Have you ever set fitness expectations for yourself and come up short? Maybe your New Year’s resolutions have fallen flat, or your discipline to maintain your exercise routines has disappeared. Whatever the case might be, you were likely faced with some sort of challenge that stopped you from achieving these goals. More often than not, that challenge is the lack of time to exercise. Even if you happen to find yourself with more time due to the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdown restrictions have closed a number of gyms across the country in the interest of safety for their members. However, an option many people around the country have discovered as an alternative to a public gym is turning some of their garage space into a gym.
If this has piqued your interest, take a peek into your garage and assess the space available while also considering the climate of your area. If you’re in a more temperate area of the country, maybe your garage doesn’t see much use other than for light storage. If this is the case, transforming your garage into private gym is much easier. Obviously if you live in a colder area of the country, you’re more limited in the winter months, but the summer months can provide you with a great opportunity to get the most out of your garage space for your own personal gym.
More specifically, before planning the transformation of your garage into an at-home fitness facility, consider these questions:
How Much Is Too Much? You should think about what your budget for a project like this would be like. If you’re committed to your fitness goals and you believe this is the right way for you to achieve them, perhaps this is priceless. But for most, this is just a way to increase motivation and form better habits for their health. Build your budget accordingly, based on how much you can afford to spend. Maybe all you’ll need is some fitness equipment to fill up the garage. Or maybe your garage could use some renovation before you feel comfortable using it as a place to exercise. What if the lights are too dim? Or the ventilation is spotty? Be sure to consider all of these things before fully committing to the transformation.
How Much Space Is Truly Available? As mentioned above, a lot of this comes down to the part of the country you live in. If you’re living in a more temperate climate, you likely have more space to operate with as opposed to someone living in a much colder climate. In addition to these limitations, your garage also likely exists as a storage place to house a number of belongings. Whether that be lawnmowers or other gardening tools, holiday decorations, and everything else in between. This inherently limits the amount of space you can dedicate to any of the equipment you plan on using. In most cases, you’re going to want as much space as possible to dedicate to your at home fitness facility, so consider how you might be able to maximize the amount of space available to you before beginning the transformation. One method that is particularly effective is implementing overhead storage racks to store the miscellaneous items in your garage.
Which Equipment Is Right for You? In order to answer this question, you have to consider your goals. If you’re looking to lose weight and improve your heart health, your best investment is likely in some sort of cardiovascular equipment. A treadmill or an elliptical machine would work wonders, and likely wouldn’t take up too much space. Alternatively there is always the option of a stationary bike. If you’re looking to increase your muscle mass and develop strong muscles, you should consider a weight bench or a Smith machine for squats. Of course you’ll also need to purchase the weights and the bars for each of these pieces of equipment in order to get the most out of them, which also takes up additional space in your garage. Alternatively, you can go the route of a variable-resistance cable machine to reduce the amount of clutter and still properly work each of your muscle groups. There are also more inexpensive options to ease into the transformation such as free weights or resistance bands that are also easily stored.
If you’re still on the fence at making the switch to an at-home fitness facility, check out the accompanying resource below. The infographic, courtesy of Good Garage, provides additional information on how to easily transform your garage into the place to achieve your fitness goals.