-->The At Home Gym: From $50 to $10,000
It’s a sign of luxury to have a dedicated space for exercise. Mirrored walls, wood floors, beautiful machines and weights at your fingertips. A spa-like atmosphere for your tough-as-nails workout. It’s definitely a dream of mine to have my own home gym one day. But believe it or not you can get the basics of a gym for under $100 that takes up little more space than a junk drawer. Here’s how.The $50 Solution
It’s pretty basic, just a yoga mat ($20 – $25) and some resistance bands ($25). Get three levels of resistance: easy, medium, and light on the bands. You can often find yoga mats on sale in the big box stores, or if you want to spend a little more money, you can go eco-friendly with Lotus Pad Yoga. I love and use their mats regularly.
The $100 Solution
Now you can add some free weights. If you’re a girl, start with three, five, and eight pound weights ($40). If you’re a guy, start with five, eight, and ten pound weights ($50). The weights, combined with the bands, will give you lots of options to keep mixing up your resistance training workouts.
The $500 Solution
Now you can get into some fancy accessories. Take the above package and add a BOSU ($100), an Aerobic Step ($100), and a wider array of weights. Girls can add 10, 12, and 15 pound weights ($85). Guys can add 12, 15, and 20 pound weights ($90). Throw in a few DVDs ($75) and start to mix it up. Go for a cardio DVD or a cardio/weight training combo program.
The $1,000 Solution
Spin bike! A good solid spin bike costs in the neighborhood of $500 although the top of the line models go for up to $1,400. Still $500 will get you a good solid exercise bike and they don’t take up a lot of space. Also, spinning provides one of the highest calorie burns you can get in a workout. Trade out one of the DVDs mentioned above for a “ride” DVD that you turns your TV screen into a ride along coastal highways as you torch calories.
The $5,000 Solution
Now you’re into a dedicated space, hopefully nicer than a cobweb-filled basement! Add one wall of mirrors (about $1,200) and a nice treadmill (about $2,000) to the arsenal above. Expand the weights by adding 20 pound ($30) weights for girls and 25 pound weights ($30) for guys. By now it’s time to snag a rack for all those weights ($85). Finish off with an incline/decline bench with a bar ($150) and weight plates ($170). If you have a little money left over, go for a personal training session or two so you can figure out how to use all your new purchases properly.
The $10,000 Solution
Lots of bells and whistles here. You can get fancy weights in stainless steel finishes that shine from a spiffy rack that makes it easy to access. Girls might want to add a ballet bar ($150). Guys could go nuts with a squat rack ($380) or Smith Machine ($420). I’d add an elliptical ($1,300) or arc trainer ($3,300) to the mix so you can keep your cardio varied. With $10,000, you can get an excellent gym in a dedicated space that looks beautiful and inspires lots of sweat.
Money is No Object
My dream home gym? Please indulge me while I fantasize. A fully-equipped Pilates studio ($20,000), an Arc Trainer ($5,500), top-of-the-line elliptical ($3,500), treadmill ($5,000) and spin bike ($1,400). A separate weight training area with lots of free weights, racks, and a small circuit machine. A separate room for group exercise classes with mirrors and a ballet bar installed on the wall; something where I could bring friends over for a group yoga class or maybe to play with hoops. Lots and lots of hula hoops in pretty colors. A wet sauna and a changing area ($10,000). I think that’ll do…
What would your fantasy gym look like? What do you actually already have for home equipment? I’d love to know…
Lisa
Popularity: 2% [?]
My at-home “gym” has slowly grown over the past 8 years since I’ve started working out. I’d say I’m between the $100 and $500 category. I have 6 different dumbbell weights, over 30 DVDs, 2 resistant bands, mini trampoline, balance ball, jump rope, step, medicine ball, and running shoes! I use them all and love to mix it all up. I would love to get an arc trainer, but I’m running out of room!
Wow Erika, very cool. You can certainly start small and build. I did that too. First a few dumbbells then some DVDs and some more dumbbells as I got stronger, add as you go to keep the variety and interest. Now you need an addition to your house! :-)
Great post Lisa! I like the idea of accumulating slowly as well. That way when you really notice a gap in your equipment or a gap in your fitness you can search to fill it instead of going crazy and getting things you do not need.
At home, I have an 800sq foot basement space set up (spoiled, yes I am) with a stationary bike (used $25 bucks and brand new) and elliptical as old as the hills, free weights from 5-35lbs, inlcine bench, ball, bands, pull up/chin up bar, yoga mat and block, bike trainer for my road bike and I use above all: my outside bike and running shoes the most. Weights are a close second though.
I definitely missing a treadmill, I love to run above all else and prefer outdoors but it would provide some flexibility to my schedule that I currently don’t have.
Nice post! A few other goodies of mine include a jump rope & kettlebell.
Plus I’ve discovered my steps in my back yard **grins**, railings to anchor the cable to for rows & stuff, and yard furniture (L sits, dips, modified chest press/leg raises). I can mix up a killer, fun & dynamic workout right here.
Plus I recently discovered my iPod dock is cordless – WOOOT! Music & workout & sunshine in my yard!
Kris that sounds like fun. Now I wish I had a backyard … I’ve only got a sidewalk. Nearby park has benches though. I have fun with ‘em sometimes. :-)
I love your fantasy gym, but then the reality hits me hard that i don’t even have that much space. However, i do have a large hall which quite an empty space for keeping my home gym equipments. So far i have a few weights, am looking foreword to get a treadmill, and perhaps a spin bike too.
Having big mirrors is cool, i remember my last trainer in the gym, he did a few dumbbells and went to look in the mirrors to find which muscles have grown… the sort of habit i got later myself. But having mirrors in a home gym is a must, because it really motivates to do more exercise.
Better equipments and tools will always be an object of fascination, but for now, am only looking to add stuff to the home gym slowly and steadily :)
I started my own home gym because I was tired of having to drive to the gym everyday, and fighting the crowds to use a piece of equipment. I started small and bought more as I could afford it, now I have a pretty amazing home gym. I like your article because it has given me some ideas of things to add to my gym.