When you think of your dream gym, what are the conveniences that you are looking for? It should be close by with a minimal commute. To fit your schedule, it should be open 7 days a week for 24 hours a day. Feeling comfortable while you are working out is very important, as is the price, which should be cheap or better yet… free! It may seem like a dream that will never exist, but in fact, you can find them by creating a home gym.
People all over the world have home gyms, both small and large. There’s no reason why you couldn’t have one for yourself in your home. The convenience and privacy are the number one factors that many people create theirs. You save time by not having to commute or wait for equipment at the gym and you save money by not paying a monthly membership.
Most assume that creating your own home gym is too impractical because of space or financial limitations. But you have the ability to decide how much or how little of your money and space are dedicated to your gym. A great idea is to take the amount of money you would spend on your gym membership for a year and invest that into your gym. One year from now, instead of continuing to throw money away with a membership, you will have a space of your own.
Whatever your personal home fitness level and needs may be, you can cater your home gym to match it. As your progress, get stronger or need a bigger challenge, you can acquire new pieces of equipment or heavier weights. In fact, you don’t need to buy a lot of equipment at first, just buy what you need right now. No matter what kind of gym you are looking to create, there are certain staples that most gyms will require.
A great starter item that is versatile and extremely compact is a resistance band. It is an effective alternative to dumbbells to get you started and help start shaping your body. Consider purchasing three bands of different elasticities to offer yourself enough variety for different body parts. For someone who travels often, this is also great for bringing with you on vacation to ensure you get your exercise in whenever you can.
At some point, you are going to need dumbbells if you want to start gaining muscles. There are mainly two different varieties of dumbbells to choose from. The first is weights that are of a set weight. You would need several pairs of these for varying workouts. The other option is a pair of adjustable dumbbells which can save a lot of space. The manual adjustable dumbbells require you to change the weights while automatic adjustable dumbbells allow you to change the weight by simply turning a knob or flipping a switch.
Many people will go out and get an exercise bench, but a better alternative would be an exercise ball. Swiss balls, as they are also called, are large inflatable balls that are generally used for core exercises. But, you can also use it for so many other purposes, such as replicating every exercise you would normally perform on an a weight bench. It makes the exercise more intense and works your core in addition to the muscle group you are targeting.
You may also want to think about items that you can use to add fitness to everyday activities. Jogging can be easily intensified by wearing a weight vest. To make a walk around the park a bigger exercise, get adjustable ankle weights or wrist weights to kick it up a notch.
William Douglas is a reporter focusing on fitness topics such as building home gyms, how to properly wear a wrist weight or how to wear gym machines.