The fitness industry has always been booming, but since March 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, gyms have been collecting dust behind locked doors. Trainers have had to be creative, streaming classes online or taking private lessons in parks and car parks.
What hasn’t diminished is the public’s desire to keep fit. The pandemic saw a huge increase in downloads of fitness apps and the purchase of home fitness equipment as people either sought to replace their previous gym routines or took the opportunity to start a new one. National Park Services also reported a significant increase in visitors, with many people taking to running and hiking as a way to escape feeling like they were on house arrest.
There have been various surveys on the topic of home fitness, with one reporting as many as 63% of respondents used lockdown to improve their fitness at home. A different survey indicated that just over half the people questioned now felt confident enough to continue their home fitness journey that they were not planning on returning to the gym. Gym memberships cost hundreds of dollars every year, costs that could be more effectively spent on creating and maintaining your own home gym. Here’s how you can get started.
Find or Make Space
What you need from your gym will dictate how much room you need. It could be as little as a spare room in your flat/house, or you might decide you want to erect a separate space, like these Quonset huts. Many people choose to convert their garage into a useful gym space, and this works well because the floor is solid enough to support the weight of a variety of exercise machines. You can always start small and increase the size if you continue to diversify your equipment.
Budget for your Gym Needs
On average, people spent around £100 each on home gym equipment during the pandemic, but if you’re planning on setting up a proper home gym, it’s going to cost much more. You don’t need to go straight in with the big machines like cross-trainers, treadmills, and rowing machines, but buying lots of smaller items all adds up. As well as the workout equipment you’ll also need to factor in mats, wall brackets and storage, lighting and mirrors.
Get the Essential Equipment
If you’re mainly into yoga, pilates, aerobics, or dance, then there’s nothing extra you really need to buy beyond foam blocks and resistance bands, but anyone wanting to do cardiac or strength training needs to invest in the basics. Barbells and weights should be top of anyone’s list for home resistance training, and it’s worth getting decent quality products to last you for years. Get a good range of weights to suit your build and current fitness levels and help you progress towards your ultimate goals.
Dumbbells and kettle bells are also very useful for a home gym without costing you an arm and a leg. They often feature in cardio and strength workouts as well as being used independently in lifts and swings, so you’ll get a lot of use out of them.
If you want to get a cardio machine for your home gym, it’s best to choose one that does what you need, rather than trying to get the cheapest or best value, as its true value comes from how much you’ll use it. Rowing machines are amongst the cheapest options, but they also focus on a very specific area of fitness. A multiway or cross trainer covers many bases and would be suitable if there are going to be multiple users.
The home fitness trend looks to be continuing through 2022 and into 2023. Some people will undoubtably return to the gym for the support and social classes, but for those who feel confident taking control of their fitness at home, there are many ways to build a home gym.
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