When you lead a busy life but want to be healthy, going to the gym can become a privilege that doesn’t fit into your day easily.

When you add the price of a membership to the mix (and your workout gear!) exercising can be expensive. Instead of ditching the workouts altogether, consider building your own home gym. This will give you an opportunity to work out as often as you can and you won’t have to spend a fortune on costly gym memberships.

Plan ahead

First things first: you need to measure the space you intend to use as your gym. To know what equipment to buy, you need to see how much space for storing it you actually have. Measure everything carefully, and when you head out to equipment shopping, take the measurements with you. If your space is small, you probably won’t be able to bring in a lot of bulky and big machines and equipment. Also, think about whether you’re going to need any machines that use electricity and pay attention to the number of outlets in the room because this will affect your overall layout (if you don’t want to be tripping over potentially dangerous extension cords).

Write down your goals

Another thing you need to think about in advance is what kind of workout you will be doing. Think about what you’re trying to achieve and write down your goals. Are you trying to bulk up? Lose weight? Become stronger? Knowing these things will help you decide what kind of exercise equipment you should buy and what kind of workouts will be best for you. Organise your goals by exercise type and see how hard you plan to work on your endurance, balance, strength, etc. Those who want to build muscle probably won’t benefit much from a treadmill, while those who are preparing for a marathon won’t use heavy weights as much.

Aim for versatility

If you’re worried about the expense of this project as well as about the size of the space of your gym, you might want to use equipment which is affordable but also versatile. Everyone knows that high-class workout machines can be very expensive, so why buy several when you can buy a single one and improvise a bit? Buy a machine that’s versatile and use inexpensive equipment for the rest such as:

an exercise ball
small weights
a pull-up bar
resistance bands

You can complete a full-intensity cardio workout without using any equipment, while for Pilates and yoga you only need your body and a foam mat.

Think of the details

You might think that getting the best equipment is the only thing you need in order for your home gym to be perfect, but it’s not the case. You should think about the little things too:

is the space secluded enough for you not to be interrupted when you’re working out?
is your carpet soft enough for you to use or would it be better to throw it out and use padded flooring instead?

Think about the atmosphere you’re aiming for and bring in a stereo or even a TV so that you can watch instructional videos and play music while you’re working out. It’s also a good idea to get a big mirror so that you can see yourself and notice if there’s anything about your technique you should improve.

If you thought preparing your home gym was the hard part, in reality, the most difficult thing will be actually motivating yourself to use the space after you’ve set it up.

We suggest using motivational videos and music, stick to a workout plan or simply invite a friend over to work out with you – this will make boring and exhausting workout sessions much more enjoyable for sure.

Do you have any tips for designing your own home gym? Let us know in the comments below.