Tips on Designing Your Basement Gym and Turning It Into a Workout Haven

Have you been thinking of adding a basement gym to your home? There are many wonderful reasons why you should pull the trigger and get it done. For starters, having a gym right there in your home is one of the best ways to ensure that you stay fit.

After all, your own personalized gym downstairs won't be plagued with all the flimsy reasons you give for not visiting the one down-town. You know:

• It's full of people
• You have to wait your turn to use your favorite machine
• There is loud, distracting and most importantly, not your type of music playing
• You have to pay an annual membership fee
• And for some reason, Rex the resident trainer always makes you feel as though you aren't doing enough and that is not good for your morale

Having your own basement gym negates all this and gives you the kind of personalized space within which you can work out at your own pace and use clean, well-maintained machines that aren't drenched in other people's sweat and germs.

Designing Your Basement Gym

There is a very good chance that your focus will mostly be on the kind of equipment you want to get. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, you should realize that the space itself, the design of it, will play a huge role in making this gym feel like your own workout haven.

After all, you don't want to be one of those people who buy a treadmill, stick it in the corner, and then promptly start using it as a coat rack, do you?

Taking the time to design and plan out your basement gym will help you avoid such unfortunate eventualities. It will help you create a space that is not only your own but also very motivational and maybe even peaceful.

Somewhere you will want to run to at the beginning, end, or even in the middle of the day to get a little sweat in and maybe even release some stress as you work out and listen to your kind of music.

Tips on How to Design Your Home Gym

Depending on how big your house is, the basement might not be as spacious as you would like it to be. This means that you have to be smart and economical with your space. Here are some structural factors that you need to consider when designing your basement gym:

The Overall Space

Does your basement have several rooms? If so, you have a couple of options - you could either partition them into different workout zones (cardio room, weight room, yoga room and so on), or you could knock down a few walls (provided they aren't load bearing) and turn it into one big gym.

In many cases, having it as one big gym is better since it will give you a clear vision of all the necessary processes as opposed to hiding the cardio room somewhere in the corner and forgetting to use it all week because you prefer weights.

Ventilation

You will need proper ventilation, especially when doing cardio workouts. Basements tend to have poor ventilation, and one of the best ways to remedy this is to install a ceiling fan if you have a high enough ceiling or have a few installed in the corners. You must have adequate air circulation for your comfort as well as safety when carrying out high-intensity workout sessions.

Flooring

There is a good chance that your basement has concrete floors. If so, you are in luck - concrete floors work well with heavy gym equipment. You might, however, want to pad those floors for your own comfort and some level of soundproofing.

One of the best options here is to go for interlocking rubber tiles. These are tough enough to absorb the impact of your equipment and comfortable enough to keep your feet happy.

These are just the basics that help you visualize a gym. Next, you need to start customizing it out to your liking.

How to Customize Your Basement Gym

While customization of the home gym will be entirely subjective, some key areas must be taken into consideration.

Here are some tips that can help:

• Lighting: Adequate lighting is necessary for safety and practicality reasons so you can workout whenever you feel like it.
• Sound System: Because this is your private gym, you won't have to wear earphones to drown out the racket that comes with public gyms. Here, you get to decide which songs you want to play on repeat. Getting the gym a quality sound system is an excellent way to ensure that you are always motivated to start a workout session.
• Mirrors: There are several good reasons why you need to install mirrors in your gym - they make the space look bigger, they make the room look brighter and most importantly, they allow you to check your form when working out. When it comes to installing mirrors in your private home gym, try and get wall to wall mirrors that cover as much as the space as possible.

You can also include a few extras such as a small fridge for your drinks, maybe a bar stool for when you get winded, and even wall hooks to hang your towels. This is your personal space, and your comfort and convenience are all that matters here.

What Kind of Equipment Should You Get for Your Home Gym?

Depending on how much space you have and how high the ceiling of your basement is, there are some gym equipment that you can and can't get. You should strive to get:

• What is most important to you: Dumbbells, elliptical or rowing machine, a treadmill...the gym equipment you get should be the ones that you intend to use the most.
• Go for versatility: Try to get a machine that will offer you the opportunity to get in a total body workout.

Finally, you can decide to add a sauna for its health benefits as well as relaxation perks. Remember, jamming your basement gym full of equipment might not be the best of ideas. Try to leave as much open space as possible.