It may sound somewhat paradoxical that making the gym more convenient and less effort to access shows that you’re getting serious about managing your physical health – after all, shouldn’t working out include the walk to and from the gym?
The truth is that getting fit and healthy is more about intelligent effort rather than hard work for the sake of it. This is emphasized in the cold truth that weightlifting with proper form and less load is much better for building muscles than throwing heavy weights around a weight room improperly.
Regardless, if you have the space for it, designing a home gym can be a wonderful use of your time. It not only gives you access to a space entirely designed for stress-relief, managing your fitness levels, and improving your house value, but can save you a fortune in commuting and gym membership costs.
So – let’s consider some worthwhile and proven principles for designing a home gym. Without further ado, please consider:
Get The Flooring Right
It’s important to get the flooring of your gym right. You’re looking for resistant flooring that can handle the weight being dropped onto it, won’t reverberate sounds around your house, looks good, and is easy to clean. Epoxy floor coating can be the best and most durable of the materials on offer, granting you a simple but clean aesthetic and a perfect-to-main floor. Stay away from floorboards, even laminate, which can damage relatively easily especially if you’re lifting weights. This might sound hard for yoga or other related activities, but remember you can use foam inserts and mats on top of that to soften the blow – many studios, such as those running martial arts classes, will use the same material.
Proper Lighting & Mirrors
Lighting is important in a room where you’re hoping to commit to intense activity, because you need to see your way around for safety purposes. Above-head cats-eye or domed lighting can be a fantastic way to fill the room, without causing lamps, fixtures or anything breakable to get in the way. You may also enjoy lining one wall with large mirror panels, allowing the room to feel twice as large and helping you inspect your form more easily. It will also help the lighting remain more open within this space.
Soundproofing & Acoustics
If you’re anything like us, exercise isn’t a particularly graceful activity for you. Grunts, yelps, hoops and hollers unlike anything that should be heard in polite society can take place in a gym, especially at home where you’re more comfortable, and the music you play will supplement that, too. As such, it’s helpful to have certain areas of the room soundproofed alongside your insulation if you can, especially if you work out at night and don’t wish to wake anyone up. You can also place speakers on mounts to prevent the vibration from reverberating around the house. This means if you’re the kind of person who can withstand the idea of a morning run, you won’t have to wake anyone up in the process.
With this advice, you’re sure to manage the three proven principles for designing a home gym.