Wondering how your New Year resolution of tracking back to a fitter life will come true with the Corona Virus pandemic still at large? Although going to the gym will be a risk or not a possibility anytime soon, and people spending more time inside their houses, the concept of fitness in the garage gym is finally gaining the utmost momentum. From CrossFit machine to strength and resistance training, your garage will become your new fitness assistance if you plan it adequately.
Featuring a Home Garage Gym
With this step by step guide about some of the best garage gym ideas, you won’t ever have to renew your gym membership again.
- Flooring – The flooring becomes an essential aspect of a home gym because your concrete floor is not capable of absorbing the shocks of a high-intensity workout resulting in joint and muscle pains in the long-term. So do not take this point lightly and prefer a durable new flooring option to be resurfaced over the concrete. Some of the most popular choices include carpet tiles, rubber, foam, and epoxy.
- Storage space optimization – Due to the lack of spacing in a garage, you need to priorly plan how to optimize the space to fit all your machines and fitness instruments. Remember to keep the flooring as uncluttered as possible to avoid any accidents. You can add extra shelves or pegboards on walls and ceilings to store all your smaller fitness equipment like resistance bands, foam rollers, and others.
- Lights, music, mirrors – While these might seem unnecessary at first, if you want your garage gym to possess the aura, ambiance, and motivation of your conventional gym, investing in lighting and a music player to perk up your exercise regime is indeed obliged. Good LED’s, full-length mirrors, heaters, and insulations are not typically pricey but will help ensure that your exercise regime stays at its best.
- Equipment – Although pretty obvious, a lack of proper planning in this one is where most people end up spending too much. When it comes to selecting your garage gym equipment, you need to figure out and shortlist the ones which suit your fitness needs and goals most suitably. Ensure that you have an appropriate combination of cardio and weight training equipment for a complete workout session.
Basic Garage Gym Equipment
Setting up a home gym is not fun when your budget for the equipment skyrockets too far out of your control. Take your time and plan this step properly with the list provided below. Observe which of these machines you have regularly used in your gym before and then invest in the suitable options.
- Weightlifting barbell – It is perfect for full-body compound movements like squats, deadlifts, lunges, overhead press, and bench press. The American Council on Exercise claims that barbell workouts, even once a week, effectively target large muscle groups and help stimulate functional movements.
- Squat rack with attached pull-up bar – These are wall-mounted for additional support and can hold a high amount of weight. It is essentially a one-stop equipment that can help you lift heavier and train both your upper and lower body.
- Power rack – Power racks play the role of your spotter or partner from the gym. It offers additional support and assistance when you lift heavy, helps avoid injuries, and excessive strain on your muscles. It also ensures you perform any weighted exercises with the correct form.
- Weight bar – It is a long barbell with weights attached to it for powerlifting, weight lifting, and bodybuilding. This single piece of equipment works exceedingly well for your upper body, lower body, and core exercises and hence finds a place in our list of home gym equipment.
- Weight plates – Most people buy these as a complete collection of the variant weights to progressively overload their workouts. The heavier you lift, the more your muscles strengthen.
- Olympic barbell – For all those who love CrossFit, the Olympic barbell becomes a crucial addition to their garage gym. These have a 2-inch diameter that supports weights and bumper plates.
- Weight bench – This versatile piece of equipment is great for bench presses, tricep dips, inclined bicep curls, back exercises, and much more.
- Gymnastic rings – You can hang these durable rings made with heavy-duty straps to your sturdy pull up bar or the ceiling. Great for Bulgarian pull-ups, ring dips, ring handstands, etc.
- Kettlebells & dumbbells – These two will hands-down be the most basic, conventional, yet highly significant additions to your home gym due to their ability to support and modify any workout regime.
- Squat Box -Also known as Plyometric Jump Box, a squat box is another CrossFit essential. From step-ups, squats, and most of the jump exercises, you can rely on these durable and sturdy boxes to hold your weight and assist your stability and mobility workouts.
Now that you are all set to step-up your fitness routine, have no shame in asking for guidance from trainers via their online sessions to add the final touches. Consider home gym safety tips and most importantly, schedule rest days because your body deserves those too.
Author Bio:
Sancket Kamdar, a certified weightlifting coach, and a successful entrepreneur founded SF HealthTech with a single goal in mind – to bring high quality, international standard exercise equipment to help fitness enthusiasts and athletes reach the next level of fitness. When he’s not working on new equipment ideas and designs, he loves to create educational content about health, fitness, nutrition, and wellness. He also writes to help budding entrepreneurs on running and growing a business, based on his experience.