CREATING YOUR DREAM HOME GYM

Discover how to build the perfect workout space with design tips, equipment considerations, lighting and everything in between.

Location, Location, LOCATION

Do you have an entire room to dedicate to your dream home gym, or will you be working on a partitioned section of a larger room? Will your home workouts be in the attic, basement, backyard or spare room? Make sure you put your home gym somewhere with a water source and/or a bathroom nearby.

What’s YOUR BUDGET?

A full room renovation project is going to cost you more than redesigning part of an existing space and converting it to a home gym. Ask yourself what exercises can you do without a gym? What are your non-fitness related goals when you undertake this project? What do you need to buy for your space and what is a nice-to-have? Dream home gym projects can run anywhere from $3,000 to $20,000. If this budget seems like a lot, just remember, you can build a home gym one step at a time and upgrade it in pieces to keep it economical.

Square Footage NECESSITIES

Once you know what types of exercises you plan to do in your home gym, it’s easier to understand your spacing requirements. Some general requirements indicate you need approximately 20 to 50 square feet for free weights or yoga mat work, and 50 to 200 square feet if you’re adding treadmills, additional workout stations or larger home workout accessories, such as steps, Pilates balls or a pull-up bar.

Electrical REQUIREMENTS

If you are planning on purchasing specific pieces of cardio equipment or other hardware requiring electricity, you need to make sure the room can support it and that you are aware of where the outlets are in the room before you spend too much time designing the space.

Flooring

If you are performing your home workout on an upper level of the house, you want to ensure you aren’t disturbing the rest of your family below you. If you are doing any indoor cardio without the use of a machine, you need to make sure the floor has good enough traction that you don’t slip and injure yourself. Whether you’re installing hardware and accessories or lifting free weights, you don’t want to damage the floors in your home, which are costly to repair. Horse stall mats, yoga mats or rubber flooring are all great options to avoid damaging your home while still being able to build a gym.

Air FLOW

Whether you work out at a designated facility or in your customized home gym, you’re probably going to sweat. Ventilation is another important design consideration when you build a gym. Consider your room’s airflow. Does the room have ceiling fans, or can they be installed? Is there a window that opens, granting you access to fresh, outdoor air? Do you want to add a small air purifier and air freshener to help with that familiar but unpleasant smell of dirty gym socks? Do you have room to include purifying plants in your home gym design?

Hardware

Pick your hardware carefully when you have limited space to allocate for your dream home gym. Do you want cardio machines or a squat rack? If you decide to purchase larger hardware, it will likely mean that you will have to do the rest of your gym design around this piece of equipment. Next, you want to consider smaller pieces of gear. A barbell is a good first choice to purchase — or free weights to ensure you’ve covered strength training. Next up, do you want steps, a BOSU or Pilates ball, a Kettle Bell, yoga mat or skipping rope? Design tip: pull-up bars and resistance bands can be installed in doorways to save you valuable space.

Accessories

Typically smaller than your larger gym equipment, it can be easier to incorporate smaller accessories into your overall home gym design. You should anticipate having somewhere to store towels, fingerless gloves, blocks and possibly a mini fridge. Will you incorporate a sound system or a TV? Do you need a small table or tray to put your water bottle during workouts?

Lighting

Generally, it’s harder to exercise in the winter because it’s dark and cold. When designing your home gym, keep lighting in mind. Whether you have the luxury of natural lights from big windows or can install overhead lighting, bright lighting and nice colors can help you feel motivated. Speaking of colors, are you looking to go with blacks and reds for a passionate and aggressive home workout routine, or pale relaxing blue and green shades to create the perfect ambiance for a yoga studio?

If you’ve decided to take on designing a home gym, check out the Cleveland Home + Remodeling Expo to get inspiration and speak with an expert.