Home Gym Ideas

[CowgirlJane 14,261]

When I started out - i joined the YMCA - did Water aerobics, used the weight machines and elliptical and then moved onto spinning, bootcamp type classes, kickboxing etc. I learned alot but got tired of it so I switched to working out at home. I bought a spinning bike and i have some workout DVDs (Julian Michaels ripped in 30, kickboxing etc). The DVDs provide some strength training, but i want to beef that up. Over the summer, I did alot of outdoors stuff too... hiking, horse stuff etc.

Come January, I have a large room becoming available in my home that i am going to convert to a home gym combined with my home office. My current home office is near the front door so will become a den, complete with a pullout sofa sleeper. (It still leaves me with a spare bedroom that my son stays in when home from college)

So, I don't think I want to buy anything like a bowflex, they have a huge footprint and I am thinking I like the boot camp style of using your own body weight for strength training. Thinking of getting some more handweights as I don't have much now. I would like to hear some ideas from some of the more advanced exercisers on what you think would be good choices for a home gym. Do you think there is any value to mirrors like gyms have? I have a flatscreen TV that will go in there for the DVDs, and I want to keep a nice big open space for doing some of the dance like videos too.

My house needs the carpet replaced and I am seriously thinking of going to solid floors. I love hardwood, but i am thinking about some of the laminates they have now too - i live in the country with dogs and want easy easy but of course worry about scratching too.

Anyway, I am recovering from surgery so in planning mode and thought I would see if i can generate some additional ideas.

Tell me about your dream home gym - probably good ideas i haven't thought about yet!!!

[jan8j 30]

I want to see suggestions on the exercise equipment! But I did see your question on floors. Have you checked into vinyl planks that look like wood? I saw some Armstrong vinyl "wood" planks at a dentist's office and it looked great. There are different grades and the better grades really look like wood. The feel is a little different though. But so is laminate. There are also some really nice wood look ceramic tiles if you want to go a different directions.

[Fiddleman 4,376]

I can tell you what I have, but do not know if it is "ideal." You might read something in my description that you can integrate into your design.

We have a 20 x 20 hardwood floor room on the second floor with cable input. There is a small 28" flat s green TV hanging on the wall at eye level. Into the TV runs a blue ray player, a cable box. Out of the TV runs audio for two Bose satellite speakers and a subwoofer.

The TV sits between an older model precor ellyptical and an older model precor treadmill. Both are the commercial grade. We like to buy this way because precor commercial machines can take a beating as they are designed for heavy use in a gym. The ellyptical motor has gone out and needs to be repaired or replaced. We have used it for a long time and bought it used (made in 90s). The treadmill was also bought used, but is in much better shape. I have put a lot of miles onto it.

Between those two pieces of equipment, we have a concept II model B rower. Both my wife and I have put a lot of miles into that; she really loves to row. I love to run, but enjoy rowing also.

Behind the machines, we have a set of medicine balls (10, 12,20), a set of kettle bells (20, 35,44), a small rack of dumbbells (2-35 ) and an adjustable dumbbell set up to 55 lb each side (my recent went goal weight toy). In the corner is a Water cooler. Above the door jam is a pull up bar.

There is not much standing room to do a DVD workout in this room, so we do DVD stuff like zumba, biggest loser and "you are your own gym" at the main TV, where there is ample floor space.

The only thing I would like to change is for the room to be 2x as big so we could do DVD workouts in there.

All that behind said, my daily time in my home gym has gone way down since I have joined a cross fit box. Now my wife spends most of her exercise time in there. I use it here and there to supplement exercise I get at cross fit.

[CowgirlJane 14,261]

Thanks for the flooring ideas.

Fiddle, that was a very detailed description and much appreciated. Question - where did you join a cross fit place? They are all over and i don't know which are good and which are not. I can't restart that kind of thing till next year, but thinking about doing it maybe 2x a week and use the home gym to supplement.

[Fiddleman 4,376]

Splitting time between home gym and cross fit is a great idea. I did this also for about 8 months earlier this year, spending 2 days with a cross fit trainer (owner) and the other days at home gym and found "you are your own gym" DVD workout.

I do not remember the exact circumstances as to why I chose the current place. I liked the idea that the gym was open and everyone could essentially do the WOD at anytime and not be constrained to specific class times. The box is also fairly close to me and is about 5 min away.

I did try another one before then that was class based with not much personal attention from the coach. It was not bad, just not a good fit for a newbie lifter like me at the time. I like that current cross fit place usually has 2-3 coaches present to help with technique and motivation. They are always available for questions about different exercises and are very happy to help. I like this.

My reason for choosing them may seem fluffy and not well defined, but we clicked very well and I plan on sticking with them for a while unless personal circumstances dramatically change. The place I go to is in downtown Snohomish (about 10-20 min away from you via highway 9).

The cost is 150 a month, which is a fairly decent price considering open gym format (unlimited access during open box hours) and friendly access to coaches. It makes sense economically if you will be working out 3-4 x or more a week (I do 5-6x). Otherwise, buying sets of workout sessions makes more sense economically. Since you are considering 2x a week, paying for individual sessions might make more sense.

[CowgirlJane 14,261]

Snohomish is perfect for me because I go there at least once a week anyway - feed store and friends!

There is a location in Woodinville that gets good reviews on yelp, maybe I will check out those two and go from there. Thanks for the info.

[Butterthebean 8,146]

My home gym consists of a power rack with lat pull down attachment. And about 600 lbs of Olympic weights. No I don't need quite that much weight....ok not even close to that much, but I bought it all used on Craigslist for 50 so I got it. My power rack is outside as I live in Texas, and I just prefer to be outside working out. Since you ride horses, you're no doubt familiar with those heavy ass rubber like mats they use on stall floors. I bought four of those and laid them down to cover my workout area. Makes a great surface to drop weights on without hurting anything. I also have dumbells up to 40lbs in 10lb increments. And we have a precor elliptical like Fiddleman. Those used commercial models can be found from time to time, and they are a great deal. They last forever.

But of course, the bulk of my exercise time is spent running....when I'm not recovering from surgery that is. But with that power rack I can do pretty much anything I want, from dips, pull-ups....and it serves as a safety spotter for bench press and squats if need be.

Edited October 30, 2013 by Butterthebean

[CowgirlJane 14,261]

That's awesome Bean! Of course I would freeze the better part of the year with outdoor gym. I do like the used equipment idea but when I was looking for a spinning bike couldn't find a high grade one for a decent price. I used the elliptical at the gum for a long time but once I got into spinning and other classes I dropped it. Do you feel it gives you as hard a workout as your running? Obesity toasted my knees so I don't dare take up running.

[Butterthebean 8,146]

The elliptical doesn't come any where close to getting my heart rate up as running does...unless I jack the incline and resistance up all the way. The elliptical is a great workout. And easy on the joints, great calorie burn....if I could only have one cardio machine that would be it. In fact that is it cause that's all I have. But it's still a machine. Running is living to me. The elliptical is a chore. Something I HAVE to do. Running is something I crave.

But I understand what you mean about your knees being toasted. Mine too. If you ever get an urge to run, check out www.chirunning.com

Danny Dreyer's method and running technique are designed to be highly efficient but also to reduce impact, eliminate injuries and allow you to run without pain....even with bad knees. I know because my ACL is gone even now, and the MCL and meniscus are torn on my other knee. His method is all about running pain free, not about running fast. I feel like if I can run using his method with my jacked up knees, MOST people probably can.

[Fiddleman 4,376]

I agree with BTB concerning chi running, except for the case of performance. According to his book, which I have read at least 2x, one can dramatically improve their performance by using gravity to pull themselves forward more quickly. Taking larger strides also improves performance. I have proved both these points by running a 4:45 minute using Chi running style a few weeks ago. My average mile pace is 6:30 and is usually only sustainable up to 5k. Once distance stretches up to 10k, the pace slows to about 8:30. I am always using chi running style whether running very fast or average. It works particularly well when on a slight slope. I wrote some tomes on Chi Running long back in my post history around December 2012-January 2013 if you are interesting in spelunking into the posts with a head lamp.