Setting Up A Home Gym

A man’s home is his castle. This basically means that we can do whatever we want when we’re on our own turf. But is a man’s gym his castle too? When we’re working out and putting our bodies to the test, we need to feel free to really go for it. Whether you like to lift heavy weights, run on a treadmill, or lay on a mat and do crunches, there are times when you’re gonna look bad, make noise, even fail. That’s all a normal part of challenging yourself to be more. But we don’t always feel comfortable really going for it in front of others. For this reason, a lot of people like to set up a small gym at their house. This can be an incredible way to encourage yourself to train hard, especially if you are feeling a little self-conscious.

Here are the obvious benefits to a home gym. Firstly, it never closes! You can work out at any time of day or night, for as long or as short as you want, even if it’s a holiday.

There’s nothing worse than packing up your gym bag and driving into town only to find that your gym is closed today because of a bank holiday you didn’t know about. At a home gym, you get to control all of the conditions. You can make it as loud or quiet as you want, play the music you like, open all the windows or pull down the shades. You’ll never have to ask the management to turn the air conditioning down. You’ll never have to wait your turn to use equipment. And if you have trouble performing an exercise, no one will be there to see you when you have to pause and look up the proper form online. And guess what, home gyms don’t charge monthly dues!

Of course, a home gym does come with some challenges. First of all, you need enough space. You don’t have to live in a mansion – I’ve seen great home gyms in the corner of an apartment living room. But you should have some dedicated space where you can leave your equipment. There should be enough room to lay out a yoga mat, and enough ceiling height to allow you to jump if need be. Hopefully, your flooring can withstand a beating – as in dropping heavy weights after a rep. Basically, you need enough room to stretch your body in all directions without bumping into a sofa. An unused garage is perfect.

Now, you have to provide the equipment. The basic home gym really only needs a few essentials to be viable – a starter set of hand dumbbells ranging from 10 to 50 pounds, a workout bench with variable heights, and a barbell rack with removable weights from 5 to 45 pounds. Add a couple of mats and a medicine ball and you’re all set, ready to tackle just about any training. Don’t forget the most important thing – your O2 Trainer. Building a home gym is all about maximizing your space and efforts, and that’s what the tiny O2 Trainer is all about. By incorporating this little guy into your workouts, you add a powerful pulmonary and circulatory challenge into your routine – and it won’t cost you any floor space! I installed a little shelf in my home gym next to the weights, to store water, a fresh towel, a stopwatch, a small pair of speakers, and my O2 Trainer. Now that’s a home gym that’s complete!