Everyone is different, and everybody works out for different reasons. So I can preface this conversation with that, that we are all exceptions to many rules.
But after designing literally thousands of residential and commercial workout spaces, there are some big priorities and rules of thumb that apply to over 90% of these spaces.
You want to make sure you have enough space, and you want to look at your flooring situation. You don't want to be working out on concrete, and rugs collect sweat and you be slippery. The right flooring is the first step, sort of the pre-step.
But whether you are building your first garage or basement workout space, or if you are putting together a fitness studio in your home, or even if you're designing a new YMCA, you start with a good bench and a good set of dumbbells. The second thing you get is your first cardio modality, but 90% of the time, we start with the foundation, a bench and dumbbells that will grow with you.
A lot of clients make the mistake of trying to replicate their favorite piece in the gym, or their whole personal trainer's studio. But every single gym on the planet can use a good dumbbell bench and then the dumbbells. Don't make the mistake of thinking you want to use a bar and plates, that's one of the most common mistakes we see that somebody comes in looking for an Olympic bench before they even have a set of dumbbells. There's no exercise you can do with the bar you can't do with dumbbells, and there are thousands of exercises you can do with dumbbells that you can't do with a bar. In addition to that, even in the same exercises, the dumbbells require the use of more stabilizing muscles. Quite simply they are your number one tool.
So. To recap.
1) Make sure the space is sufficient, and see if you need matting or flooring.
1) Make sure the space is sufficient, and see if you need matting or flooring.
3) Favorite Cardio.
4) We'll get into this later, though probably a bar catch/olympic system or cables and the second cardio format.
4) We'll get into this later, though probably a bar catch/olympic system or cables and the second cardio format.
We've done logs on picking a good bench, and we've done a blog on the Science of Dumbbells. So I'll link those here. We've also talked quite a bit in the blogs about flooring and other design factors. But if you'd like ConnectFit to be your partner in designing your workout space, from here on to the next 20 or 30 years, just connect with us here. We'd love to help you design your gym.
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