (or thereabouts-the pulleys take up a lot of room). The bar extends beyond the cage. An Olympic bar (men’s) is about 7ft long. So when you’re lifting, you’ll need 7+ ft of clearance wherever the bar path is. So my 4ft wide lifting cage really takes up 7+ ft when I’m using it and I can’t be built in a corner. I can put things in some of that space when I’m not lifting. I also use a women’s bar because in a small area, those few inches shorter of a bar make a big difference (plus I’m a woman with tiny hands and my hand doesn’t wrap around a men’s bar). So keep that in mind if you get a rack/cage that it needs to be away from the walls and you need to have clearance for the bar when you’re lifting.

I don’t know what your budget is but I’ve been lusting after the foldout rack at Rogue (rack folds against the wall when you’re not using it).

It’s tight but it works for me. I’m also pretty small and short so I tend to not need a lot of clearance for things. Like my head will never extend beyond the back of my concept2 when I’m rowing so it’s right up against the wall. That wouldn’t work if I were taller (because I would need more clearance space).

I have recycled tire flooring. It’s ok but the surface on mine is actually quite slippery. I would go with horse stall mats if I were choosing today.

Duck_Puddle

Also check out this thread for what some people’s setups are. It might help. Some people are very creative with use of space.

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10578562/show-off-your-home-gym/p1

curlsintherack

A rack and barbell needs about 10 feet side to side and anything over about 6 feet front to back. The olympic bar is 7ft long and space on either side to load it is important. The depth I mentioned is about the bare minimum of what you can comfortably bench in. I have a rack and bar bells in a 6.5x14 foot room and find it more than large enough for my needs.

rileyes

A Landmine sleeve with Olympic barbell and set of weights may be perfect for your space. And later you can decide to get a 1/2 rack and bench and still have room for your treadmill.
ETA: you can add a TRX suspension training system to your 1/2 rack too.

MissMaggie3

Wow, all such helpful posts - thank you! I think I will definitely get a rack and barbell now, but I have a few things to google (e.g. foldout rack at Rogue, horse stall mats, women's bar, landmine sleeve ... ). A trainer at my gym suggested a TRX system, but when I've tried it I don't get on with it as well as with free weights. Maybe I should have another go?

yirara

MissMaggie3 wrote: »

Thanks both; very reassuring in terms of space (but I take the point about the footprints @lorrpb). I'm in the UK, and until this summer I would have said no need for AC, but if we are going to have regular heatwaves like the one we are having this year, then it will be essential!

Next summer will most likely be a lot wetter and not so warm. Trust me on that. Ocean currents and air flow patterns and such. Why not wait for the weather next year and see what's too warm? Airconditioning costs an awful lot of electricity money after all.

hesn92

In my home gym, I have a barbell and weights, a bench, a rack, and adjustable dumbbells. Also some resistance bands. I think it's pretty well equipped for my needs. Oh and those rubber mats for the floor, and I plan on buying a yoga mat. My husband is going to build me a new squat rack eventually because the one I have is just a rack. It doesn't have those catcher bars and I don't really feel comfortable doing heavy squats without those. when he builds me that, he's also going to put a pull up bar on the top. I admit I have a decent sized area because it's in the unfinished basement, so lots of room.

rileyes

https://m.dickssportinggoods.com/p/fitness-gear-pro-half-rack-16fgeufgprhlfrckxgmu/16fgeufgprhlfrckxgmu?camp=CSE:DSG_pg80989_ecom_PLA_452&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIzK-sjO_J3AIVE9tkCh3UeQT9EAQYASABEgLXlvD_BwE
I have a 1/2 rack like this one. It has a smaller footprint than a full rack.

MissMaggie3

Thanks rileyes, but UK visitors are not allowed to view!

MissMaggie3

Just discovered that companies offer a gym planning tool, such as this one: http://fitness-superstore.planningwiz.com - very useful (if accurate).

rileyes

Landmine exercises here: https://www.bodybuilding.com/content/the-5-essential-landmine-exercises.html

MissMaggie3

Thank you rileyes - very interesting!

RickInHouston

IronMaster bench. Best bench I've ever owned (and I've owned many).

mutantspicy

Quality Bench, Robust pull up bar, Horse Mat to cover those wood floors, plyo box, I would go with a power rack as well, so worth it. You can use it for squat, bench, pull ups, inverted rows, rack chins, For weights, I started with dumb bells because I thought they would take up less space, and the initial investment was lower, Over time however, dumb bells take up tons of space and get really expensive. I would get olympic style plates, you can get a 300lb set and 7 ft bar from dunhams for 200 to 300 dollars. You can also get a short 5 ft bar and an ez bar to use with those weights. Much more flexible to go with the olympic plates in the long run. That said, I now have both an enormous dumb bell collection 5's to 100's and 400lbs worth of olympic plates, I'm not mad about it.

MissMaggie3

Thanks RickinHouston and mutantspicy. I was assuming that the wood floor would struggle with the weight of the equipment, and I would have to take it up then lay matting directly on concrete beneath. Any thoughts?

mutantspicy

MissMaggie3 wrote: »

Thanks RickinHouston and mutantspicy. I was assuming that the wood floor would struggle with the weight of the equipment, and I would have to take it up then lay matting directly on concrete beneath. Any thoughts?

Depending on the type of wood, you are probably correct in that assumption. Hardwood floors probably could handle the weight, but would get dented easily. Either way the wood floor isn't going to help and may actually cause problems, as you are considering.

RickInHouston

I would recommend the thick plastic squares over the wood. Hopefully it won't hurt the finish over time. I have the gym grade rubber over the plywood (unfinished) floor.

Will see if I can post a pic, later.

RickInHouston

Here. Wow, it's messy! I guess my wife is right.

MissMaggie3

Wow! That doesn't look at all messy to me - it looks great! Is that a water-rower in the corner? Nice!

MikePfirrman

Rogue Fitness has a foldable Power Rack. I'm sure you could find one in the UK too. It folds into the wall when not in use.

This is what I really want, though. If you're talking "neat and clean" this is so cool.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tdxb3RXqdI4

hesn92

RickInHouston wrote: »

Here. Wow, it's messy! I guess my wife is right.

It doesn't look messy to me

rileyes

My horse stall mats are placed over floating click-wood flooring system. The slab is concrete. The horse stall mats tend to separate so it would be a good idea to frame them in with a wood border.

curlsintherack

bodybuilding.com equipment forum has some UK members that would give you great suggestions for quality stuff. Some of them can get pretty OCD though so if you go there beware.

I still say power rack either full or half. I had a full rack but a much nicer half rack fell into my lap so I have that now. The footprint on the floor of the half rack is larger than that of a full rack but it takes up less room overall. Being that your in the UK I'm not sure about the stall mats you might be able to find. you might consider building a weight lifting platform and securing your power rack to this. You would buy less rubber flooring in the long run and not have to replace or rip up your current floor.

MissMaggie3

Off to lurk for a while on bodybuilding.com!