Creating the perfect home gym can be a fun and exciting project but people often make avoidable mistakes early on in the planning stages. Here we cover the top 9 mistakes people make and how to avoid them.
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Having a gym in your home comes with so many benefits. No commute involved, no waiting to use equipment and no expensive monthly membership fees.
But if you don’t consider some key points, it can turn into a bigger, more expensive task than you ever anticipated.
Here are the top 9 mistakes people make and how to avoid them.
1. Choosing an upstairs space
The most important thing to do – before you do anything – is to choose a sensible space for your gym.
Setting up your gym on the ground floor is the most practical choice for a variety of reasons.
- Firstly, lugging all the heavy equipment upstairs is less than convenient.
- Secondly, there’s the noise level – all those pounding footsteps on the treadmill won’t be welcomed by anyone sitting in the room below or potentially your neighbours!
An upstairs room may be your only option, but if you are able to use a ground floor space, it is strongly advised!
2. Overestimating the space you have
One of the most common mistakes people make is ordering a long list of their ideal gym equipment, only to find they can’t fit it all into their space!
Carefully measuring your space is key. Measure and measure again!
Once you know the measurements, write a list of gym equipment you’d ideally want to include and consider which items will fit best.
Although you may not be able to include everything you want, ensure you manage to incorporate items you will be motivated to use.
3. Forgetting to set a budget
A home gym doesn’t have to break the bank but knowing your budget helps you prioritise what to buy first and what to save for a later time.
You may want to splash out on a top-of-the-range rowing machine but if that completely blows your budget, you’ll end up with a very bare gym!
To understand how best to spend your money, come up with a list of equipment with everything you’d like to include in your home gym.
Next, whittle it down to items that are a priority for you and your fitness goals. This is a helpful way to make sure you don’t buy unnecessary things that you’ll never end up using.
4. Ignoring airflow
When planning your home gym, airflow isn’t usually something people have thought about. However, a poorly ventilated gym space can result in a range of problems.
As you sweat, moisture and humidity create a breeding ground for bacteria and viruses to thrive on your equipment. Yuk!
The result? Skin rashes, infections and even shortness of breath from a build-up of CO2. Also, sweat plus poor ventilation creates a room of unpleasant smells that you definitely want to avoid!
If you’re able to find a space with plenty of windows to open, that’s going to be incredibly beneficial.
Failing that, investing in a good quality air-conditioning unit will not only make your workouts more comfortable but also helps move air around and lowers the humidity.
5. Unsuitable lighting
The most popular spaces for setting up a home gym are in a garage or basement. As great as these options are, the downside is they tend to be dark spaces with little natural light. Power lifts or pounding the treadmill aren’t effective if you can’t properly see what you’re doing!
Decent lighting is something to think about, regardless of the space you choose.
Having a well-lit gym improves your workout as you can actually see what you’re doing, as well as making it safer compared to a dim, dingy space.
6. Cheap gym flooring
Putting your fantastic new gym equipment on a concrete floor is the quickest way to damage your new items. It’s always tempting to try and save money by ignoring proper gym flooring but in the long run, it will cost you more to replace damaged gym equipment.
Quality rubber or hard foam gym flooring will ensure your equipment stands sturdily and balanced so you can use them correctly and effectively.
These types of flooring are also fantastic at absorbing noise when dropping weights, as well as offering more support to your ankles and knees as you exercise.
7. Not including a mirror
When thinking of commercial gyms, you can picture mirrors on pretty much every wall. But using mirrors in your home gym doesn’t mean you need to go overboard.
Having at least one long-length mirror allows you to keep a check on your form as you carry out various exercises.
Unlike classes or PT sessions, there’s no one there to watch and support you, so a mirror helps you correct your form so you can lift & exercise safely.
There’s also the added bonus of mirrors making your gym space look bigger too!
8. Ignoring storage solutions
Tidy house: tidy mind!
The same applies to a home gym!
A clutter-free workout space can make your home gym feel bigger, safer and more pleasant to be in.
Hanging heavy-duty items from hangers is a smart way to utilise your wall space.
Vertical storage such as tiered racks allows you to store dumbbells by size which means they look organised and are quick to grab.
Use baskets to store foam rollers, mats and blocks and hooks are ideal for resistance bands or ropes.
9. Buying cheap or wrong equipment
You’re so excited to set up your home gym that you want it to be perfect from the get-go. But buying every bit of equipment known to man will clutter up your space, with most of it ending up being unused and sitting dusty in a corner.
Take the time to really think about what you need and what is most important to you and your fitness goals in the immediate future.
Keep it simple in the beginning and build from there. This way, you surround yourself with equipment that motivates you and makes you feel better about your wallet!
Also, buying cheap often means buying twice!
You really really do get what you pay for when it comes to gym equipment. Cheap equipment never lasts long and isn’t always a safe option either.
Of course, it doesn’t mean only the most expensive items are the best, but opting for the cheapest things may mean you buy twice in the long run.
Take a moment to think about all the things you want to do with this equipment: you pound the treadmill, you throw and drop your weights around, you smack heavy slam balls to the ground. Cheap equipment doesn’t stand a chance here.
Investing in good quality home gym equipment will usually guarantee that they will last for a long time and are more comfortable to use.
Conclusion
Building your dream gym can seem overwhelming when your first start planning it – there’s so much to consider and much money to be spent. But having a plan and a strategy for what you want to include in your space is vital.
If you need some help building your dream home gym, Greenbank Gyms experienced team are specialists in creating bespoke gym solutions for clients across the UK. Get in touch with them now to turn that dream Gym into a reality. Get in touch.
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