2020broughta rise in the purchase and installation of home gym products, mostly becauseCOVID-19 resulted in many martial arts, yoga, and fitness facilities temporarily closing their doors. The owners of these gyms moved to virtual training during this time, and their members sought out ways to train at home. That left an important question for many: how do I make my own home gym? With motivation, space, and equipment, you can create a home gym in any room of your house.

Which Room Should be Madeintoa Home Gym?

There are many spaces at home that can be usedfor training.The most popular is the basement. Both finished and unfinished basements are options, though each require differentadjustments and equipment. Garages are another oft-used space, though again, depending on the location and climate control options, the requirements will vary.A third option is a spare room in the home.This can be an extra bedroom, den, or home office.

Home Gym Products to Purchase

Once you've settled on a location in your home for your home gym, there areseveral itemsto consider whenadaptingyour spacefor training. One of the first items tobe aware ofisthefloorof your location.Whether you are training Muay Thai, rolling Jiu Jitsu,practicing yoga, orlifting weights, it's important to have the proper flooring and martial arts mats to ensure safety and the correct training for your discipline. In a garage with concrete floors, this may mean considering a mat underlayment for extra cushioning. Basement home gyms need extra appraisal to make sure the floor does not suffer from constant dampness, as this may ruin mats set on top of creating damp flooring. Training spaces in extra rooms at home may mean contending with carpet. Carpet is particularly tricky as a flooring for mats, as the mats tend to slide and shift during training. If you plan on making a spare room a long-term training space, consider taking up the carpet or using double-sided mat tape to hold the mats in place.

What Does Your Training Entail?

The products you choose for your home training space depend on (you know what we're going to say here!) what kind of trainingyou plan on doing. Fortraining with more physical impact to the body, thicker mats are a necessity. This includesJiu Jitsu with a more competitive focus, Judo, andacroand ariel yoga.If the flooring under your mats is concrete, such as in a garage or unfinished basement,you'll need to consider a foam mat underlayment. Home training spaces that are more permanent could also benefit fromthe installation ofa spring or foam subfloor.For home gyms that are used for multiple disciplines, more than one type of flooring can beincluded.Rubber flooringbeneath gym rigs and other exercise equipmentis an easy solution.At-home yoga practice can benefit from a more comprehensive space. Putting down a10x10 mat spacewill allow for more movement and poses that may be difficult to confine to a yoga mat.

Don't Forget Wall Padding

A second important consideration are the walls of your chosen location. Finisheddrywall may need to be protectedin order to prevent damage to the walls. Concrete walls may need to be protected withwall padsto prevent injury. Padding is the second most important, but often overlooked, product for martial arts home training spaces.Both striking and grappling often result in forceful impacts with wallsand/or mid-room posts and pillars. Not only is this dangerous for the martial artist,but incidents like this can also lead to structural damage. Adding wall padding and pole paddingshould be high on the list forthese kind of home spaces.Additional equipment is thethird most requesteditem after mats and padding.What kind of additional equipment you choose to add to your home training gym depends on desired workouts, finances, and space.Heavy bagsare often included in home gyms due to the variety of workouts they can be used in. Depending on thelayoutof your space, you can add a heavy bag that is installed into your wall, or one that is installed into your floor.Heavy bags can also be added to the side of gym rigs as well. Make sure you carefully read the installation requirements before deciding on a bag setup, asstructural requirements must be carefully considered for safe installation and usage.

Start Building Your Home Gym!

As we enter 2021, home gyms are more popular than ever. The market has evolved to offer athletes a wide variety of optionsin regard toequipment and setup.A home gym can be set up in any area of your house, but each area requires unique considerations to make it the best and safest training option for you.