How to Set Up a Home Workout Space

A home workout space gives you the power you need to take exercise into your own hands on your own terms. Setting up a home gym can be fast, easy, and affordable.

Step 1 - Prep Work

First, you need to designate a workout space in your home. It helps if you have a specific room or area of a room that you can block off and designate as a work out spot, but especially in smaller spaces, that's not always feasible. When picking a space, remember to bring your stretchy pants—you’ll need to see how much movement the area allows. If you want to designate a big closet that doesn’t have a lot of elbow room, you may end up only having room for small yoga poses, so testing out the space first is important.

After you select an area of your home, gather up all the workout gear you have around the house. Haul dumbells, yoga mats, workout DVDs and any other related items to the designated area. Sort through what you have and toss out anything old, damaged, or broken. After you’ve discarded old items, look at what you have left. If there's anything you don’t use anymore, donate the items to a local Goodwill to save your space for items that you’ll really use.

Step 2 - Designing the Space

After you whittle down your gear to what you actually use, take an inventory and look for holes. Do you need weights? New resistance bands? Exercise balls? A screen of some kind for your workout DVDs or streams? Collect everything going into the space and place it all in the middle of the room. It’s important to give every item a dedicated home as you build the room so that you’re not trying to do jumping jacks in the middle of chaos and clutter.

When assembling or purchasing the necessary workout items for your home gym, consider getting a few bins or shelves to organize the space. Place a shelf, store-bought or DIY, against the wall to give you lots of space in the middle of the room. What’s most important is that you have an organization system that's safe and feels intuitive to you.

Step 3 - Test Run

Once everything's in its place, give the room a test run (or three). Chances are you’ll find something that just doesn’t feel right and you’ll want to readjust the space to work for you. If you have large machines like ellipticals to move, ask a friend to help you so you don't pull any of those muscles you're about to start building.

Once you’re satisfied that the space functions the way it needs to, add a little personal touch with decoration, wall art, lighting, or plants. Just remember that safety must always be the top priority in a home gym—you need to leave yourself space for as much motion as possible.

Mobile Home Gym

If your home gym is the space on your living room rug while your kids are at school, that's totally fine. Place your gym items in rolling bins and keep them tucked under the couch or in a hall closet. Take the rolling bins and organize the products in a way that works for your workouts, or find an easy stash spot for your stuff, so you don’t have to go hunting for all your accessories every time you start a session. When it’s crunch time, the fewer obstacles in your path, the more likely you'll be to get right into high gear.

If you’re on a budget, skip the treadmill and find a workout app that gets you into workout clothes every day, or just pick up a few simple routines that use your own body weight to build muscle and hustle. Workout apps on your phone take up no space in the room but still give you access to all of the inspiration you need to start feeling healthier and better.