Building your first home gym

What do you want to do in there?

My first home gym was a tight-squeeze Mirafit M3 setup in the garage. Covid had closed the local gym, and I wanted somewhere to keep training. It’s grown and changed a lot since then. Several versions later, here we are.

Before you start shopping, write down a normal week of training. Which exercises do you enjoy? What weights do you use? If it’s mostly dumbbells and a bench, start there. If you want to squat and bench with a barbell, allow for the rack, safeties, bar and plates together.

Make room for the training, too

A room full of equipment isn’t much use if you can’t move around it. Measure the space, sketch the layout and include the awkward bits: doors, radiators, sockets and anything else that needs to stay accessible.

Tape the proposed layout onto the floor and walk through a session. Where does the bench go? Can you load both ends of the bar? Is there anywhere to warm up? My current setup takes up less space than its predecessors, leaving more room for floor work and moving around the punchbag. That space matters as much as another attachment.

You don’t have to buy it all now

Aim for a setup you can train with from day one. Include flooring, collars, delivery, storage and any fixings the manufacturer requires. They’re easy to forget when you’re looking at the exciting stuff.

Keep the upgrades on a separate list and see what you miss after a few weeks of training. Speaking as someone whose gym has changed rather a lot, there will always be another attachment to buy. You don’t need to give every one of them a home.

• List your usual sessions.
• Measure the room and try the layout.
• Price the complete starting setup.
• Use it for a while before adding more.