Fitness is a huge part of so many people’s lives, and we are all looking for the best ways to stay in shape and keep fit and healthy. There are so many fully-equipped fitness centers and mega gyms that provide all kinds of machines, weights, and exercise classes that every health and fitness need is well catered for. Fitness is a big business, and some of the most popular branded gyms charge huge fees to their members.
The Covid-19 Pandemic has had so many terrible consequences, but one positive that arose from the situation is that people started trying out different home workout plans. What many people realized is that with just a little equipment, it is actually possible to get all the exercise you need without having to go to the gym. This saves enormous amounts of time and money and also makes it far easier to motivate yourself to work out after a busy day at work. As this trend has continued, more and more people are looking at creating their own gym at home.
To help everyone out there who is looking to do this, here are our expert tips for setting up your own home gym.
Buy the Best Equipment
To get the most out of your home gym, you will need to plan and purchase the right equipment to help you achieve your goals. You may be intimidated by the sheer amount of machines, benches, and weights that you have seen in the gym and wonder how you are ever going to find the space (and money) to bring all of that into your house.
The reality is, however, that much of that equipment is really superfluous, and for most people’s fitness needs, you can achieve your goals with just a few pieces of equipment. When you look at the best home gyms on GarageGymPower, you will see that many of their setups are based around just one key piece of multi-functional equipment. This usually involved a bench that is attached to other machines so that you can target all of the different muscle groups. A weights bench alone can enable you to hit all of your chest muscles, while a squat rack is the best piece of equipment for targeting your hamstrings and can also be used for back exercises like bent-over rows.
There are so many exercises that can be done with just free weights and don’t require any bench or rack at all. Deadlifts require only a barbell and weights and hit all the muscles in your legs whilst at the same time strengthening your core and back. That same barbell can be used for shoulder presses and shrugs which target the deltoids and will give you those cannonball shoulder muscles. Dumbbells are perhaps the most versatile of all weights and can be used to hit biceps, triceps, shoulder muscles, and even your legs with weighted lunges and dumbbell squats.
You can get six pack abs with no equipment at all just by doing crunches, planks, and other core exercises on the floor. If you find them uncomfortable then all you need to do is roll out a yoga mat or a thick blanket, and you will have the perfect padded surface. When you are finished, you can just slide everything under your bed so that it is out of sight and won’t get in the way when you are not exercising.
Choose the Right Room in Your Home
One major advantage of going to the gym is that all of the equipment is set up and ready to use in a custom-designed space. This enables you to do your workout uninterrupted with lots of space to operate in. Clearly, one downside of setting up a home gym, especially if you live in a small house or apartment, is that you may not have enough room for all of the equipment. In actual fact, it is possible to get a full workout without a lot of space-consuming weights and machines, and so, even the smallest space can be used for your home gym.
If you are fortunate to have a garage or a shed, these make perfect spaces for setting up your gym. Ultimately, you need enough room to perform your exercises without hindrance or obstacles. Set up a full-length mirror so that you can watch yourself while you exercise to check that you have good form and are performing every move correctly. If you have limited space in your house and don’t have a garage or shed, set your gym up in a room where you will be able to work out without bothering your family members or roommates. You can fit a weights bench in most decent sized bedrooms, and when you are done working out, you can simply put the weights away in your closet or under your bed. Setting up a home gym is all about making the most of the space you have, so plan carefully.
Identify Your Fitness Goals
We all have different fitness goals, and identifying yours will help you to plan more effective workouts and choose the right equipment. Some people are looking to lose weight, others to put on muscle, and others to just improve their all-round health and fitness. The trick when setting up a home gym is to identify which goals can be achieved without the use of any equipment at all to save space and minimize the amount of equipment required.
For example, if your main fitness goal is to lose weight and improve your cardiovascular health, the best way to do this is through lots of cardio exercises. In the gym, we tend to use the treadmills, rowing machines, and exercise bikes for our cardio workouts, but the great thing about cardio is that it really doesn’t require any equipment at all to get a great workout. Running, cycling and swimming are all excellent cardio exercises which you can do in the park or on the streets around your home.
This is ideal as it frees up space in your home gym for equipment, which you will need for your other fitness goals. Medical experts recommend that everyone does at least 30 minutes of medium level cardio three times a week to keep their cardiovascular systems healthy. A quick morning job around your neighborhood is the perfect way to stay in shape and wake you up in the morning.
Find Effective Workout Programs Online
One thing which you won’t have in your home gym, which a lot of people often rely on is a personal trainer to help design your exercise routine and help you with your form. Top personal trainers are a huge selling point for popular gyms, but it can cost a lot of money to train with them. Fortunately, there are so many excellent personal trainers and expert fitness trainers online who offer free routines that you can follow and which provide incredible results. Just search on YouTube and find the trainers with the most views, and you will be able to take advantage of their knowledge and expertise for free. There are some incredible yoga courses on YouTube like Yoga With Adriene, as well as some really effective home workouts that don’t require any equipment at all, like those offered by Chris Heria.
As you gain more experience with working out at home, you will be able to see what works for you and what doesn’t. This will enable you to make adjustments to the online workout plans so that they are hitting the muscle groups which you want to focus on and will provide better results. Fitness is a lifelong journey, and even the experts never stop learning. Working out at home provides you with the opportunity to try something new before you were too nervous to do in a group class or a gym full of people. Many people start yoga at home before they pluck up the courage to join a class, so experiment with different kinds of exercise and see what you enjoy.
Monitor Your Results
Fitness is a results-driven game, but knowing whether your results are positive or not is all about linking them to your goals and setting realistic targets. If you want to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger, it takes years and years of dedicated training, an extreme diet, and a huge amount of money spent on supplements and other performance enhancers. Do not get too hung up on your results day to day, just think about what you want to achieve, and turn up in your home gym every day to take one more step towards your goals.
There are various ways to monitor your results based on your goals, and all are easy to do. If, for example, your main goal is to lose weight, then all you need is an ordinary set of bathroom scales in order to see your progress. Keep a record each week with a long term goal that you want to achieve by a particular time. There is no real point in weighing yourself every day because our natural weight fluctuates depending on the time of day, what we have eaten, and how hydrated we are.
If you want to increase your strength, then a home gym is ideal because you will have completely free reign over the weights. One major downside of going to the gym to work out, especially if it is at a busy peak time, is that everyone there is vying to use the same equipment. When you are working out at home, you can keep a record of your personal bests and then add weight accordingly without having to wait for someone else to finish. This enables you to raise the weight of your lifts incrementally as it suits you to maximize your strength gains. Keep a record of your one-rep maximum lift as well as the number of sets and reps you did previously for each exercise and try and beat it the next time you are in the gym. Exercise is all about making progressive steps and so always stay consistent for the best results.
Focus On Your Home Diet
Along with personal trainers, another thing which professional gyms offer is a nutritionist who can advise you, and many gyms and fitness centers even have their own restaurant selling specifically designed food for different fitness goals. When you start working out at home, these services will no longer be available to you so you will have to take your fitness diet into your own hands. As with everything else, determining the right diet is all about identifying your goals and creating the right meals to help you achieve them.
In order to lose weight, for example, you will need to create a calorie deficit where you are eating fewer calories than you are burning off through exercise. This does not mean that you can just eat smaller amounts of unhealthy food, it means that you should plan balanced meals, with the right amount of protein, carbohydrates, and vegetables, but with less calorie content.
To build muscle, you will need to increase your protein intake as this is what muscle is made from, while at the same time increasing your overall calories in order to fuel your intense, heavy workouts. There are many macro calculators online which can tell you exactly how much of each kind of food you need to eat in order to hit your goals. They will factor in your age, height, weight, exercise routine, and goals, to create a customized nutrition plan, which, if followed correctly, can make all the difference to your progress.
A home gym is a perfect way to get an easy, hassle-free workout and save yourself time and money. Despite many people’s misconceptions, you do not need an enormous space or a huge amount of space to set up a gym, which will enable you to reach your fitness goals. Follow this easy guide, and start working out from the comfort of your home today!