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Designate a space -

If you want to set up a home gym, the first thing you need to do is to choose the most appropriate location in your home.

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Garage -

This would be the ideal situation. A garage usually has enough space to set up all the basics and it can be a great gym option.

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No garage available -

If you live in a house without a garage or in an apartment, you will need to designate a room to build up your gym.

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Budget -

You need to set up a budget. Building a state-of-the-art home gym can be expensive. But you don't need endless funds to build something basic and functional. 

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Buy equipment -

When it comes to buying equipment for your home gym, you have a couple of different options: new or used. Before buying new, flick through the classifieds and sites such as eBay first. You can find real bargains!

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Noise -

While working out is not the noisiest thing you can do to annoy your neighbors, it can get loud at times. If you live in an apartment and perform heavy deadlifts, your downstairs neighbors probably won’t be too happy about it.

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Noise -

Some of us also like to work out listening to music. You might use headphones when you go to the gym, but if you’re home, you can ditch them and listen to music however you want. Just make sure you’re not blasting metal at 11pm!

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Climate control -

It’s important to have the right temperature in a place where you will be exercising. This may vary depending on where your home gym is located. For example, a garage will be more difficult to warm up/cool down than a room in an apartment.

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Lighting -

Good lightning is also important. The brightness and warmth is down to personal preference, but avoid low-hanging lamps. You don’t want to be doing overhead exercises and hitting the lights!

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Decor -

It’s your own gym, so you can create an atmosphere that serves you best. You can decorate it the way you want, using whatever combination of colors and lighting floats your boat.

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Movable furniture -

If you have limited space and have to work out in a living area, then adding wheels to your furniture is a great option. This way, you can move things around and have enough space to do your workouts.

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Floor - Specific flooring is important, especially if you’re using weights or any equipment that can damage standard floors.

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Floor -

A thick rubber floor is the best all-rounder. You can buy them in squares and fit them together like a puzzle to cover the area you need.

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Use wall space -

Walls are great places to store some of your home gym equipment .

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Power rack / cage -

A squat rack or a cage will give you the most bang for your buck. You will be able to use it for a number of barbell exercises.

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Bench -

A bench is essential in performing a number of exercises. If you need more options, you can simply buy a reclining one.

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Pull-up bar -

If you don’t have a rack, you can add either a fixed or a removable pull-up bar to your home gym.

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Barbells -

One barbell should suffice to get you started. Later on you can buy other types of barbells if you need them. But a solid Olympic bar will be enough for most of your needs.

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Plates -

You can buy a plate kit with a set number of lbs/kg. Cast iron plates are usually cheaper than bumper plates, though your choice should actually be based on whether you drop the bar on the floor often (e.g. cleans, deadlifts, etc) and whether or not you have good flooring.

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Plates rack - While you can get away with stacking most equipment on the floor, plates are usually worth racking. Heavy plates, in particular, are hard to pick up when they’re laying flat, and may also cause wall damage when they're just leaning. 

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Dumbbells -

Dumbbells are very versatile pieces of equipment. Instead of buying a set of dumbells, you can buy loadable ones. They work just like mini barbells.

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Kettlebells -

Kettlebells are also a good thing to add to your home gym. Their shapes allow for a number of exercises to be performed, and usually just a couple of different weight options are enough.

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Suspension training -

TRX training is great when it comes to saving space. You can simply attach these bands to your rack and you’re good to go.

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Resistance bands -

You can do a number of exercises with resistance bands. They’re practical and cheap pieces of equipment you can easily add to your home gym.

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Yoga mat -

The same goes for a yoga mat. You can use it to stretch and do all sorts of exercises on the floor, including stretching before and after your workouts.

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Treadmill / bike / rowing machine -

Cardio is an important element if you want to be in shape. You can buy your favorite tool for the job and add more later if you want.

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Punching bag -

Punching and kicking can be very satisfying and indeed a great workout. Add one of these to your home gym and vent all of your anger and frustrations on it.

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Foam roller -

A foam roller is essential if you want to do some myofascial release. Self-massaging soft tissue is an effective way to recover from workouts and great to help prevent injuries.

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Mobility and massage -

If the foam roller is not enough for your tight muscles, you can also buy a lacrosse ball and other self-massage tools.

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Swiss ball -

You can use these to strengthen your core and perform various other exercises. You can even use them as an office chair in a home office! They're fairly inexpensive too.

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Mirror -

This one is optional, but many people like to see themselves while performing certain exercises to ensure correct form. You can mount one on the wall to save space.

See also: Skip the gym and do these exercises at home instead

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