By Thomas King, MSc, CK, CSCS

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the craze of working out from the comfort of your own home has taken the fitness industry by storm. Lately, it seems like everyone is trying to set-up their own home gym.

While setting up a quality home gym may seem like a fairly straight forward task, in many cases, people will find that they end up purchasing items they do not need and missing items that they do need. Presented below are the steps I would follow for setting up a great home gym as well as some tips and tricks that I have learned over the past couple years.

Assess Your Needs

This one seems simple enough but not a lot of people sit down and do it and as a result, they end up spending money on items they will rarely/never use. For example: if your goal is working on the powerlifts (squat, bench press, and deadlift) a squat rack with safeties (you’ll be training alone!!) and a barbell + plates are a necessity. For this set-up, you may be tempted to add some dumbbells but many great powerlifting programs do not require any dumbbells.

How about if your goal is to strength train for running? A runner does not need a squat rack, barbell, or plates and can likely get away with some adjustable dumbbells, resistance bands, and an exercise ball. Most running focused exercises use these pieces of equipment.

The bottom line: Dedicate time to sit down and assess your fitness goals. The pieces of equipment you will need will be dictated by these goals.

Assess Your Space

Not everyone is fortunate enough to have a large space available for their home gym. This will have a serious impact on what you can purchase and comfortably fit in the space. For example: a treadmill has a foot print of about 4 feet x 10 feet. If your home gym space is a spare bedroom, this will likely be close to 1/3 of the entire room. In this case I would instead consider a more space efficient spin bike. The foot print here is generally only 2 feet by 4 feet.

Consider as well, the height of the room you will be using for your gym. You may want to overhead press, does the room have roof clearance for you to do a standing overhead press or will you need to be seated for it? Consider this as well if you plan to purchase a squat rack. Many squat racks come in heights 8 feet tall and above. This is likely too high for most houses. Consider looking for a rack that the company advertises as for “home gym” use. These are often shorter, generally about 6 feet high.

Where to Purchase Gym Equipment

This one comes back to your needs analysis. The equipment you need will dictate where it is purchased from. Stores like: Wal-Mart, Winner’s and Sportchek will likely have all the resistance bands and exercise balls that you will need. Chances are, you can find a good quality treadmill/spin bike for home use at Canadian Tire (make sure you wait until it goes on sale!). If you are looking for plates, barbells, or squat racks, you will likely be ordering from somewhere online. Consider when you are ordering that buying from a company in Canada will be much cheaper than an American one. Some places where I have ordered equipment are: Bells of Steel, Fitness Avenue, and Treadmill Factory.

When accumulating equipment, make sure you regularly check places like Kijiji and Facebook Marketplace. People are always selling fitness equipment that they thought they needed because they didn’t assess their needs first! Finally, when it comes time to buy equipment, I wouldn’t advise buying all of it straight away. Instead, start with what you would consider your most “crucial” items and let the gym build from there. Some items that you may consider buying when setting up a basic home gym are:

  • Adjustable Dumbbells: Brands such as PowerBlock or Bowflex make popular adjustable dumbbells
  • Resistance Bands: These can be long bands or short bands. The long bands are useful for exercises such as: lat pulldowns, rows, triceps pressdowns and many more. The short bands are useful for many different glute and core exercises
  • Swiss Ball: A good swiss ball is useful for many different core exercises, plus, if a bench isn’t in your budget, you can use it for dumbbell bench presses and other lying exercises
  • Exercise Mat: These are pretty cheap and you won’t have to lie directly on the floor if you would rather avoid that

The Wrap-Up

Setting up your home gym is supposed to be a fun process. After all, if you don’t enjoy setting it up, chances are, you won’t enjoy using it either. While the task may seem daunting at first, if you follow steps I have listed and pay attention to the tips, you should have no trouble settling up a quality gym for a reasonable price that will meet your training needs for years to come.

~Thomas 🏋️‍♀️

WANT TO ENSURE YOU’RE BEING EFFECTIVE IN THE GYM AND GETTING THE MOST OUT OF YOUR WORKOUTS? WE CAN HELP YOU WITH YOUR FORM AND PROGRAM DESIGN SO YOU CAN MAXIMIZE YOUR RESULTS.

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I had signed up for other gyms in the past and never went or rarely went. Something always got in the way or I was just too tired and lacked motivation to go. This way I’ve made a commitment to Jon or Thomas and I try very hard to keep my sessions once I’ve booked in. JKC is different from other gyms that I’ve tried in the past because no one is there to be “seen”. We are all there to get a good workout in and go on with our lives. And it’s a small gym so you get to know everyone and it’s like a big family. When I joined JKC, I couldn’t do a chin up with an elastic band, but I’ve slowly worked up to 10 free hanging chin ups. That was big because I hate chin ups.

I was looking for something to augment my 20+ year yoga practice with a focus on strength conditioning. I am friend’s with Jon’s sister in-law and over the years always heard great things about JKC, especially with respect to the top quality trainers they have and programs they run. After talking to Jon about my goals, and hearing his thoughts on a training plan, I knew that this was going to be an awesome experience … and it sure has been. JKC stands out from other gyms because of the attention to detail, the high quality of the staff and the facilities. Also, the amazing people that train there. And no one posing and taking selfies. I’m 41 years old and I started in Dec 2021.

I had spent a fair bit of time in gyms in my teens and twenties but I turned away from the gym to focus on activities that I enjoyed more. What keeps me at JKC is that I do really enjoy it. I always feel that I’ve accomplished something when I leave at the end of my workout. The environment is really positive and focused on challenging yourself whatever your level of comfort and fitness. I’ve also seen results that I’m really happy with; having someone who really knows what they’re talking about to guide your workouts makes them way more effective and focused than just “going to the gym”.

Shortly after I started at JKC, I sustained a fairly major injury that took me off my feet for several months. When I started to get back to activity, it was very difficult. Jon and Thomas worked hard to tailor my workouts to my goals and what I could do. With their help, I’ve been steadily building back strength and function.

I am 62 years young and I started training with Jon in 2013. I originally came to join JKC as a recommendation from other family members that were onboard with Jon. Their enthusiasm for the gym experience was quite evident.  I was not to be outdone, so I decided to join as well. JKC, in my mind, certainly stands out from the crowd. I feel it’s a combination of the skill and passion the coaches have for their job and their clients. Each client is treated with the upmost respect and given time to explore their fitness journey without any pressure. JKC is certainly not a cookie cutter gym.The coaches customize your fitness program to suit your needs and your fitness level. This certainly makes sense because no two clients are alike.  This is where JKC excels! Jon, Thomas, and Craig keep the atmosphere at the gym light, but productive. A great combination that obviously works and makes the clients want to come back. Lastly, the camaraderie at the gym is everything. Meeting likeminded people who make you feel you are not alone in your fitness journey is everything.

I started strength training at JKC in the Spring of 2021. I am in my 60’s but happy to say I feel much younger since joining this gym. I joined JKC upon the advice of a doctor. I went through some difficult medical issues last year, that’s when one of my doctors recommended strength training at JKC. I have been physically active most of my adult life but mainly running and completed many road races as I am a distance runner. Strength training has definitely benefited me by increasing my stamina and energy. It sure has enhanced my recovery over the past year. I have the added benefit of becoming a stronger runner as well.

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