Make Your Own Home Fitness Gym

Before you jump in and start purchasing a ton of equipment to make your home fitness gym, it is important to consider where you are building it.  An ideal location is in a garage or basement to keep it tucked away, but anywhere will do really.

Something important to consider is not damaging the floor of your workout room and in return also not damage your equipment.  If you are working out with a concrete floor and you accidentally drop a weight, it might chip or damage the floor, never mind if you are working out in a room with hardwood floors.  The damage may be irreversible.

Before any sorts of damage can occur, it is important to protect your flooring.  The best solution is to get rubber mats to cover the area of your home fitness gym.  They are typically sold in large black square mats which can be cut to fit or smaller multicolored pieces that resemble a jigsaw puzzle.  Their interlocking edges make for an even floor that protects what is underneath.

Another solution is to buy some plywood and layer two or three sheets on your floor and then cover with a nonslip carpet.  Both methods are effective for protecting the floor and for muffling the sound of weights hitting the ground.

This is so important to take care of before you get larger pieces of equipment and have to go through the hassle of moving them.  If your exercise area is in an easily visible area, I would definitely recommend going for the colored interweaving rubber mats.  They are the most aesthetically pleasing choice from the lot.  The floors are also great for aerobic exercises like jumping rope because it reduces the shock and pressure imparted on your knees.

With the basics taken care of and the floor protected, let’s start moving in some bigger multi gym equipment.

Depending on your goals, there are hundreds of options for creating a home fitness gym.  Variables such as how much you want to spend and how much room you have can reduce your options, but it can still be confusing to decide what is important and what is not.  No matter what kind of home gym you are looking to build, there are still certain items that everyone should have.

A mat is an essential item for several uses.  First, many people neglect to stretch before and after their workout, but it is such crucial component of a healthy lifestyle.  Yoga is a fantastic way to stretch your body and improve your flexibility and also requires a mat.

Balance balls, also known as exercise balls, are also a wonderful way to stretch, particularly your back.  They are also fantastic for several other home gym exercises.  Working your abdominal muscles is more effective when done on a balance ball.  Even exercises like shoulder presses and chest presses are more effective if you incorporate the balance ball as the item you are sitting on or laying on.

To do those kinds of exercises, there are a few other important items required so you aren’t just lifting air: weights.  To start, though, you may want to consider getting a few sets of resistance bands of different elasticities.  They are one of the most versatile gym exercise equipment you can get because there are so many different uses for them.  Attach to your door and you have a mini multi gym.  In addition, since they are so lightweight and compact, they make a great travel item to make sure you are keeping healthy on vacation and business trips.

The last absolutely required item are dumbbells.  Resistance bands are great for toning, but to build muscle you need to bring out the big guns.  The two schools of thought on this topic are set weight dumbbells or adjustable free weight dumbbells.  The former is a bit more costly and takes up more space, while the other is slightly cheaper but requires you to take the time to change the weights between exercises depending on your intended weight.

There are also incidentals that you will need to get to be prepared for your workout.  First, you must be dressed for success.  Few people take into account how important is is to wear proper workout clothes.  You want comfortable clothing that can absorb well.  Be sure to have plenty of towels around as well to keep yourself as sweat-free as possible.

Keep your fitness home gym smelling nice by placing an air freshener somewhere in the room.  Don’t forget the water bottle (not plastic if possible) and be sure to keep hydrated.

Once you have all of these items, you are ready to tackle some bigger items such as home exercise gyms and home gym machines.