So you want to build a functional fitness garage gym?
We will admit that there's a lot that goes into putting together a garage gym that's on par with hitting the gym in person - making the space in your gym, buying the gear and equipment, and then deciding how to set it all up.
Despite the effort, having a home garage gym is a great addition to your home and one you won't regret. Having easy access to a workout any time of the day in a private space can make the time and expenses worth it.
If you've decided that the home garage gym is for you, then power to you! Let's cut straight to the chase and focus on the core, guiding principles of an effective home garage gym.
This guide will dive deeper into the main components your garage gym needs, specific equipment and gear, and other elements that can take it to the next level - ensuring you build your garage gym like a pro and impress everyone on your block and beyond.
Hyperwear MX Select Adjustable Dumbbells
- Equipment
- Flooring
- Optimum Floor Space
- Rig Selection
- Gear Leveraging
- Storage Space Optimization
- Lights & Music
DIY Garage Gym Tips - Making a Functional Fitness Home Gym
Like so many pop culture trends, the functional fitness garage gym movement can get too focused on vanity at times.
The popularity of garage gyms has grown, so much so that you now can find garage gym makeovers on home remodeling shows. Right from the start, home remodeling puts an entirely different frame on the project. There's more focus on aesthetics than functionality. Think of your garage gym as more like a church, than a cathedral. Your purpose is to go in there and stay focused on a task, not to "ooh and aah" people. Don't worry about stained glass windows if you don't have a pulpit, so-to-speak. Your functional fitness garage gym has to work for you. This bears repeating. Your garage gym has to work for you. It has to work both in the literal and figurative sense. It's a high-functioning room in limited space, which immediately dictates your layout and design choices. This is what we're going to focus on here; the layout and design tenets of a high-quality, functional fitness garage gym.Ignore the Hype for the Best Garage Gym Setup
A lot of garage gyms boast a big "wow" factor. They feature a perfectly clean space, free of clutter, with an immaculate paint job, glowing with brand new, fancy, high-end gear. Let's face it. This is out of reach for the average garage gym enthusiast. We're limited by a whole host of factors like budget, time, space, and even our own personal goals. Don't ever forget that inmates get insanely ripped and strong in prison yards with equipment that is probably 50 years old. So focus on your goals and what you need to get done, then use that to literally and figuratively, frame out your garage gym. Once you have that well-conceptualized, run your decisions through these 7 design and layout principles.7 Garage Gym Setup Ideas for Building a Home Gym on a Budget
Here are the seven main considerations for your garage gym that should guide all your design and layout decisions: flooring, optimum floor space, rig selection, gear leveraging, storage space optimization, equipment, lighting, and music. The budget your willing to spend on a home gym factor into your choices, but there are options are for everyone.1. Equipment
What should I put in my garage gym? The core of your garage gym should include: barbell, rack, bumper plates, a bench, kettlebell, dumbbells, and a weight plate tree or weight storage rack. How can you best save space? Adjustable dumbbells and adjustable kettlebells are the best choice to save floor space without sacrificing strength training options. Not lifting very heavy? There are innovative adjustable barbell and curl bar sets on the market with selectorized weights. Like functional strength training with sandbags? Look for workout sandbags that will not leak sand indoors. This gear profile covers all your basic, required movements and lifts. Of course, depending on your goals and available floor space, you may choose to include additional equipment. There are plenty of resources out there to help you with gear selection. Garage Gym Reviews is an excellent source. Hyperwear MX Select Adjustable Dumbbells2. Flooring
Your garage gym is like a body shop, except you're the mechanic and you're not working on a car. The same potential for messes, noise, injury and chaos exist. The best mechanics keep these to a minimum and that starts with what you're standing on- flooring. Any kind of functional fitness garage gym worth its salt will include barbell work, and probably some Olympic lifting. You have to be able to dump the weight. That means weights crashing on the ground, which you're going to need horse stall mats for. Three-quarter inch thick mats are the standard and that should work fine for most people. The mats will reduce wear and tear on your gear, soften unplanned landings or falls, and most importantly, decrease barbell reverb flowing into your home. How much do you need? That brings us to...
3. Optimum Floor Space
This is the #1 design and layout goal of your functional fitness garage gym. Every last thing you do, and every single decision you make, should be with the optimization of floor space in mind. You want to do everything in your power to max out your floor space. This could be dozens of things. Cleaning all the junk out of your garage, renting a storage pod for stuff, parking a car in the driveway, or whatever obstacle exists in your garage, standing between you and max floor space. Only you can figure that out. The 3 things that take up the most space in garage gyms are: rigs, equipment storage and specialty equipment. Try and keep those to a minimum. You can use Sketchup, which is a free and handy, 3D design tool, to help with your layout. Once you have this sorted out, then you can calculate how much flooring you'll need.4. Rig Selection
This will arguably be the centerpiece of your garage gym. Make your rig selection with great care. You can choose a wall mounted rack, a collapsible or retractable rack to save space in your garage gym, or a free standing rig like a power rack. Again, this is a highly subjective decision based on what? Yeah that's right. Maximizing floor space and achieving your goals. It's a fool's errand to even begin to suggest what kind of rig you need, what brand, or anything, without knowing enough about your personal situation.5. Gear Leveraging
Remember how specialty gear takes up a lot of space? That GHD might as well be another car in your garage gym. Maybe you don't need it, and can convert a piece of equipment you already own into something similar. Find creative and innovative ways to put your existing equipment into double-duty.6. Storage Space Optimization
Optimizing your storage space goes lockstep with optimizing floor space. The less you have on the floor, the more room you have to train. You want to maintain your functional fitness garage gym with discipline and a ruthlessness for cutting out clutter and random stuff that's lying around. Use an "overhead bin" mentality. No one ever wants their bag, backpack or purse, under the seat in front of them, because it reduces your leg room and foot space. The same concept works for your garage gym. Try and get as much as you can into your "overhead bin" so you leave the most room to work in possible. Can you put barbells on a wall rack, instead of vertical, floor storage? Can you put a treadmill into a spare room in the house? Do you find yourself moving that weighted keg out of the way once a week? If so, find a better place for it, which probably means, getting rid of it altogether. That type of "get-in-the-way" gear quickly becomes a pain in the butt.
