What you need to know before building a home gym

ARTICLE Clare Chapman 

The convenience of a home gym is something many covet. Having the ability to retreat to a room in your home completely set up for exercise is an ideal way to motivate yourself to keep in shape, and it’s surprisingly simple if you’re thinking about converting a garage or a room within the house into a workout area.
There are a few things to consider though, particularly if it’s the garage that will be converted, and especially so if it’s an older-style garage. One of the most important things with home gyms is to ensure they are warm, motivational spaces, Refresh Auckland Central franchisee Jim Gleeson says.   
“Warmth and sound are two key things with home gyms. Older garages often aren’t lined so considering lining the garage is a good first step if you have the ability to,” Jim says. “You would want to paint it in a motivational colour, with white as a good, clean option. White also provides a lot more ambient light in darker rooms than other colours. Then, it’s good to think about the audiovisual aspects of the room.”
Being able to listen to music or watch television when working out is important to many gym-goers as a way to escape and get into the rhythm of a workout. Often garages don’t have much in the way of power points so before it’s lined, it’s worth thinking about whether there is the need for additional power points to be put in.

“In regards to flooring, you want to think about keeping the room warm but also its functionality,” Jim says. “One good option we find for home gyms is commercial closed-loop carpets, but also floating wooden flooring works well too and it provides an insulating quality between the concrete or wood underneath. It’s quite soft to walk on but will also take a bit of a beating if people are dropping weights on it, for example.”
Jim recommends compressed bamboo laminate flooring as a high quality but low cost option for home gyms due to its tensile strength and durability.
Often, people need their garages for storage of sorts, or to house laundries. And that doesn’t necessarily have to change if it is being converted into a home gym. “We tend to recommend that people have a think about storage solutions and shelving if they want to continue to use the garage for storage as well as being a home gym. Adding partitions to the room to separate it into areas is generally a good solution for these sorts of scenarios.”
Lighting is also important, as are mirrors, Jim says. While a gym should be well lit overall, if it’s going to be used for weight lifting or other workouts where it’s useful to be able to see form in a mirror, task lighting is important. “A well-lit area in front of a mirror is a good way to start,” Jim says.
If you’re thinking about creating a home gym in your home or garage, get in touch with Refresh here to see how they can help.  

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