If you’re one of the many people whose New Year resolution was to get fit by joining a gym, but you never got around to going to it, there’s another way you can keep that resolution without spending a lot of money on gym membership.
Why not set up your own home gym?
It’s easier than you think and to start with it won’t cost you a fortune. Identify a room or part of a room in your home to get set up for working out and then get it kitted out with equipment that you’ve identified will be best for what you want to achieve.
Follow these tips to get you on the highway to health.
Establish your goals
There’s no point throwing money at a range of equipment until you decide what you want to get from your home workouts. Whether it’s to build up your strength, lose fat, develop your muscles or increase your endurance through aerobic training, be clear about what you want to achieve.
There’s no reason to stick to one type of work out. Aerobic exercise such as cycling or running can be mixed with strength work and will give you a rounded series of different physical activities to improve your fitness and wellbeing.
Prepare your room
What equipment you choose will be somewhat dependent on the amount of space you have available. If you have a wood floor, you’ll need floor mats, especially if you are working with barbells, but you should use them too if you have a carpet as they will protect everything. Floor mats are also ideal for doing exercises that don’t use equipment, such as pushups, lunges, stretches, and sit-ups.
Make the room as light and airy as possible, making it much more conducive to encouraging you to work out regularly. Shutters can be a simple way to let in light while maintaining a degree of privacy, and they can be made to fit any shape of window. They’re easy to maintain, and many have adjustable slats, so you can let in as much or as little light as you choose.
Strength training
If you don’t have a lot of space available a set of adjustable dumbbells won’t take up much room and will give you plenty of options for a variety of exercises. You could include shoulder raises as well as heavier squats, and if you get a set with a steel tube that will enable you to turn the dumbbell into a barbell, you will have another range of exercise options from which to choose.
Add an adjustable bench, and you get even more options to develop your muscles and strength, using the bench for horizontal work such as a bench press or inclining it, so you attack from a different angle.
Aerobic work
One of the simplest – and cheapest – ways to give yourself a good aerobic workout is by using a skipping rope. Way back in the past you may remember skipping in the schoolyard, and it’s a great way to build up your strength and stamina. You don’t need a lot of space either, so it’s ideal if you are a little pushed for room.
As with any training make sure you pace yourself as you start off to avoid the possibility of injury. As your strength and endurance improves, you can up the intensity of your workouts.
Using a treadmill
A treadmill is the ideal piece of equipment if you enjoy walking and running. Treadmills don’t have to be expensive, so it depends on your budget how high end you want to go. Because you can set your treadmill workouts at different levels, you can go through longer and slower runs or increase the intensity for short bursts as you develop your stamina.
There’s nothing to stop you from running outdoors either, though in cold and icy weather the treadmill will still give you the exercise you want.
Rowing and cycling
As you build up your stamina and strength, you might want to look at other equipment or your home gym to further develop your exercise regime. A stationary bike will get the heart pumping and the legs straining, and you can adjust the resistance of the pedals to give you a tougher workout. With a rowing machine, you will be using arms and legs to give you both an aerobic and strengthening series of exercises.
Be persistent
A home gym is only as good as you make it. It’s easy to slack off so be persistent and try not to skip your sessions. You’ll feel all the better for it.
