With membership fees for fitness centers continuing to rise and the pace of life just getting faster, the idea of building fitness home gyms start to become less of a luxury and more of a sensible solution. If you are interested with designing and using fitness home gyms to lose weight, here are several suggestions to consider.
Aside from knowing the main reason why you are setting up a home gym, say to lose weight, improve endurance or to build core, it is important to also take note of the following factors in designing a home gym that will definitely be used and help you achieve your fitness goals.
Tip #1 Consider space requirements
When building a fitness home gym, consider the type of equipment you’ll use and how much space it would take up. The place must also have proper ventilation; basically, it must allow you to sweat without making the room smell. It must have adequate lighting if you want to read while exercising, privacy if you are into yoga and maybe with a TV set if you want to play your favorite aerobics video. Here are some considerations you should take note of when planning your gym’s space with regards to the types of equipment you will use:
- Bikes – allot about 10 sq. ft.
- Free Weights – about 20 to 50 sq. ft.
- Multi-Station Gym – approx. 50 to 200 sq. ft.
- Rowing Machines – about 20 sq. ft.
- Single-Station Gym – allot 35 sq. ft.
- Ski Machines – about 25 sq. ft.
- Stair Climbers – consider10 to 20 sq. ft.
- Treadmills – 30 sq. ft.
Tip #2 Choosing the right equipment
This is one of the most important decisions to make when building fitness home gyms. Since maintaining overall physical health will be your ultimate goal once you’ve trimmed down and toned your body, you should have the proper equipment to help you improve your strength, flexibility, and endurance.
Examples of home gym equipment and accessories that can be used for strength training include:
- Dumbbell Set
- Bench press
- Leg press
- Barbell Set for targeting different muscle groups
- Step Aerobic Step (doubles as a weight bench)
- Stability ball for core strength training and balance
- Weight bench
- Exercise mat
- Balance Trainer
- Ankle and wrist weights
- Multi-station weight machines
Examples of home gym equipment and accessories for stretching include:
- Floor mat
- Ab machines
- Multi-purpose bar
- Solo stretch
Examples of home gym equipment and accessories for endurance include:
- Treadmills
- Exercise bikes
- Elliptical trainers
- Rowing machines
- Stair steppers
Not all types of gym equipment are expensive. You should browse several fitness supplies stores and check their selections. Consider buying secondhand gym equipment as well if you are working with a tight budget.
Tip #3 Make the space motivational
When designing home gyms, you need to focus on making the place into another motivational factor as well. It is not easy to motivate yourself and exercise alone. That’s why you need to make the place inspiring rather than discouraging. It must provide you with the necessary entertainment as well. If you don’t notice the passage of time whenever you watch TV then you must make sure your home gym has a TV set and so forth!
Tip #4 Create a routine
On using fitness home gyms, creating a routine is very important. Choose the best time of the day to exercise. Stick to your schedule until your mind and body is used to exercising during that time of the day.
Tip #5 Eat Healthy
Building fitness home gyms does not exempt you from healthy eating. This common mistake is what prevents many people from reaching their weight goals even if they exercise faithfully. Exercise and diet always go hand in hand and building fitness home gyms to lose weight is no exception to the rule!
In conclusion, realizing the motivating factor in building a home gym, the space requirements, selecting the right home gym equipment, making your home gym more helpful in motivating your to continue working out, sticking to a workout schedule and incorporating proper nutrition will help greatly in making a home gym design not just deliver value to your house, but also help you make your fitness goals come true.
