Commercial gyms and home gyms should not look alike. Yes, it is rant time… and YOU need to stop looking in all the wrong places for home gym advice!
Even if you are an experienced commercial gym-goer, starting a home gym from scratch can be a daunting task. What kind of budget should you allocate to a home gym? Should you buy everything all at once, or bit by bit? What sort of equipment should you buy?
These and thousands of other questions inevitably swim through the minds of home gym newbies. And they’re particularly pertinent for Brits, who have some of the smallest houses in Europe in which to construct their home gyms.
So it’s only natural to turn to the internet for help. After all, YouTube is stuffed to the gills with “home gym tour” and how-to type “home gym transformation” videos.
In most cases, these are very entertaining videos. The problem? If it’s practical home gym advice you’re after and you’re not a millionaire living in a huge house, you couldn’t pick a worse piece of content to watch.
A Commercial Gym at Home? No, Thanks – and Here’s Why
These videos and their makers fall into the same trap: They show you how to build a commercial gym at home. OK, if you are a Hollywood star or a footballer on half a million pounds a week, you may want to build a commercial gym in your mansion – what else are you going to put in there?
But for most of us, we can’t build a commercial gym at home even if we really want to. The space and budgetary restrictions are just too great.
So why try to recreate your local gym in your single-car garage, spare room or shed?
Let’s take a look at a few examples.
Here’s Steve Shaw, a veteran and very informative YouTube fitness content creator, taking us on a tour of his home gym.
It’s an incredible setup. And as you can see, it takes up several rooms of what is presumably a very large house.
Tons of great equipment. Not amazing decoration and tidiness, but I’d still love to work out there, and it’s probably on a par with many of my local gyms.
Here’s the ever-entertaining Dr. Mike Israetel’s “home gym tour.” Home gym, huh? This place is big enough to store jet planes in. It’s a hangar. I’ve never been in a commercial gym this good, let alone a “home gym.”
OK, let’s get a little closer to home with Joe Delaney’s very impressive home gym transformation in a British two-car garage.
I won’t lie, this looks stunning, and way better than what I have.
But the problem again is that Joe has created the same thing: A commercial gym in a house.
If your dream is to build a commercial gym in a house, and you have the money and space to make that dream come true, go for it.
But if that’s not your dream, and you just want to get fit, strong and/or jacked at home, you don’t need to follow any of these examples.
OK, nice rant, you may say. So what do you suggest I do instead, Mr Smartypants?
Well, let me explain…
Go ‘Spartan’
It might be best to start by noting some things you need to avoid when you are building a home gym.
The top of that list for me is a rack of dumbbells. Whenever I see one of these in a home gym, my heart sinks. A long rack of dumbbells is only really necessary in a busy commercial gym or a small studio gym that was built to impress people.
Yes, it’s annoying to use adjustable or loadable dumbbells instead. But is it 1,000 quid annoying?
Bear in mind that for 1,000 pounds, you’re only getting dumbbells up to 30kg, which just isn’t heavy enough if you are reasonably strong in lifts like dumbbell shoulder press, dumbbell bench and flyes. For single-arm rows? Forget it.
A set of gleaming dumbbells on a gleaming rack is only amazing if you are PT training clients from home and you want to give them the razzle-dazzle.
Machines
I actually quite like a lot of machines, and I often fantasize about having a garage big enough to fill with things like a Smith machine, a pullover machine and a lat pulldown/low row combo.
However, unless you have a very special reason to splurge on a machine, it probably isn’t worth your money or the space you need to sacrifice for it.
I often look longingly at home gym-ready lat pulldown/low row combo machines like these and wonder if I shouldn’t pull the trigger when they’re on sale.
But as much as I adore back training more than anything else in the gym, I have a hard time trying to justify why just that one muscle group should get its own machine.
If you have tons of space, yes, that isn’t a concern. But if not, maybe save the joys of machine-based workouts for the occasions when you do go to a commercial gym?
Lighting, Speakers, TVs, Mirrors, Heating and Air Con
Many home gym content creators make the argument that you should make a home gym space as plush and comfy as possible. They say that this will help you motivate yourself to spend more time in there.
There is some validity to this argument, particularly if you find motivation to be a problem.
I don’t personally struggle to get myself into the gym, be it at home or a commercial gym. In fact, I quite like the spartan nature of a brick wall rather than a bank of mirrors, freezing cold weight plates in winter, a bit of heat in summer.
I don’t want it to be full of distractions like TVs or speakers. A set of Bluetooth earbuds works just fine – and bothers the neighbours less.
Fancy lighting is also nice, but it’s hardly necessary. I’d rather save the time and the money that goes into all of these things for something that is going to get me bigger and stronger.
If decoration and home improvement are your thing, sure, go ahead. But these things are not even the icing on the cake in a home gym. They are the hundreds and thousands you sprinkle on top of that if you have the time – and the inclination.
Spend Money Where It Will Actually Count
Home gym essentials – what really makes or breaks a home gym – tend to be less glamorous. Chief of all of these are weight plates, bars and safety equipment.
A good, sturdy rack is the best investment you can make – if only because it could save your life. If it comes with safety pins you aren’t that keen on, upgrade to better pins or arms.
Weight plates. You can never ever have enough of these. Decent ones that will last you a lifetime aren’t even that expensive.
A wide selection of loadable bars is another excellent purchase.
Add to that plenty of strong collars, a few yoga mats or horse stall mats and a good pullup bar and you really have all you need.
Final Thoughts: Commercial Gym vs Minimalism Vibes in Your Home Gym
Of course, you might want to add touches and flourishes that will make your home gym unique. There may be a few commercial gym-type goodies that you just don’t want to do without. Fine.
But your home gym should be that – a space at home where you can work out. You don’t have to compete with a commercial gym, because that’s a fight you probably can’t win.
Your home gym beats a commercial gym on other battlefields – because it saves you time and money… and it’s probably a lot more hygienic.
So stop taking your home gym tips from millionaires or content creators who make a living from home-based fitness.
If your home gym is a little bit basic, raw and unglamorous, try to embrace the suck a bit. You might be pleasantly surprised.
