You guys are going to love this girl and how she’s sharing How to Make a Home Gym. Everyone dreams of having their own home workout space!!I met Bonnie at a recent conference and fell in love with her smile. She agreed to share a bit of her passion with TCL readers by showing you all How To Make A Home Gym, your very own workout area by organizing your garage. If I wasn’t over 50, I’d probably be feeling guilty getting this post ready while dunking a peanut butter swig cookie into my large cup of creamy coffee.
Hello, I’m Bonnie from Carrot Bowl! I love to blog about healthy living: fitness, food, and living mindfully. I also love to interview random people about what their healthy lifestyle looks like. I think we all have a story to tell and it empowers us and others when we tell it. Today, I’m going to share how we kicked our cars out of the garage and turned it into our home gym. It’s been one of our best creative ideas yet!
Our home gym is one of the most used places in our house. I work out, instruct group training sessions, and do yoga, my husband works out, and our kids use it as a playland. They lift weights, build obstacle courses, run on the treadmill, and swing on the gymnastic rings and swing.
How to make a Home Gym
It’s taken us 2 years to thoughtfully choose and accumulate what we now have. Before this, my husband and I had thought about getting a gym membership but we were worried how much we’d use it. Between his work and my schedule with 3 young children, we wanted to get our money’s worth. I decided that I really wanted a treadmill. I love being a runner and that would help during the cold months and when getting out with kids just wasn’t possible. That’s where we started. We love what we have and it’s a fun journey to build it together.
How to make a Custom Home Gym
1) Know what you love.
Don’t get a treadmill if you hate running, don’t get a set of weights if you just want to bike, and don’t invest in flooring if your home gym is simply a couple things in a basket (basket gyms are totally legit to me). What do you want out of your space, time, and money? What do you love to do? What makes you feel strong and powerful?
2) Be creative.
Once you know what you want, shop around.
– Our workout bench is actually a tool bench we found at home depot.
– Look at garage sales for equipment like balance balls, weights, and kettle bells.
– I found a wholesale dealer on craigslist that we got our battle rope and gymnastic rings through.
– We mounted a pipe on our garage header beam to hang our rings and a kid swing – it can hold several hundred pounds just fine.
– Look for equipment in multiple places and compare prices to get the most for your money.
*You can see the cumulative list of equipment we have on Carrot Bowl.
(See How to Hang Gym Rings from a steel pipe.)
3) Know when to invest.
Some pieces of equipment are totally worth the expense. This said you don’t need the top-of-the-line-best-one-ever-made thing to have it be good. Mid-range prices are usually a good bet.
The treadmill was the most expensive single thing for us. But another example for us is the plyo box. It was the perfect Christmas gift from my husband this past year. It’s good for box jumps, step ups, as a bench, dips, to reach the pull-up bar, and sometimes my camera tripod holder for videoing workouts. I use it constantly so it was worth it for me. You’ll have to find those things for YOU.
(My training sessions with friends are awesome! I come up with a workout and help them through it.
These were pulled from my Instagram account @carrot_bowl_bonnie.)
4) Be patient.
Something that’s worth building takes time. This is worth building. When you feel strong physically, that strength goes to every other part of your life. Figure out what you really want and what equipment will get you there. Maybe you need to go to a gym outside of your house because of the atmosphere or classes. Maybe you need only a couple things at home. And then maybe you want to be the next American Ninja Warrior! Start with knowing your goals, get the tools to get you there, and then rock it!
I didn’t know what we have was what we’d get. It started small and has become something I’m passionate about and love to share.
5) Be willing to grow.
I didn’t know I’d be doing yoga when we began our Home Gym journey. Now it has been the perfect place for my practice. Yoga has filled my soul as well as challenged me physically.
I also didn’t know how much being strong through HIIT workouts and sweat sessions would give me confidence and the opportunity to share what I love with others.
Creating your home gym will inspire you on your own healthy living journey…but it will also inspire others. You rock! You are stronger than you think you are! You are powerful. I hope I have given you some great ideas for How to make a home gym you love. 🙂
What are your fitness goals?
Now you are on your way to a healthier you! These tips on how to make a home gym will help you decide what you really need.
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Sylvie says
What an awesome set up, love the gym rings!