Considerations When Building a Home Gym

Our home remodeling firm gets the most calls about building a home gym after the holidays. But seasonal weight-gain guilt and New Year’s resolutions are only part of the increasing popularity of home-based exercise spaces.

Home gyms are common home remodeling projects for fitness enthusiasts and large homes year-round.

The safety concerns of the last few years made working out at home even more commonplace. This trend was on public display during the meteoric rise of Peloton’s stock while gyms were forced to close.

Home gyms are often further down the remodeling list than adding a powder room or remodeling a kitchen. But they are often less expensive than a wine cellar or home theater.

In Milwaukee, home exercise rooms are often part of a basement remodeling project. In order to make your new home gym a place you want to use, it is important to:

• Find the perfect space.
• Adequately plan space based on your equipment.
• Consider the lighting.
• Make sure there are entertainment options.
• Choose the best materials.

Location

Choosing the right room can affect the home gym’s aesthetic, and how often you use the space. It will also determine how extensive the remodeling process is going to be.

Choosing a room close to a bathroom means you can avoid walking through the house full of sweat.

Picking a room with natural light can make you feel more energetic and motivated during dark winter months.

Depending on the types of exercises you do, you may want to select an isolated location so your workout does not interrupt your housemates’ sleep or work.

If budget is a concern, avoid an area of the house without existing walls, and pick a spare bedroom or attic instead.

In addition to the size of the room, also consider the height of the room depending on what exercises you want to be able to do.

Remember, depending on your equipment, your room does not have to be huge!

Equipment

Take an inventory of the exercise equipment you own or will need for your workout before calling a remodeling contractor.

Doing some online research about the required clearances around each piece of equipment will give you an idea of how much space your remodeling project will need.

Don’t forget to consider the height of the machines! If you find you do not have a ton of space, consider products from companies like Mirror, Tonal, or Forme, which offer a comprehensive workout without taking up much floor space.

Lighting

While we encourage all our home remodeling clients to incorporate as much natural light into their projects as they can, most of our clients build a home gym in the basement, where natural light is hard to come by.

Instead of excessive LED lights seen in warehouse-style commercial gyms, we can work with a lighting designer to install layers of lighting that create a less sterile mood and be customized to your family.

Having a unique fixture not seen in commercial applications can be a really fun way to create a unique space and a sense of luxury.

By making a lighting plan before we start the remodeling project, we can make sure all your workout zones are well lit.

Incorporating mirrors can also help brighten the space as well as provide a visual component to your workout.

As with all rooms, consider the paint color and sheen. A light color can help reflect light and make a space feel brighter. A dark color with accent lights can make a room feel more industrial.

See also: Our post, Paint Sheens Explained.

If you can’t get all of the lighting you want in your space, adding glass doors or walls can brighten up a dark space and allow in natural or made light from an adjoining room.

Entertainment

Maybe you have a Peloton with an integrated screen. Or you might think the mental image of a trimmer you is all you need to stay focused. But you should probably still mount a television.

Adding a smart TV can allow you to access workout videos on YouTube, from streaming services, or even a private training session over Zoom or Skype.

In addition to a TV, adding a set of speakers from your distributed audio system will allow you the same control over your music and podcasts as you have in the rest of your home.

OK, so if haven’t installed a whole-home audio system yet, Wi-Fi speakers from Bluesound or Sonos would be great too. Both options are discrete and provide access to lots of music or other audio formats from your phone.

Many of these speakers can be wall or ceiling mounted so they won’t occupy valuable floor space—or get karate kicked or body checked in the heat of the moment.

Materials

Flooring

The most common materials are vinyl, rubber, foam and turf. Weightlifters may also want a dedicated lifting platform, which is often made of sturdy wood.

Commercial gyms most commonly use rubber flooring for its durability and ease of cleaning. Athletic training facilities or sports performance centers often use turf.

Foam is a popular home-gym flooring choice, but foam floors are not as durable, are less resistant to moisture, and provide less traction.

Horse stall mats are also popular options for home gyms.

Soundproofing

Clanging, banging, and grunting are fine at Planet Fitness or the South Shore Athletic Club. But you might want to keep those noises inside your home gym.

If you have the luxury of building new walls for your home gym, you can use products specifically designed for sound reduction, such as QuietRock drywall and ROCKWOOL Safe’n’Sound insulation. There’s even soundproofing paint. On existing walls, you could add soundproofing tiles.

On a limited budget, hanging blankets or quilts on the walls can make a difference as well. But many websites, such as Soundproof Nation, list some other relatively inexpensive methods that are somewhat less tacky.

You can also replace regular, hollow doors with solid-core doors.

Other considerations

Our motto, “Home is in the Details,” applies to a home gym as much as the rest of your house.

After the major design is tackled, it is important to think about smaller items that make working out at home as enjoyable as a club and encourage you to stay with your fitness goals.

Storage

Storage solutions will help you keep the floor free from clutter. Consider hooks for resistance bands or your boxing gloves and racks for your foam rollers or yoga mats.

Cabinets

Installing custom cabinetry or a bar is a great idea for storing clean towels, a hamper for dirty towels, or house a beverage center (internal link) to keep you hydrated.

Seating

It’s nice to have a chair to sit down and tie your shoes, or a bench to relax on between sets.

Create the Best Fitness Room for Your Home

Regardless of your space or needs, contacting a qualified remodeling contractor like LaBonte Construction should be your first order of business after taking inventory of your wants and needs.

LaBonte Construction was voted Best of Milwaukee 2022 by Shepherd Express readers in Basement/Rec Room Remodeling. We were also voted best in Home Remodeling, Bathroom Remodeling, and Kitchen Remodeling, and were finalists in Home Builder.