Introduction
There’s no denying that joining an established gym can have its fair share of benefits. For one, it’s a space for exercising, and that’s it.
There are very few distractions in a gym, and that can be a huge help when you’re trying to put in your time and get on with your life.
Many gyms also offer personal trainer services and group classes, which can be motivating for many people.
Some gyms even offer luxurious spa amenities that you enjoy after a long hard workout.
But gym memberships can also be incredibly expensive, putting them out of reach for many people, especially if they happen to be living check-to-check.
So what’s the solution? Well, you can try to find a gym in your area that offers lower membership rates, but such a gym may be far from your home, making visits an inconvenience.
Another potential solution is to set up your own home gym with a few basic pieces of equipment.
And although many of the equipment listed below has a generally small footprint, you’ll still a bit of dedicated space in your home where you can store them.
This article will explore how to create the best home gym for a small space.
It will require a bit of financial investment at first, but if you use your home gym consistently, then you can stand to save a significant amount of money on gym membership fees.
It’s also never a bad idea to get into running as a means of daily exercise as well.
Contents
Free Weights
Free weights are a basic element of just about any exercise routine. You should try to find weight amounts that fit your current abilities.
You may also want to consider buying an adjustable mini-barbell which can be altered using little weight plates.
Many trainers recommend buying a barbell system for personal use in your home, but since we’re focusing on how to create a home gym in a relatively small space, a barbell system is a bit unnecessary for most people.
Jump Rope
If you’re trying to build a personal gym in a small living space, then you probably won’t have room for a full treadmill.
But cardio is still a major component of leading a healthy lifestyle. So what’s the fix?
You can try running in your neighborhood, but if you live in a city, then running can be difficult or even dangerous at times.
Jump ropes are inexpensive and they allow you to get a cardio workout while simply jumping in place.
The most important concern while using a jump rope is that you have plenty of clearance around you so that the rope doesn’t hit anything in your home.
Medicine Ball
A medicine ball can help you take advantage of a large number of abdominal and leg exercises that you can perform in the comfort of your own home.
They’re safer for these exercises than free weights, although the two are fairly similar in design and purpose.
Like free weights, medicine balls come in a variety of different weights and typically feature a handle at the top to make it easy to use.
Yoga Mat
Yoga mats aren’t just for yoga. They can be a great way to give you a nice soft yet supportive place where you can engage in many different exercises.
For one, yoga mats are great for abdominal exercises that require you to lay on the floor, such as sit-ups.
And since they roll up easily and be stored just about anywhere, they won’t get in the way of your normal daily activities.
They also travel well, in case you’d like to get some exercise outdoors.
And if you’ve never really committed to yoga before, now if your chance. It’s a great way to stretch and relax. And with the number of instructional videos online, you’ll never even have to visit a real class.
Pull-Up Bar
A pull-up bar can help you unlock a number of strength-training exercises that will get you in better shape in a matter of weeks.
Pull-up bars are typically inexpensive and are designed to fit in most common door frames. All you need to do is screw in the mounting hardware and rest the bar itself on those supports.
Best of all, when you’re not using it, you probably won’t even notice it’s there since it makes use of space that doesn’t have any other real purpose in your home.
If you find that the texture of the pull-up bar is irritating your skin, then you may consider buying some exercise gloves which will give you a much better grip, allowing you to focus on what really matters.
Music
One advantage a home gym has over just about any established gym is that you get to pick the music.
Listening to your music won’t actually make you any stronger, but it will motivate you to go through your workout routine with gusto.
And nowadays, you don’t need to spend a lot of money to get yourself a decent stereo system, even if it just consists of a couple of computer speakers.
Optional: Exercise Bike
An exercise bike doesn’t quite meet our criteria for creating a home gym in a small space, but it’s still worth mentioning.
As with running, trying to bike for exercise in a city or any dense community can make for a real challenge.
And while it’s true that many exercise bikes can be large and unwieldy, there are also a few options for exercise bikes that fold down to make them much easier to store.
And here’s the real benefit of using an exercise bike in your home: you can do other things while cycling.
Unlike weight lifting or abdominal exercises, riding an exercise bike doesn’t require your full attention. You can ride it while watching TV, playing video games, or even while reading a book you’ve been meaning to get to.
Before ordering one for yourself, just make sure that you have plenty of room for it, and that you’ll commit to using it on a regular basis.
Anything less and you’ll likely want to get rid of it after just a few weeks.
