Among the most popular upgrades in homes today are media rooms and gyms, or exercise rooms. Picking out the right furniture and the optimal place to mount your flat panel TV are a topic for another web site. Equipping your home gym or exercise room to maximize its potential is our area of expertise.

Location

When planning a home gym, location plays an important role. First of all, space is always a consideration. You need room to move around when you’re working out and if you choose to install fitness equipment, each of those machines will require floor space as well. Tripping over equipment, banging into walls and not having room to stretch does not make for an ideal environment and if it’s cramped, chances are it won’t get used. And while we tend to think of available floor space, ceiling height is also a consideration for equipment that will be used while standing up (such as a treadmill). Be aware of this if the room has drop ceilings or bulkheads.

It’s also important to think about floor strength. Many people choose to locate their home gym in the basement because a concrete floor doesn’t flex during physical activity and there’s no worry about load stress with heavy equipment and weights. If this isn’t an option, less jarring equipment or pieces that spread their weight over a large area like a recumbent exercise bike are a good choice. Floors can always be re-enforced, as they often are when whirlpool tubs or washing machines are installed.

Other factors to consider include: ventilation (we all sweat when we exercise and ventilation means moisture and odor don’t become issues while also providing fresh air), flooring type (carpet provides cushioning while hard wood or tile may be damaged by weights), storage (for keeping unused equipment out of sight) and privacy (you may not want to be working out in the same room where your kids and their friends are playing video games). Even location of electrical outlets is something to be aware of, especially if you plan to use powered exercise equipment.

Equipment

Picking out the fitness equipment for your new home gym can be very exciting. It can also be a little overwhelming: do you want an exercise bike, a treadmill, an elliptical trainer or a home gym unit for weight training? Do you want all of these? What works best for most people is to take the time to plan in advance instead of making spur of the moment decisions. You want your home fitness center to be a room that you make use of, that you enjoy and that you receive the maximum benefit from. You don’t want it to be overcrowded or to be equipped with machines that you won’t use.

It’s a good idea to start with the room. Once you know exactly how much space you have to work with, and any limitations you have to work around, then you have a starting point. Next, look at the type of exercise and activity you expect to do and look at fitness equipment that accomplishes this goal while fitting within your space. For example, if you enjoy riding a bike and you’d like to focus on cardiovascular exercise, a recumbent exercise bike might be something you’d consider; however, if your space is tight, then you might find an upright exercise bike fits your needs in a more compact package.

A popular option is to combine cardio exercise (through a bike, elliptical trainer or a treadmill) along with a weight training home gym unit. This way you gain the benefit of having both cardio and weight training options for a more complete workout, and there are two training stations so you and a partner can work out together.

Budget

Cost will almost always be a consideration as well. Most of us can’t afford to completely recreate a professional gym inside our home -mind you most of us don’t have the square footage needed for all those machines either. But through smart choices, you can equip your home fitness center so that it is capable of delivering a complete workout, in an enjoyable environment, with quality equipment that will last for years of activity.