It is definitely creeping to that time of year again, when every starts to panic about the layer of insulation that have put on around their midriff, and want to get themselves ready for the summer with their perfect beach bod. This will probably entail cleaning up your diet, and going to the gym. However the gym isn’t for everyone, often they are filled with judging eyes and a battle for the treadmill. So what other options do you have? How about converting your garage to the gym.
What you’ll need:
Barbell and Weights
The simple barbell and weight set has stood the test of time, and for good reason. With a bit of imagination and dedication you can use a barbell to achieve anything. If you want to get slimmer, bigger, fitter, stronger, anything at all, you can do it with a barbell. You can pick up barbell and weight sets for relatively little, but as with most things in life. You pay for what you get. A good barbell will literally last a lifetime.
Flooring
Good flooring is essential. Not only is training directly on concrete tough and damaging the body, let alone uncomfortable, there is a chance you will end up dropping some heavy implements at some point. Dropping iron weights or kettlebells directly on the concrete floor could very well do some damage. Flooring can be expensive, but it is easy to find some second hand.
Rowing Machine and kettlebells.
Between a rowing machine and some kettlebells you’ll have all your cardio needs covered. The traditional past time of jogging is boring, damaging and less effective than these two methods. Rowing machines are impact free, which means they are easy on all your joints. They are also a fully body exercise and will get your heart, lungs, arms, back, legs and soul aching in no time. Kettlebells are fantastic tools for making bombproof joints and core. When done in conjunction with a rower you’ll be amazed at the results.
There are certain size restraints that have to be adhered to when building a home gym, unless you are building a new garage purely to be used as a gym. The average garage is 16 feet long, which, with imagination, should be plenty. However the average width is 8 feet. A standard Olympic bar is 7.2ft, so it could be a bit of a squeeze if you set it up length wise. Also you need to think of height. If you are a tall person putting a barbell or kettlebell overhead then you could easily start to collide with the ceiling.
Purely for comfort and sanitation an easy supply of fresh air is a wonderful thing to have. Without it the garage gym could become incredibly humid and uncomfortable. A supply of water would also be fantastic, unless you are okay with making constant trips to the house for a top up.
So, there you have it, top ways to turn your garage in to the perfect home gym.