Struggling to keep that new year’s resolution fitness goal? I always find the hardest thing is dedicating the time out of your day to go to and from the gym. Especially as we are finding ourselves working from home a lot more at present. Meaning we have to make more of a point to tackle the cold weather and head to the gym. Which is made especially hard with the freezing weather we’ve had the past week! Whilst it is important to get out when working from home, why not make the gym on your doorstep. Which is why we wanted to suggest how to build a 2nd hand multi gym.
The Perks Of A Second Hand At Home Gym
So building anything at home, be it renovations or just transforming your space into something new, requires planning. A brand new and professionally built home gym can cost on average £8,000 and a commercial gym nearing £38,000. Which is why we think not only does it make sense to build at home gym yourself for ease but also financially. Providing that you know what you want to get from your at home gym you can monitor your cost and look strategically for your equipment. Remember second hand doesn’t mean second best. Reasons that people might be parting with their equipment could be due to moving and space, or buying new equipment, or they’ve realised that their equipment isn’t best suited for them. Usually you want to look for people who can’t have their equipment due to spacing issues. This is because they usually want shot of the item quicker, and sell it for less. So why not gain from these circumstances and benefit yourself and your fitness journey.
How To Build a Second Hand Home Gym
The first thing you should consider when putting your gym together is that you need to focus on what type of working out you’ll be doing. This will make your buying process far easier. For example if you are looking at low intensity workout such as yoga or hiit then you won’t need as many high priced items. For these type of workouts you would be look for mostly floor exercises and basic equipment. Other workout that you might want to build your home gym around consist of cardio, weight training, Pilates or dance studio.
For all of the above workouts some items that will help bring your home gym space together could be:
- Gym towels
- Reusable water bottles
- Yoga mat (this useful for all workout types as support from your flooring)
- Speaker (to help keep your rhythm or motivation as you workout)
- A mirror (whilst this is most common for studios it will help your form if you can see your technique as you workout)
- Storage solutions (think somewhere to put your trainers, or extra gym clothes for if you feel warm and need a hoodie)
Now that we have covered the basics which will be contusive to any workout; let think of some more structural issues you need to think of:
- Map out your space.
- Consider multi workout equipment, sometimes you can get cable racks that double up as pull up bars, and a squat rack.
- Do you have the right flooring for that type of equipment. If you are looking for more intense weight training or high cardio then you need to consider if you flooring structure can handle it.
Cardio Equipment
Obviously when it comes to a home gym and cardio you can always just head out for a run, but as we mentioned the weather likes to play devils advocate with your exercise. To start lets consider some of the basic cardio machines you could get:
- Rowing Machine
- Ski Erg
- Cross Trainer
- Stairway
- Treadmill
Weight Training Equipment
Depending on where you are at with your weight training will depend on what you need. As mentioned before a multiple use cable rack is a great place to start:
- Cable Rack
- Barbell and Dumbbell sets
- Medicine Balls
- Workout bench
Yoga Equipment
As we have said yoga equipment doesn’t need to require much, having a matt will start you off in the best way, add in some soothing music and you are good to go but here are some extra bits of equipment we suggest:
- Balance Trainer
- Reebok Deck
- Yoga Block
- Fitness Bands (these will help your flexibility)
Pilates Equipment
The age old debate of if yoga and Pilates are all that different. Regardless to which side you are on you can buy similar equipment for both but can advance it with some different things for Pilates:
- Weighted plates
- Portable Pilates bar
- Gym Ball
Start Building Your At Home Gym
If you are starting to feel inspired then check out our Pinterest board ‘health and leisure’, where we have some incredible at home gym layouts. Then start your search and see what we have to offer on Preloved here. Then get ordering and planning when you can fit in your build. This might be time consuming, so it could be worth getting these orders and deliveries staggered. Then once you have gotten it built share it with us! Either tag us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for us to share our favourites with the rest of our community.
Extra Reading
We want our readers to be their best self and if that means fitness, and you are considering an at home gym but maybe not now; then maybe check out these blogs: