If you enjoy doing house projects and modifications, then you’ll enjoy transforming your garage into a home gym. After all, convenience is one of the most important factors in maintaining a consistent workout schedule. You’re less likely to miss leg day when you have a squat rack in your garage.
Here are some tips on how to turn your garage into a functional home gym on a budget.
Take A Weekend
In between decluttering, painting the walls, and installing the new equipment and flooring, expect this to be a 2 to 3-day exercise-with help! So, dedicate an entire weekend to building your DIY garage gym and ask friends and/or family members for help. The more hands, the better.
Make sure to clear out your garage so that it’s not cluttered when it’s time to put in your new gym equipment and order everything beforehand so that all you need to do is install it come D-day.
Decide On Equipment
Next, determine what you need to put in your gym. You want your gym to have everything you need to work out every body part. You may not be able to fit in an abductor machine or a smith machine but you can still get affordable and versatile equipment that can target every body part.
Gym equipment is non-expensive especially if you buy it used and focus on a few key pieces that you need.
This includes a folding squat rack that will have everything you need for your barbell workouts including front squats, back squats, bench presses, and bent over rows. The number of exercise routines that you can do on a squat rack is endless.
For your cardio, all you need is a speed rope. Kettlebells are extremely versatile and it’s great to have one medium weight for the presses and one heavy one for kettlebell swings.
An ab mat is nice to have to support your lower back and really extend the abs when doing full sit-ups. An ab roller is another long-lasting, multi-purpose, and affordable piece of workout equipment.
You can also get an exercise ball for pilates, yoga, and core workouts. Fitness bands and resistance bands are a great addition too.
Floor Mats
Working out on concrete is not the safest thing to do for your feet so you want to put foam mats on the ground which are easy to install.
Good quality 4 x 6 mats can be found at tractor supply stalls that supply horse stall mats. It’s the cheapest place to find floor mats for your gym. Make sure to go on Black Friday because they usually have great deals at that time of year.
Floor stall mats come in 4×3 or 4×6, but we recommend the 4×6 version if you want to get more bang for your buck. They’re ¾ of an inch thick, made from full rubber, and very durable.
You can also get them at a farming supply stall if you have one nearby. You’ll probably be able to only fit about 3 mats in your truck at a time so expect to make multiple trips.
Elevate Storage
Once you have a majority of the equipment in place, you should lift what you can off the floor, especially if it doesn’t have to be there.
Use a yoga mat wall holder to elevate your yoga mats and free up more floor space, and get a battle rope holder so that your battle ropes aren’t just sitting in a pile on the floor.
If you have skateboards, use a skateboard shelf for your skateboards.
Extra Tip!
- Paint a chalkboard on a section of one wall to write workouts instead of flipping through workout pages or looking for new workout videos all the time.
If you’re tired of missing the gym or don’t feel comfortable going under the current circumstances, use these tips to build your own home gym using the space you already have in your garage. It’s a fulfilling DIY build and a great way to pass the weekend.
