Home Gyms – Best Way To Stick to Your NYR

A little while ago we did a post on home gyms vs. health clubs and the pros and cons to each. Now that we’re starting to be able to gauge the early results of our New Year’s resolutions we wanted to re-visit as “get in shape/get healthy” was once again listed as the most popular NYR, and working out at home could go a long way to accomplishing that but if you’re going to make the investment of time and money, we want to help you do it the right way.

There have been some great articles/blogs/threads recently on home gyms and I’m from the camp that you can never have TOO much information just make sure you understand the source and if they have a vested interest in steering you one way or another. For instance I just read a great article by a former Mr. Olympia on his insights into home gyms that had some very good information but I couldn’t disagree more when he stated that you should pay an expert to come out and design your home gym. To me that’s a substantial amount of overkill. You know what your goals are, with that in mind you can go to any fitness retailer and have them suggest the best equipment to suit your objectives. Moreover, you know how much space you have available in your home, condo, or apartment and most importantly your budget. Of course this former Mr. Olympia suggested to hire a “gym designer” because that is his new vocation.

Now you have your space carved out and somewhat of a budget in mind, so where should you begin? Firstly, don’t be concerned if you have to build your gym slowly, it may take some time. For those of you that have gym dues that are a little more expensive you could almost purchase a piece of equipment every couple of months for the same cost and within a year your home gym could be tailor made to you and for that reason, could be better than the nicest Equinox. So here are some tips that can help you build a facility at home that you can be proud of and never set foot in a fitness studio again.

Make the most of your space by adding a resistance band machine (ie; Bowflex). You can a get the equivalent of a 12-piece free weight set and take up a few square feet. You don’t need a big expensive machine or apparatus if you’re not in competition. Keep in mind any 10 X 12 space should suffice for a legitimate home gym and a $1,200 budget should be good enough to put together a great home gym. Make it your domain, your music, your sports events, your escape. If it’s comfortable, you’ll spend time there and two or three times a week for at least an hour per session will yield you the results you’re looking for. Get a comfortable mat so you can get on the ground for some crunches or lunches and if possible get a weight rack or wall mounts ( a lot more infrastructure work required) to save floor space.

We will beginning a series on home workouts starting soon. They will be videos you can pull up anytime to walk you though a solid, consistent workout that yield results but simple enough that you can fit it in to your busy schedule. Let’s go work and check off that box on your Resolution List.