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Get Motivated with These 23 Home Gym Ideas

Enjoy working out but don’t want to pay for a gym membership? Whether you have an unused bedroom, attic, basement, or space in your garage, these home gym design ideas and organization tips will make designing your home workout room easy!

  • What Are the Benefits of Having a Home Exercise Room?
  • Home Gym Layout Ideas & Organization Tips

What Are the Benefits of Having a Home Exercise Room?

Investing in a home gym is more than just having some exercise equipment. See how else you can benefit from designing your home for well-being with these at-home gym benefits!

Convenience

Want to work toward your fitness goals without leaving the comfort of your own home? Take on the worthwhile project of building a home gym! Along with eliminating your commute, having your own gym at home means you can control cleanliness, choose the music, and spend as much time as you want on equipment or at a station.

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Affordability

Gym memberships can be expensive and even wasteful if they’re underutilized. The average gym membership in the U.S. is around $50 a month, and almost 67% of those memberships go unused. That’s not including premium fitness classes like CrossFit, barre, or pilates, which are more expensive. Fortunately, a home gym setup doesn’t have to be pricey! While the cost of your initial investment can vary based on the amenities and equipment you want, you’ll save money in the long run by building a home gym. To help cut costs, look for used gym equipment, and workout accessories for your in-home gym.

Home Resale Value

If you decide to go big with your home gym and decide to add extra square footage, you can also increase resale value! Even if a potential buyer doesn’t want to use the area for a home gym, simply having a flex space can provide value to your home.

Home Gym Layout Ideas & Organization Tips

Even the smallest of spaces can be turned into the ultimate in-home gym. Check out these 23 exercise room design ideas and home gym storage tips below!

Build a Custom Garage Gym

Home Gym Set Up in a Garage. Photo by Instagram user @dougerickson77

Photo via @dougerickson77

Durable floors, storage space, electrical outlets, and ventilation all make having a garage gym practical! A treadmill, elliptical, or stationary bike can easily fit in a garage—if you have the space, you can also dedicate an area for large weight lifting equipment like squat racks or bench sets for strength training. You can even install a garage TV or wireless speakers to keep you entertained during your workout.

Create a Basement Workout Space

Make good use of a basement bonus room by turning it into an in-home gym. Overhead lighting, rubber flooring, and a wall of gym mirrors can open up your space and keep it inviting! If you have a bathroom and kitchen in the basement, flip the entire space into an ultimate workout area.

Make an Attic Fitness Room

Make the most out of your house’s square footage with an attic gym. For comfort and air quality, make sure any exposed insulation is covered by drywall, and add a window, air conditioner, or fans to keep the space cool. Also, if you plan to use heavy gym equipment or weights, make sure the floors are properly braced.

Transform an Extra Bedroom

A spare bedroom is an ideal spot for creating a home gym! Extra closets can be used for gym equipment storage, and repurposed dressers or bookshelves can hold items like balance balls, extra towels, free weights, medicine balls, and much more! You may also want to consider installing rubber or vinyl floors—or if you have a wooden or carpeted floor, protect it by adding shock-absorbing gym mats.

Combine a Home Office & Gym

Do you only have one flex space or spare room? By combining your home gym with your home office, you can maximize how you use your space. Keep bulky cardio equipment and office supplies separate by giving items their own designated area. Avoid clutter by utilizing furniture with hidden storage to keep weights, resistance bands, and yoga mats tucked away while not in use. Or store office and gym supplies in stackable totes to help keep the multi-use space organized.

Convert a Shed Into a Small Gym

If you can’t free up space in your home, consider turning a shed into a gym. Just add rubber mats to protect the floors, shelving units for storage, and your cardio or weight-lifting equipment of choice! Hang a pegboard on the back of your door to store workout accessories like lifting gloves, resistance bands, jump ropes, and yoga mats in your small gym space.

Let the Outside In

indoor-outdoor home gym with sliding door and lots of windows. Photo by Instagram user @solohomegym.

Photo via @solohomegym

Get the best of both worlds with an indoor-outdoor workout room. Placing your gym in this area of your house allows you to get some benefits of outdoor workouts. Or go for a more affordable gym renovation and install a couple of skylights! By opening sliding doors or windows for fresh air and sunlight, you can create a refreshing and calming workout space.

Keep a Bright Gym with Additional Lighting

Consider placing your home gym in the sunroom or an area with large windows to receive tons of natural light. The bright, open area can give the illusion of exercising outdoors with the comfort of air conditioning—an extra perk to installing skylights as a budget-friendly home gym idea. For a basement gym or garage gym, installing good lighting can brighten up a workout area that may get inconsistent natural light.

Create Separation

Large home gym separated by glass walls. Photo by Instagram user @liftd_design.

Photo via @liftd_design

If you’re unable to have an entire room dedicated to fitness, you can still create a space for a workout area. Keep bulky exercise equipment like treadmills, ellipticals, and stationary bikes separate from the rest of your living space by incorporating pocket doors, sliding barn doors, or glass walls through the room. For a more budget-friendly solution, opt for a folding or hanging room divider! This allows you to have a dedicated area for high-intensity workouts without mixing it with your relaxation space.

Choose a Workout Room Color Scheme

Your exercise room doesn’t have to be drab! Keep it engaging and uplifting by incorporating accent wall designs with an overall color scheme. Go for bold, energetic colors like reds, oranges, and yellows—or give your exercise room a modern and industrial look with grays and darker tones. You could even give your workout space extra flair with scenic wallpaper to emulate the feeling of biking in the great outdoors!

Install Rubber Gym Flooring

Protect the floors from damage in your exercise room with rubber mats! This home gym flooring idea is affordable and easy to install. Not to mention, it helps to reduce the noise of running on a treadmill or setting down heavy weights—especially if you’re on the second floor of your home.

Mount Mirrors on a Wall

Not only can mirrors help you improve form and posture while weight training, but they can also make a small workout space seem larger. You can either install several smaller mirrors on the wall of your home gym or use a large floor mirror to expand the space. Mirrors are also beneficial for barre workouts, practicing yoga, and doing pilates, as proper form is essential for all of these workouts.

Splurge on Specialized Equipment

When deciding on equipment for your home gym, you can opt for traditional equipment like a treadmill, stationary bike, and weights. But you can also get creative by installing non-traditional gym equipment! Add variety to your workout regimen and focus on other areas of the body with equipment like punching bags, row machines, battle ropes, speed bags, and more!

Invest in a TV

Home fitness room with weights, rowing machine, and TV. Photo by Instagram user @ajestudio

Photo via @ajestudio

Whether you want to try streaming workout tutorials or watch your favorite show while exercising, adding a TV to your home gym will ensure you stay entertained during your workout instead of paying attention to the clock. Check out TV storage options like installing a wall-mounted TV to free up floor space or keeping a pop-up TV cabinet, which offers extra storage for loose gym equipment.

Install a Gym Speaker System

A sound system in your workout room is a must! Install speakers in the top corners of your home gym, connect a sound bar to your TV, or opt for a Bluetooth speaker for an even more portable, affordable option. Some of the best speakers for a home gym are hands-free devices like the Amazon Echo, Google Home, and Apple HomePod, which allow you to change playlists without disrupting your workout.

Upgrade Your Shelving Units

Home gym organization is necessary to keep loose items like free weights, kettlebells, and yoga mats organized and off the floor. Floating shelves, bookshelves, or wire storage units are all ideal storage for any in-house exercise room and add to the overall design and vibe of your in-home gym.

Utilize Vertical Storage

Barbell weights and benches hung from wall in gym. Photo by Instagram user @bullcitystrong

Photo via @bullcitystrong

Worried about storage in your small home gym? Keep it clutter-free by taking advantage of wall storage! Mount items like weight benches, weight plates, and gym mats on your walls to save floor space. And if you’re feeling crafty, check out this DIY barbell storage hack!

Hang a Pegboard for Gym Storage

DIY pegboard for gym equipment. Photo by Instagram user @pptchicago

Photo via @pptchicago

Installing a pegboard in your home gym is a creative way to store miscellaneous gym equipment! Have fun making your own DIY pegboard that’s perfect for storing resistance bands, jump ropes, yoga rollers, headphones, and more. Plus, by using a pegboard storage solution, you can display your gym equipment in a visually-pleasing way.

Use a Coat Rack for Exercise Bands

Coat rack with weight belts, resistance bands in home fitness room. Photo by Instagram user @frodet_

Photo via @frodet_

Need a spot to store resistance bands, jump ropes, and sweatbands? Repurpose a wall-mounted coat rack! This easy gym organizational hack will help keep your workout room clutter-free, preventing items from getting tangled with each other on the floor.

Add a Home Gym Fan

Home fitness room with bike, weights, and ceiling fan. Photo by Instagram user @queen2bee68.

Photo via @queen2bee68

An industrial gym fan is an inexpensive way to keep your fitness room cool without having to run the AC at full blast. Wall fans, standing fans, and rotating fans are also ideal if you’re trying to keep the temperature down in your workout room.

Leave Room for Mindfulness

Home gym for yoga with vinyl flooring and live plant wall. Photo by Instagram user @purehavenhomes.

Photo via @purehavenhomes

As a common low-impact workout, yoga and grounding stretches don’t require much equipment, so it can be easy to create a yoga or meditation space in your home gym. Using this more open area to stretch can help warm up your muscles for more intensive workouts. Or expand the space so you can have a decluttered area focused on bodyweight exercises and mental preparation. Use totes to store your yoga mats, meditation pillows, and other optional yoga supplies when not in use.

Make a Kid-Friendly Gym

Mini indoor kids playground with climbing ropes, basketball hoop, and punching bag. Photo by Instagram user @fitnesskid.

Photo via @fitnesskid

Dedicating a corner gym or small area to your kids in your home gym can help promote an active lifestyle for your child. Incorporate a basketball hoop, home climbing wall, swings, ropes, bars, and more to keep them engaged! This allows for endless fun while you each get your movement in.

Stay Motivated with Decor

Not sure what to do with your old sports medals? Use them as wall decor! Old jerseys and ribbons are great for bringing personality to your workout space. Design your home gym with inspirational fitness wall art, decals, or posters to give you that extra kick of motivation during your sets.

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