What you need to know to create a home gym

Think about what you want to accomplish and the best equipment for the job

The first COVID lockdown hit within a month of Claudine Laforce and her husband buying their yearly membership to a local gym.

Suddenly, the New Minas couple had nowhere to go to workout.

That's when they decided to create a home gym in their unused formal living room with mats, an exercise ball and free weights. After their daughter moved out, her bedroom became the new home gym.

The Laforces also invested in a rowing machine. Before work, Laforce can do a quick, 30-minute rowing session or a dumbbell and body weight workout, and long-term, it's a cost-effective decision, she says.

“We're saving $1,200 a year from not renewing our gym membership and still staying fit,” says Laforce.

THINGS TO CONSIDER

When it comes to setting up a home gym like the Laforce family's, there are a few things to consider.

Jon-Erik Kawamoto and his colleague Thomas King, of St. John's, N.L., own JKConditioning (JKC), where they help clients ranging in age from 30 to 75 who want to lead a healthier, fitter life. JKC opened in 2013 and is currently celebrating its 10th anniversary.

Although it's hard to say precisely how common having a home gym is, Kawamoto says that owning at least some basic equipment — dumbbells, an exercise ball or resistance bands — is very common.

Having a dedicated space in your home for fitness activities, however, is probably much less common.

Since COVID, the rate of home gym ownership increased,

but he's interested to see how much of the equipment bought during the pandemic ends up in the classified ads or not used at all.

How often a home gym would get used depends on the motivation of the person more so than the proximity of the equipment, says Kawamoto. Everyone knows someone with a treadmill coat rack in their basement.

For someone who isn't a self-starter or self-motivated, having the equipment right there may mean very little. For someone who is highly self-motivated, it can be a great addition to their home and a huge convenience to their lifestyle.

PLAN IT OUT

Before setting up a home gym, Kawamoto says it's important to do some planning.

Space — and how you will use each piece of equipment — is a big factor, he says. For example, a spin bike takes up far less space and achieves the same general purpose as a treadmill. It's also far less expensive.

“My biggest suggestion here would be to not go absolutely crazy with your initial purchase of equipment,” says Kawamoto.

Start with the basics, he recommends. If you want to do a cardio-based activity, start with one piece of equipment like a spin bike. If it's more strength-training related, start with a set of adjustable dumbbells and maybe an exercise ball. The ball can be used as a much cheaper alternative to a traditional weight bench and the adjustable dumbbells will be far more cost- and spaceeffective

than buying a large set of dumbbells.

If your interest grows, you can start thinking about exercises you may like to incorporate and the equipment you'll need, says Kawamoto.

“A big mistake would be buying things first and figuring out what to do with them later. That's a good recipe for underutilized equipment,” he says.

NEW OR USED?

If you are thinking about buying used equipment, Kawamoto says anything “simple” can be reliably purchased second-hand. Think things like dumbbells, weight plates, barbells, even benches and squat racks.

When it comes to buying new, Kawamoto points out that things like resistance bands tend to lose their resistance over time. If you want the best bands possible, get these new.

Cardio equipment is another big one. Things like treadmills and elliptical machines are complex equipment with many moving parts that can break. If you can find a good deal and have enough experience to know they are in good working order, go for it. If you aren't in that boat, though, it may be best to stick to a new piece that has the comfort of coming with a manufacturer's warranty in case of issues.

Once everything is set up, Kawamoto says to make sure you know what you are doing before you jump in.

“People have been killed doing things like bench pressing at home,” he warns.

“It's scary, but it can happen. Treadmills can be dangerous too, as the belts can move very fast and, if you lose your focus, it's easy enough to fall off them. Take caution.”

For more information, visit jkconditioning.com.