If you have a garage with extra space and some money to invest, the best solution to help you meet your fitness goals might be sitting right in front of you. With all that extra space you have sitting around in your garage, you can make better use of the space by adding your home gym right in the garage! Check out these home gym ideas for your garage.
Of course, this will be a job that will take quite some time and money to finish. You might also find yourself with a lack of inspiration as to how to knock your home gym out of the park. Below, we will cover 79 fresh home gym ideas for your garage you can consider while trying to make the best possible home gym.
Ready to break a sweat? Let’s dive in!
- Consider How Much Space You May Need for various Home Gym Ideas. Garage options are vast.
The first thing that you need to do is consider how much space you have. This way, you can start making a basic layout of your home gym, where you will put what, and reflect upon some ideas of what your garage gym will be like.
- Start With the Flooring & Layout
An excellent second idea to remember is what kind of flooring layout you will have before purchasing equipment. It is much easier to install the floor before you get all the heavy equipment – so do this at the start of your planning process!
- Invest in a Weight Rack & Bench Barbell
A couple of the most common items that everybody should have in their home gym would be a bench barbell and a weight rack. These necessary skeleton pieces will help you eventually make a great finished product.
- Weight Barbell & Plates
Now, don’t miss out on other necessary items like a weighted barbell and your plates. You can always remove weight, but adding on more plates when you are out is not possible! Be sure to buy plates that will help you scale your muscle growth.
- Add Adjustable Dumbbells and Adjustable Kettlebells
Try buying adjustable dumbbells and kettlebells instead of ones that only come in one weight for a little more instant adjustability!
- Add in a Heater if You Live in a Cold Climate
Waking up for a cold morning workout shouldn’t be a hassle. Invest in a portable heater to turn on minutes before you come out to start your training in your home gym. Plenty of ideas and options are available for your garage!
- Don’t Forget About a Pull-Up Bar
A pull-up bar is one of the easiest, cheapest, and most space-efficient items to have in your home workout center. Screw it into a studded wall, and bam.
- Add in a Rest Area With Chairs and Water
Perhaps your spouse wants to come out and discuss things with you while you are working out. Or, you just want a space to unwind and drink water, protein shakes, etc. Leave some room for a resting area!
- Put in Rubber Flooring Underneath Weights
The last thing you want to do with a home gym is destroy your flooring. There is a reason that gyms like to use rubber flooring – it does a great job keeping your floors safe from damage!
- Get a Full Dumbbell & Kettlebell Set
If you can’t find an adjustable dumbbell and kettlebell set that suits your fancy, maybe you should just invest in a complete set. It does look a little cooler this way!
- Yoga Mats & Resistance Bands
Those into more spiritual fitness approaches, such as yoga, might find a less-is-more system to be best for their home gym garage. For these people, some yoga mats and resistance bands might be enough!
- Consider Expensive Items Like a Squat Rack or Power Rack
If you want to pump up those thigh muscles like never before, you will need tools like a power and squat rack. Although they take up space, they also offer an essential addition to a good fitness routine.
- Barbells, Weight Plates & a Weight Bench
Each of these items will be readily available at any local gym. If you want to bring the gym straight to your garage, you will need some basic items like barbells, weight plates, and a weight bench.
- Install an Air Bike, Elliptical, or Exercise Bike
Running isn’t everyone’s forte. If you want to get some good cardio exercises in without huffing and puffing up a storm, adding an air bike, exercise bike, or elliptical is a good option.
- Treadmills for Endurance Training
If you like running, you might prefer simply running around the neighborhood. However, some people prefer to get all this cardio exercise right from one place. If so, consider buying a treadmill to assist with your endurance training.
- Add Jump Ropes for Warm-Up & Cardio
If you want to get some tremendous warm-up cardio in, jump ropes are an underrated yet treasured item in your home gym. Break them and out jump for 5 minutes to start your workout.
- Include Core Exercise Space
If there is one part of your exercise routine that you cannot afford to miss – it is arguably your core muscles. Therefore, reserve some extra space for your core exercise routine!
- Add Ample Storage to Keep the Gym Tidy
One of the common problems that people run into when working out at the local gym is that the machines get dirty, cluttered, and gross. With your home gym, you will avoid this by having plenty of storage space and cleaning gear handy.
- Consider an All-White Design to Brighten up the Gym
Gyms are almost always designed with a standard black design. You can be different, though. If you want a friendly and fresh atmosphere for your gym, try doing an all-white design!
- Buy Some Push-Up Handles
Doing push-ups the old-fashioned way works well, but having push-up handles can help you perfect your form, target new muscles, and add more comfort to your daily pushups. Best of all, they are cheap!
- Add a Medicine Ball
Medicine balls can be used for all sorts of purposes in a home gym, from increasing your core strength to improving your cardiovascular endurance. If you like using your gym’s medicine ball, buy one for your home gym.
- Include a Battle Rope
A battle rope is a fun way to get extra arm and core strength exercises from your home gym. This is another inexpensive idea to consider if you are not a typical fitness freak focusing on weights and standard forms of cardio.
- Install a Plyo Box
Plyo boxes are a great way to increase your upper body strength. They also help you train fast-moving muscles, & increase mobility and stability.
- Add in a Foam Roller
Although you might not use it for working out directly, a foam roller is a great way to do warm-up stretches, roll out sore muscles, stretch your spine, and more.
- Include a Punching Bag
If you are a fighter, having your own sandbag and speedbag might be the core items you put in your home gym. Just make sure you prepare a good spot to mount them.
- Buy an Ab Machine
If you don’t like using ab-rollers, doing situps, or taking on other common forms of ab workouts, you might see an ab machine as an excellent investment for your home gym.
- Have Towels & Cleaning Gear!
One of your goals with your home gym should be to avoid the problem that plagues your local gym: dirty, sweat-drenched equipment. Keep cleaning gear handy!
- Install a Dip Station
If you don’t like doing pushups, having your own dip station might be your best solution. This way, you can hit those triceps without getting down and dirty on the floor!
- Consider Adding a Balance Board
If you want to do balance training right from home, having your own balance board will be an excellent addition to your home gym. In addition, it can help you prevent injuries, boost motor skills, and rehabilitate after an injury.
- Don’t Skip Decorations!
This is your home gym garage. Own it. Put up decorations, posters, and other items to make it a gym you look forward to being in. Personalization is key.
- Buy Accessories You Use
Do you hate the velcro weight belt that they have at the gym? So buy one with a buckle for your home gym. Whatever accessories you constantly use, make sure to have them ready in your gym.
- Include a Yoga Wheel
If you enjoy doing yoga in your home gym, adding a yoga wheel is a great way to release some extra tension, get some extra stretches in, and improve your work with your yoga poses.
- Get a Basketball Hoop
If you are like many of us workout freaks, you like to combine your strength training with a friendly means of doing cardio. Getting a basketball hoop and installing it on your driveway can help you warm up without too much emphasis on huffing and puffing.
- Keep Protein Powder Handy
One of the common things that people will combine with a challenging workout is protein shakes. There is no better place to have a station for making protein shakes than from the comfort of your home gym!
- Consider Buying a BOSU Ball
Just about any local gym will have a BOSU ball that you can use to coordinate and balance your muscles, do stretching, do rehab exercises, and more. Best of all, they only take up a little space.
- Remember – You Can Keep Your Membership
Just because you have your own home gym garage now doesn’t mean you need to renounce your membership. If they have a workout machine that you can’t afford anytime soon, for example, you might want to keep your membership. This is okay.
- Make Efficient Use of Space
An otherwise great home gym can easily be ruined if you do not carefully plan out how you will make good use of your space. Good organization will distinguish between a great home gym garage and a subpar one that nobody will share on their Pinterest or Instagram.
- Make Sure All Your Favorite Gear is Here
Although you might not be able to afford everything right from the jump, this is the end goal for making your own home gym. Over time, ensure that all the necessary equipment is under the same roof.
- Put in a Fridge
Warm water isn’t quite as refreshing when you are drenched in sweat. Save yourself the burden of a little problem like this and have a fridge ready for your water – ideally in the special resting place you created after following a previous tip above!
- Make Sure Equipment Matches Your Theme
Imagine that you put in all the effort to have a bright white-themed gym. Then, you start ordering equipment. When the gear comes, you notice that none of the colors matches the style you made. This will end up in an aesthetically-poor home gym.
- Make Your Own DIY Equipment
You likely have some DIY equipment sitting around already in your home garage. You can use spare items sitting around to make all sorts of gym materials, from benches and weight racks to weights themselves!
- Leave Space For Parking
Just because you want to install a gym in your garage doesn’t mean that your car needs to sit out and start piling up ice! Be sure to design your home gym so that it can easily accommodate your vehicle.
- Start a Fitness YouTube Channel
Once you get a great home gym, you might want to start documenting your progress, sharing the goals that you meet, or even just showing off your home gym. Having your own fitness YouTube channel is a great way to turn a hobby into something more productive.
- Blast Music as Loud As You Want
We all know that working out simply isn’t possible while listening to Beethoven. Sure, some of you might actually do this, but the rest of us need to get pumped up to pump iron. At your home gym, you play music as loud as you want. You can also play whatever music you want!
- Invite Friends Over to Workout
Now that you have your own home gym, you can invite your buddies over. Don’t let your mind limit ideas! This can add some extra fun and social elements to your garage workout. You don’t have to feel bad about drinking a couple of beers afterward, either – you already burned the calories.
- Make Your Own Rules
Your gym, your rules. Are you sick of the manager going on a power trip and ensuring that everybody leaves precisely at closing time, instead of letting you finish your set? You can drag on your workout at your home gym as long as it takes to finish properly.
- Make Good Use of Wall Space
The wall space is your best friend with your home gym. Make full use of the wall for items like a pull-up bar, pegboard, other workout gear, and some nice posters and decorations that will inspire you.
- Wipe Down Gear After Use
Although that one slob at your gym might drool and sweat all over your favorite machine, you can keep it clean and shiny. To best maintain your home gym, try to wipe down all the gear each time you use it.
- Keep Gear as Dirty as You Like
Similarly, you are free to keep your home gym as dirty as you like. No gym manager will come running down the aisle to remind you to wipe down the pull-up bar; perhaps you prefer it that way.
- Break Out Those Embarrassing Exercises
Doing routines like Kegels, handstands, or my personal favorite, the frog pose, can draw unnecessary attention at the local gym. Nobody is secretly worried about you at home, staring at you with some side-eye, or telling stories about you to their friends at the pub after you do those awkward routines.
- Forget the Dress Code!
Typically, you won’t be able to wear certain pieces of clothing at your local gym. Shirts and shorts, for example, are usually the norm. At home, though, you can wear anything you want!
- Add in Some Fresh Lighting!
Since you can make the rules at your home gym garage, have some fun with the lighting. Use special colored lights, and add in LED lighting. Aesthetics are part of a good workout!
- Get Great Deals on Used Gear
Now that you have your own home gym, keep your eyes open for good deals. Next time used workout gear goes up for sale, you will know to pounce on a great deal right away.
- Don’t Forget to Install a Fan in the Summer
If you want your workouts to be comfortable during the summer months, be sure to have a fan ready. Your air conditioning will already go into the garage if you are lucky.
- Start Working Out More
Now that you have your own home gym, you can take advantage of this opportunity. Start working out more, and make your goals more ambitious. Start hitting new milestones.
- Save More Time For Family & Friends
Now that you have your workout space right in your gym, you will spend less time commuting. This way, you have more time for your loved ones.
- Finally, You Can Avoid People
Are you one of those anti-social types? If you just want to work out without having to put a smile or friendly attitude on, work out at home.
- Accommodate Your Disabilities
If you have some sort of disability that your gym won’t accommodate, you can make sure that your home gym does!
- Embrace Your (Weird) Interests
Although you might not be able to work out in the nude at your local gym, you sure can while at your home gym! Your home gym means embracing all your weird interests that might not be welcome at the gym.
- Construct & Shed to Store Old Garage Tools
Suppose you have old tools and misc. items sitting around in your garage. If so, you might need to move these items to a new location. Consider installing a shed in your backyard to store items that were previously reserved for the garage.
- You Can Install Your Own Sauna
Do you enjoy hopping into the sauna before or after working out at the local gym? If so, you might be surprised to learn that you can also install one at home without burning too big of a hole in your wallet.
- Use Garage Gear For Working Out
If you have benches, desks, and other gear in your garage sitting around with hardly any use – use them to your advantage. Convert these items into gear for your gym!
- Work & Train From Home At the Same Time
If you have a remote job, you have one less excuse to leave the house. With a home office and a home gym, you now have all the tools you need for productivity and personal health under one roof.
- Host Your Own Competitions
If you want to add some extra fun to your workouts, try inviting friends. Test your progress head-to-head by doing some friendly max-rep competitions, spotting each other, and so on.
- Ask For Advice on Improvements
When you have your home gym ready, you should be prepared to take on the criticism of your Ask for some feedback. family and friends. Since they know you well, they might have some great new ideas for you.
- No More Headphones & Cables!
Have you ever broken headphones while working out? Most of us likely have. With a home gym, you can keep the headphones and AirPods in your drawer and just use speakers.
- Make a Climbing Pegboard
Much like a pull-up bar, a climbing pegboard is so easy to install that most people will consider adding it to their home gym. Especially given how great of a workout they provide!
- Get New & Exciting Gear Your Gym Won’t
Have you been bugging the gym manager about buying that new workout machine you have your eyes on? Or is the gear starting to get old and worn out? If you want to take the initiative instead of waiting for the manager, buy your gear!
- Have a Healthy Meal Lined Up
When coming home from your local gym, you will likely pass many tempting fast foods and other unhealthy eating options. If you want to ensure you eat healthily, keep healthy meals ready in your kitchen.
- Teach Your Kids to Workout
If you want to set an excellent example for your kids, there are few better habits that you can instill other than fitness. With a home gym, you can teach your kids how to keep their core strength, do basic cardio, and more.
- Start Those Midnight Workouts
The club might close at 10 PM, but that doesn’t mean you must meet their schedule! Now that you have a home gym, you can work out at whatever wee hour of the morning that you please!
- You Can Scream & Grunt!
At the local gym, the screamer is someone nobody wants to be. At home, you can scream and grunt all you want. Nobody will look at you funny or tell you to leave!
- Spend More Time with Your Pets
If you have a cat or dog, you will likely be surprised by how much time your furry friend wants to spend with you in the garage. Maybe construct a special garage gym bed for them!
- Finally, Stop Making Failed New Year’s Resolutions
Nobody is judging you. In all honesty, we have all likely botched a New Year’s fitness resolution before. At least now, you don’t have to call your club’s fitness trainer and break the bad news.
- Watch the Savings Pile Up
Now that you have your own home gym, the last thing you will have to worry about is those annoying monthly payments. Now, you can save more money!
- Don’t Forget to Install a Mirror!
A common vanity item that should be in any gym is a mirror. This way, you can watch yourself progress and meet your goals live.
- Install a TV with Motivation on Repeat
The entertainment options at your local gym might be subpar, but the entertainment you have at your home gym will be lit! You control what to play, how to motivate yourself, and what plays on the TV.
- Avoid Creepers & Focus on Fitness
No, I don’t want your phone number. What are you looking at? No, I don’t want to talk. As an attractive woman, these are a few phrases that you will never find coming out of your mouth again now that you have a home gym!
- Work Out More Often!
Finally, now that you have your own home gym, you should embrace this moment as an opportunity to start working out more often, reaching new goals, and crafting the perfect body you imagine for yourself.
What Are Home Gym Ideas for your garage?
If you find yourself stuck paying monthly subscriptions at a local gym where the equipment is constantly drenched in the sweat of people you don’t know, the equipment is subpar, and so on, you might be on the hunt to secure your own home gym – thinking of ideas of how to optimize your garage space.
If you are new to this sort of project, you might need some assistance getting started. Above, we broke down various home gym ideas to help you stir some creative juices and get the best workout center possible in your garage.
Benefits of These Home Gym Ideas for your garage
Although we briefly touch upon various benefits of the home gym ideas for your garage above, some overarching themes remain constant. Here are the main advantages of the ideas presented above.
Never Lose Your Spot
The timeless scenario: you are at a gym using a particular lifting machine. You are halfway through your second set when you realize you need to go to the bathroom.
You finish your set, then hurry to the bathroom – only to return and notice somebody else is using your machine. To avoid this issue altogether, you can simply make your own home gym!
No More Payment Plans
Investing in your health is one of the best investments one can make. However, over time this money can quickly add up!
Instead of focusing on monthly payments and spending all the time and effort going back from the gym, you can invest that money into your own home gym – something you own!
Make Your Own Rules
Do you hate the dress code at the gym? Are you sick of trashing those sweat-drenched t-shirts simply because the gym forces you to wear shirts? If you can relate to these problems, you might love the freedom that comes with your own home gym.
Stop Getting Harassed
This best applies to attractive young females who are into fitness. Many ladies get turned off by the idea of going to the gym simply because it means that they get harassed by men.
Instead of focusing on your workout, you get stares, looks, and asked out on dates. With a home gym, none of these creepers will be able to come within 50 feet of you!
4 Reasons You Should Implement Some of These Home Gym Ideas for your garage
Still unsure whether a home gym is the right solution for your needs? Here are some final reasons why you should consider investing in a home garage gym.
1. Save Time & Money
The first reason is also perhaps the most obvious. If you have your own gym and can work out straight from home, you will save money otherwise spent on gym memberships.
Not to mention, the time you spend going back and forth to the gym (and the gas you burn) will also be saved when you start working out in your home garage.
2. An Easier Fitness Routine
Since you have your gym right at home, you will have a much easier time fitting your exercise routine into your daily routine. In fact, maybe you can wake up, work out, then take a shower and get started with your day.
3. Easy to Pair With Healthy Meals
When you drive to and back from the gym, you will often be tempted by fast food, coffee shops with sweets that you shouldn’t touch, and so on. However, when working out from home, you can also go straight inside and pair it with the healthy food you have ready in the kitchen.
4. Adds Value to Your Home
Finally, those who own their own homes will also be able to treat this as an investment that could add some value to your home. Therefore, when it comes time to sell your home, you can end up doing so with a fit body and a little more money than you were expecting!
Need Some Help Meeting Your Fitness Goals?
When making a home gym in your garage, you will likely have plenty of ideas – and limited money and space to make them happen. Therefore, start by considering what your normal exercise routine is, and build your home gym to best accommodate it.
If you find yourself needing a little help or inspiration on your journey to better fitness, check out some of my services. Using my proven method, you too can start losing 10 – 15 pounds each month and getting your health back on track.
Still want some more fresh gym ideas? Click here.