10 Steps To Convert Your Garage Into A Home Gym

Having a home gym is a luxury, most people travel for hours per day and pay expensive monthly gym memberships. So it goes without saying if it was possible to bring the gym to your home then it’s an avenue most people would love to consider. It’s also evident that many homeowners have an old garage with lots of rubbish gathering dust. 

 

So why not convert that space from a rusty old garage into a bespoke home gym, cutting time and costs in the long run. Here’s ten steps to turning your old garage into a bespoke home gym;

 

1. Empty The Garage

First and foremost you are going to need to empty the space. Emptying the space will lead the way to the planning and installation of your home garage. It would be impossible and uncomfortable to work out surrounded by bits of old furniture and car parts. 

If the items in your garage cannot be sent to the landfill or donated to charity then you are likely going to either need a garden shed or a storage unit, which can offer 24 hour security and a safer environment to house your belongings. Either of the methods are suitable and a 35 square foot storage unit may cost you roughly the same amount as a monthly gym membership. No matter what storage solution you choose you are going to need to empty the garage.

 

2. Measure and Plan

 

Once your garage is empty you are going to want to measure the garage, by doing this you are going to be able to find out what space you have and what equipment you can fit in the space. Don’t forget you are going to want to keep your gym equipment fairly spaced out for safety reasons. Remember to mark spaces for;

 

• Weight rack
• The treadmill
• Mirrors
• Machinery
• Door ways
• Plug sockets

 

 Gym equipment is very heavy duty equipment and you want to make sure you’re able to safely manage the space. To plan you want to enter your measurements and plan your space using smartdraw. By finding the size of what equipment you need you can mark out spaced for each item. Make sure to remember placement for plug sockets as this will be a requirement for some pieces of equipment.

 

 

3. Clean the garage

If you have decided to proceed you will then want to give the garage a deep clean. Removing any bad odors and bacteria from the garage makes it a safe and clean environment to exercise in.

 

This will also help when painting and fitting the flooring in the home gym. It is important not to allow mould and rust to develop as it may damage the garage.

4. Decide What You Want

 

Everyone’s gym routines vary and they all have preferences for different machines and equipment. It is important to decide what parts of your workout routines you can cater to in your home gym. For example you may value squats or deadlifts and therefore will need to make space for that. Unless you have a large garage space you might not be able to fit all of the parts of your workout routine that you want into your garage. 

 

However, there are ways of saving space by finding real life alternatives for some equipment. If you cycle or run on machines in the gym then you can swap that out for an actual sprint and cycle around the local area.

5. Paint the walls

Once you have cleaned the garage you may want to paint the walls. This will give your gym a much better look and help keep some heat into the room. This is less important than other steps but you want your home gym to look the part and have the right atmosphere. 

 

Think about what your favourite gym looks like and find some examples online of other home gyms. You can even get vinyl stickers with your favourite motivational quotes made by companies online and put them on your gym wall to keep you motivated throughout your workout.

6. Find and Fit Suitable Floors

Ask any gym what their most important part of their gym build is they will likely say the floor. This is because it has to be water, impact and shock resistant to help support the equipment and your body. 

 

The most suitable floor would be a non skid, plastic puzzle flooring as it ticks all of the boxes. Fortunately it is very affordable and easily fitted to the floor. You just piece them together like a jigsaw puzzle and cut the corners into place.

 

7. Buy the Equipment

Now it’s planned, prepared and all ready to go. Now to buy the equipment. This should be fairly straight forward as you have already planned what machines and what equipment you need to suit your workout routines. The question is where do you get good quality equipment without paying over the odds. The fitness superstore can help you with the best equipment possible at a reasonable cost. Here’s some of the equipment you might want to put into your gym;

 

• Weight Rack – A must have for all gyms
• Weight Bench – Great for arms and chest
• Kettlebells – Great for squats
• Pull Up Bar – Great for chest and arms
• Skipping Rope – Great fun cardio alternative
• Weight Plates – For arms and back workouts
• Treadmill – The cardio king
• Medicine Ball – For posture and back
• Functional Trainer – For variety of exercises
• Rowing Machine – Great for full body resistance trainer
• Leg Press – Great for leg day
• Curling Bar – Great for chest and bicep workouts

 

8. Install the Equipment 

Now it’s time to install the equipment. Use power sockets to hook up the machines and make sure to cover wires with tape as to stop a tripping hazard. By using the plan you made earlier put together a space effective gym and make sure equipment isn’t too close together, you don’t want to cause an unwanted injury due to equipment placement.

 

When installing equipment such as a pull up bar you want to make sure it is properly installed as any sloppy work can cause a bad accident. If you need to then it is worth paying the extra money to get a professional to install it correctly.

 

9. Mirrors, Lighting and Entertainment

 

There are going to be some extra touches you want to install in your gym. Most importantly mirrors. This can often be perceived as ‘posing’ however mirrors are vital to making sure you have the correct form when lifting weights and doing different positions. Using mirrors you can make sure you are exercising correctly.

 

It is also important to install some heating. Although you are going to work up some heat when working out, you also want some external heating to stop bones and muscles from seizing up and reducing cramp.

 

There is also the element of entertainment. Although you may find that an iPhone with earphones may suffice, some people don’t like wearing earphones or carrying their phones in the gym. So instead you could look at installing a TV or some speakers in your home gym to allow you to enjoy the entertainment while working out without the distractions a phone can bring.

 

10. Enjoy your gym

The final and arguably most important step is to enjoy your new home gym. Follow some gym blogs or vlogs and find a great routine that you can stick to. There is some great information out there about how to work out using different techniques and machines that you can follow to help you make the most of your workout. Here are a few;

 

Video Bloggers

 

• Home Workouts playlist by Pamela Reif 
• Speed Sweat playlist by The Fitness Marshall
• Full Body Workouts by MadFit
• Outer Thigh Workouts by Dannys Workout

 

Written Blogs

 

• MyFitnessPal
• Jessi Kneeland
• NerdFitness
• Tony Gentilcore