SPACE SAVING HOME GYM IDEAS

Building your very own garage gym will not only save thousands of dollars in gym membership fees, but it will also make up for a convenient place to work out. But, keeping your stuff out of your garage gym is easier said than done. Just because you’ve stacked all the equipment for your garage gym doesn’t mean all the stuff that was in the garage has to go inside. If you’re a serious fitness enthusiast, you’d probably want 100% of the space dedicated to your gym equipment, but unfortunately, it’s not that easy as it seems. A Space saving home gym always becomes the issue when it comes to garage gyms.

Don’t worry! You’re not alone. We’ve got you all covered. We can help you organize in such a way that your garage looks more like a gym. Organization and storage are your two main priorities at this point. Remember, you have to take care of two things – first the materials those are already in your garage and have to stay in the garage; and second, it has to be well organized as well. Of course, throwing your dumbbells and weight plates all over the floor won’t help; they need to be organized.

SPACE SAVING HOME GYM IDEAS

PUT UP A GARAGE SALE

Getting rid of stuff is always an option, but if you have a lot of stuff that you want to keep, you’ll have to get creative with your organization skills. If you want to go with option one, have your stuff put up for auction in a garage sale. This covers two things for you – first, you get an ample amount of space for your garage gym; and second, a garage sale will help you pay for your gym equipment.

GET RID OF GIANT MACHINES

Try not getting giant machines for your gym as they occupy a lot of space and are difficult to move around. One more thing, these giant machines are uni-taskers which mean they are built to perform a single type of exercise, and so, their usefulness becomes a liability. In big commercial gyms, they have space dedicated to it. But for you, a small piece of equipment that can perform multiple exercises is much more valuable.

GET CREATIVE

If you want to keep your garage stuff, we recommend dedicating one side of the space for garage items and one side for gym equipment. Bottom line here is you don’t need an entire floor, but you surely need a dedicated section of your garage for lifting weights because that’s the one area you don’t want to compromise on. Get creative with your skills and keep it organized. Doesn’t matter how you do it; just make sure there’s ample amount of space for you to workout.

HANG STORAGE CONTAINERS

Hang the storage containers from the ceiling to keep the rarely used items out of the way. You can install hanging storage either on the opposite side where you intend to keep your gym equipment or the side where the garage stuff is kept. There are a plenty of hardware stores that sell all kinds of space saving, hanging storage options, but if you’re on a budget or want to make it look fancy, you might want to consider other options such as custom fit hanging storage.

BUILD SHELVES

Get some shelves from the nearest hardware store or build some shelves, if you want to get creative and make use out of the available space. You can certainly build a few shelves on your own to save some cash. Additionally, you can throw whatever you can’t hang into these shelves. The important thing is to be efficient and creative in utilization of space. The more space you clear, the more equipment you fit in.

SELECTION OF SPACE SAVING HOME GYM EQUIPMENT

You certainly have the option of buying every little piece of equipment for your garage gym, but if you’re a little tight on budget and space, you can build many pieces on your own. The following items will help you get started with your garage gym, and in the meantime, you can take your time to assess your needs on what kinds of workouts you’d like to get done. It’s always a good idea to have equipment for all kinds of exercises.

PLYOMETRIC BOX

A Plyometric box can be used for intense training sessions that include fast, powerful movements, and they are often used by professional athletes to improve their performance. They have become increasingly popular today, not only to help you stay in the best shape but also to tone up. This is basically an isometric exercise technique that’s ideally used for box jumps, step-ups, dips, box squats, or any other creative exercise that you can possibly think of. Box jumps are simply one of the best plyometric exercises which involve jumping up and landing on the box with a double foot jump.

Though they all look like boxes for simply jumping on, not all plyometric boxes are made equal. Look for a few key things first before making the purchase such as – the platform should be at least the width of your hips; the box should be contained, with enclosed sides to avoid banging your shins on the edge; the structure must be adjustable for variable heights, and; they should be lightweight so that they can be moved around the house easily.

POWER RACK

A power rack is undoubtedly the centerpiece of your home gym. It’s one of the most important pieces of exercise equipment for men and women alike. It can be used for aerobic workouts or strength training; after all, you need something to rack the bars for overhead presses and heavy squats. The fact that a power rack is an extremely sturdy and stable piece of equipment, it comes in handy on a long run and saves you money along the process. A rack comes with all the basics you’re going to need for your garage gym, and it’s an investment you’ll never regret making.

But there are a few things you need to consider first, before deciding on the best power rack for your home gym. Make sure there’s an ample floor space available to fit in a big enough power rack, but not that surpasses your ceiling. Also, consider spacing for additional equipment or make sure you can move the rack to load the bar. Do your homework ahead of time to make sure you do not buy one that is either too small or unusually large. Your power rack should be fully anchored to the floor if you’re planning to do chin-ups and pull-ups.

MEDICINE BALL

A medicine ball is basically a weighted ball and an important piece of equipment that comes in a variety of shapes and sizes, and it’s fun and functional. The best thing about balls is that they aren’t just for playing. They tend to be the most useful equipment in your gym, especially when engaging the upper body in ballistic movements. People want functional yet innovative ways to trains and med balls fit in just perfectly. The med ball might not get the status it deserves, but it isn’t going anywhere either. While a med ball isn’t considered as versatile as dumbbells or kettle bells, they have managed to gain popularity in the last couple of years.

People like to have fun while working out, and balls are synonymous with playing and games. It can be held, tossed, slammed, or bounced. There’s a subtle difference between having a med ball and a weight in your hands. A med ball is perfect for wall ball shots, medicine ball cleans, weighted sit-ups, and many other exercises. Of course, a med ball isn’t able to do everything a dumbbell or a kettlebell is capable of, but it’s a fantastic cost-effective alternative and a great exercise companion.

PARALLETTES

Parallettes are great for Crossfit workouts, or any exercise for that matter, and a fantastic addition to your garage gym inventory. You can use them for deficit pushups, L-sits, dips, handstand presses, and many other workouts. It’s really astounding the number of exercises that can be performed on this single piece of equipment alone. They are quite similar to push up bars, or dip bars, but are generally longer and lower to the ground. Every gymnast is unique, and depending on your strength and ability, you may find the need to adapt the reps, times, or the exercises.

Although you can get your hands on a perfect set of Parallettes from a number of commercial sources, they can simply be fabricated from commonly available materials such as a PVC pipe, some PVC cement, and you’re good to go. But, there are several factors to consider when choosing the right set of Parallettes. The most important factor is the length, as a parallette should be slightly longer than your shoulder width. Height is considered as an important factor, as they should be high enough to do sit-ups, L-sits, and handstand push-ups. Portability is something that’s often overlooked, but having a perfect set of parallettes come in handy allowing you to get a perfect workout session in prior to the meet.

BUMPER PLATES

Bumper Plates (or bumpers) are Olympic weightlifting plates crafted from hard rubber so that a loaded bar can be safely dropped without damaging the floor or the plates themselves. Bumpers come in both kilograms and pounds in a wide range of weight categories as normal weightlifting and the cast iron strength training plates. But you need a good set of bumper plates if you’re going to work out in your own garage gym. If you’re on a budget, steel weights might be the way to go, as they are relatively less expensive. But if your training involves Olympic lifts, then you must go for bumper plates, as steel plates are built to withstand general strength training.

But why bumper plates are better than their steel counterparts? The best thing about bumpers is they are much safer than steel plates, as they don’t break easily and they don’t even chip if you drop them accidentally. And this makes them easy to move around the house without having to worry about the accidental damages to the flooring or other equipment in the gym. Additionally, they create less noise when dropped accidentally or moved from one place to another.

PULL UP BARS

If you are serious about pull ups, chin ups, or kipping pull ups, you’ll need a sturdy, fixed-mount pull-up bar. The unique adjustable design of a pull-up bar ensures brackets can be spaced at any distance to match the joist spacing, in case of a ceiling mounted pull-up bars. They can be perfectly mounted at any height along the brackets so that you can adjust the height accordingly. They are extremely rigid so that they don’t bend or be forced out of shape. The amount of grip fatigue you get by doing any variation of pull ups when you throw in a pull-up bar, it’s kind of a different feeling.

The main goal of a pull-up bar is to force you to use your forearms to test how far you could go against the bar slipping you off.  Pull ups are a fantastic upper back exercise and the movement you get from pull up bars actually works your whole body. The action places direct stress upon your abs, biceps, lower back, and forearms. When it comes to working out at your own garage gym, there are a number of options, but if you’re looking for the sturdiest and most stable pull up bar, wall and ceiling mounted pull up bars are your best bet.

JUMP ROPE

If you haven’t used a jump rope since school days, it’s time to take a trip down the memory lane. Forget the history lesson, jump ropes are an incredibly efficient and versatile exercise tool. Keep it in your backpack or in any corner of your gym, bring it with you literally anywhere because this is one of the simplest ways to build cardio fitness, agility, and strength. Jumping rope for even 10 minutes at a moderate pace can help you burn at least 100 calories. This is an ideal tool for leg workout sessions, which also helps tone up your arms and shoulders.

Before you begin using a rope, make sure you’ve got a really good one. If you’re looking for a more intense workout, beaded or plastic speed ropes are just your thing, as they are more durable than cotton ones. They also come in handy when making advanced jump-rope moves like jumping high enough to pass the rope under your feet twice, which is called as a double jump. But choosing a perfect-length rope is the key. Stand in the middle of the rope and the handles should extend to your armpits. You can cut the rope and adjust it accordingly, to find a rope that fits you perfectly.

FITNESS GLOVES

While general weight training and bodybuilding make use of fingerless training gloves, when it comes to CrossFit workouts, hand grips protect your hands while offering a firm grip throughout your workout session. Protection is a major concern while performing functional exercises and there are several motions in which you can experience more stress than others. Training gloves are made to protect you from those high friction movements on either the Olympic bars or the pull-up bars. It’s an important tool to ensure maximum output and duration of your training. Whether it’s a pull up or a rope climb, training gloves tend to have an advantage in protecting your hands.

But there are various factors to consider finding the best fit for you. Assess your needs and requirements before making the ultimate decision, and in the meantime assess following factors such as style, design, comfort, durability, support, warranty, face value, protection factor, and more. Choose your gear wisely and the one you’d love to train with. Don’t just go by the design because looks can be deceiving.

CONCLUSION

Hopefully, that covers everything you could think of about creating your very own garage gym. Now that you are fully committed to set up your personal garage gym while considering all the space saving factors, we got you all covered as you figure out exactly what equipment you’re going to need depending on your fitness goals. This is basically everything you’ll probably need when starting a gym in your garage. As you’ve read through, setting up a garage gym is not that complicated and you can always get into it while finding exactly what you’re looking for. There are many options you can consider, but these probably are the big guns here as far as home gym equipment is concerned.