How to Build a Home Gym: Part 1
Do you have a spare room that you have though about transforming into a home gym? Or maybe you have some exercise equipment in a room, but you'd like to make the room look more like a gym. Well, I'm about to show you how. This article series will describe the steps that I took to construct my home gym. I will show you what I did, and whenever possible, offer less expensive or easier alternatives.
Choosing the Room
The first thing you want to do is to make sure that the room you have in mind is adequate for your needs. Are the ceilings high enough for your equipment? Is there enough room for your equipment? Is the room on the bottom floor of your house? If not, are you comfortable using weights on an upper floor? Does the room have a closet to store equipment (mine does not)? The room that I used is in a basement. The original flooring was carpet over concrete. The ceiling is about 8' 6" in most places. The dimensions are roughly 12' X 20', which fits fours pieces of equipment comfortably- a squat rack w/ flat bench, a fitness tree, an elliptical machine, and a stationary bicycle. I also have a 24" dumbbell rack.
Should You Change the Flooring?
I don't know if there is a correct answer to this question- I believe that it comes down to personal preference. I changed my flooring. I wanted my gym to look authentic. However, this is probably the most expensive option. I had to tear out my carpet, order the rubber floor, and install it. I purchased my rubber flooring from Fitness Resource and it cost somewhere around $6 per square foot. It is heavy enough to float and the edges have interlocking teeth, so no adhesive was required. I also finished the baseboard with shoe molding to give the floor a more professional look.
If you search for "rubber floor", you will find many resources online (e.g. Dinoflex.com).
If you want to do something less expensive, you can purchase inexpensive rubber mats and modular floors at many sporting good stores and even some warehouse clubs. These mats will protect your floor from falling weights and graphite dust, they just don't have the finished look of the installed flooring.
Part 2 of this series can be found here.
Jon
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[...] Part 1 of this post can be found here. [...]