How to build a home gym

HOW TO BUILD A HOME GYM

By Gavin Deriu

Background:

It’s great to be fit! We all know the benefits, but sometimes it’s hard to get motivated to work out, or to drag yourself all the way to a gym and pay the pricey membership fees. The solution? Make yourself a cheap, super conveniently-located home gym! I did this myself about 2 years ago and it has been an awesome investment. You don’t have to go all-out like I did, but here are some basic steps to create a home gym of your own...

STEP 1:

You’ll need a designated workout area at least the size of a small single bedroom. It could be in your spare garage, in the basement, or a spare room. Just make sure the floor is solid and flat (preferably a concrete base) because you may be picking up and dropping heavy weights.

For me, the area I chose was an empty L-shaped concrete/brick room underneath my house. I gave the walls a paint and sprayed the timber-beamed roof in black.

STEP 2:

It’s a really good idea to have some kind of rubber matting on the floor. I used rubbery square tiles that fit together like jig-saw puzzle pieces, bought from Bunnings. They’re great because they’re cheap and you can cut them down to fit the shape of your room or any steps/contours (see the picture below). They’re hard enough that you can walk on them without it affecting your balance, but soft enough to absorb any heavy impacts from dropping weights, and they’re comfortable to lie down on when doing sit-ups and ground exercises.

STEP 3:

There are a few other gym essentials that you’ll need for your workout area, such as mirrors. Not because you love yourself and want to be able to see yourself flexing, but rather because weight training requires good form and technique, and being able to see yourself doing an exercise means you can make sure you’re doing it right.

Full-length mirrors can be bought from Bunnings or even places like Target, but if you’re on a budget try searching eBay and Gumtree for old mirrors that you can buy for next to nothing.

STEP 4:

It’s also a good idea to have a cabinet or some shelving somewhere in your gym. You may not be as OCD-affected as me, so neat and tidiness might not be an issue for you, but in any event it means you can store small gym bits and pieces in one place so that they’re not lying around on the floor being a tripping hazard. Things I keep there include:

-          Hand clamps

-          Boxing gloves

-          Gym towels

-          Drink bottles

-          Cable extensions and handles for the gym equipment (we’ll get to that later)

-          A small stereo (essential – music makes training much more enjoyable)

STEP 5:

OK, now it is time to get yourself some necessary gym EQUIPMENT. The first and most basic things you’ll need are some dumbbells, a barbell and a flat bench. With these (and some weights) you can do a huge amount of chest, back, arm, shoulder and core exercises.

In this photo you’ll see two dumbbells in the foreground, and on the wall is a barbell (below) and an Ezy-bar barbell (above).

STEP 6:

The second piece of equipment you’ll need is some kind of all-in-one training station. Below you’ll see a picture of one I picked up second hand for under $200. It consists of a bench that you can incline/decline, a barbell bench press, a squat rack, and some hinged arms that you can use to do leg exercises.

A training station like this is great because it’s so versatile. Note that you may have to dismantle it to fit it through your gym door as I had to do. But it’s a piece of cake to put it back together.

STEP 7:

The third wave of equipment that you should consider for your home gym includes a dip bar, a pull-up bar and a ceiling bar. These are great, especially if you prefer to do body-weight exercises. Make sure they are VERY FIRMLY secured into your wall/ceiling though, because they’ll be carrying your whole body weight and possibly more.

STEP 8:

A fourth piece of equipment that comes in handy is a cable set. This isn’t essential, but it’s good to get some variety in your workouts and cable pulling exercises provide just that. Once again, make sure it’s secured into the wall and floor so that it doesn’t fall on you!

STEP 9:

I know what you’re thinking – hey, where’s all the cardio equipment? Where are the treadmills, the rowing machines, the stepping machines? Well they’re not here because they’re damn expensive, and chances are they’ll use up too much precious space in your home gym anyway.

I’ve always been of the opinion that if you want to go for a walk, a run, or a bike ride, you should just go outside where you have a whole world to walk/run/ride through. Don’t coup yourself up inside! What if it’s raining? Well if you really must, buy a cheap exercise bike like I did. If nothing else, it’s good for warm ups and warm downs. An even better cardio idea is to buy a punching bag and some boxing gloves, and punch/kick/elbow/knee your way to fitness.

STEP 10:

Now you have your gym room all set up and you have the necessary equipment, it’s time for the finishing touches. First, you MUST hang a macho-bodybuilder photo up on the wall. Most people go with Schwarzenegger, but I went with this signed picture of his close mate Franco Columbu. What a beast!

You also need a sign for the door to let people know that this is in fact a designated gym area, and not just any kind of room.  Something like this (below) will suffice and is also a bit of a laugh...

Now you’re ready to go – good luck and be safe! Remember if you’re training alone, always use a safety rack to ensure you won’t be crushed by a set of weights, or do as I did and secure some strong hooks to the ceiling so that you can rig up the weights and prevent them from dropping completely. Enjoy the convenience of having your own home gym!