How much does garage gym cost
A
Garage gym will cost anywhere between 1000-10000 depending on whether you already have the structure or not. If you want more details on any of the items, please refer to the related articles section.
Goals
Whether a home
gym makes sense for you depends highly on your personal goals.
Gym memberships can be very cheap, especially if you make no use of the classes or trainers. So check your goal set and some factors before deciding on big expenses for a home
gym.
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Opening times
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Self-motivation
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Current discipline
The distance to your
gym is one of the impactful factors whether a
gym makes sense or not. The further away the
gym door is from your own the more sense it makes to switch to a home
gym. Once you commute an hour to your
gym it will be beneficial to start a home
gym.
If your work shift, it will also help to have a
gym that is open 24/7. Most gyms are not open 24/7 with a few exceptions. Combine this with long commutes and you get the idea.
Motivation can be a tricky topic. As long as you can stay motivated and push the workout without external motivators you are a good candidate for a home
gym. So ask yourself seriously whether you will keep up the routine once you are home with no official appointments.
The last thing to look at is how disciplined you are about your attendance. If you continuously hit three times a week already or more you can look into it. If you think you will be more disciplined by having a home
gym that is usually not what happens.
Rack
Racks range from 200 to 8000. I would budget somewhere between 1000 - 2000 to leave you with different options and not having to compromise too much. A good
rack should provide you with plate storage, a pull-up option, and safety pins to protect you when exercising. The most common options are
half-racks,
full racks and
fold racks.
Half racks are the least costly option. They provide enough space to squat and
bench press if you are relatively small. Very big athletes might prefer a
full rack. The same goes for when you start moving more than 200kg for repetitions. In those cases you want the
rack to have more weight and stand on a bigger base or anchor the
half-rack solidly to the ground with a lot of
plates or bolts. Half- racks do not provide enough space to store
plates or attachments.
A
full rack is the most solid option for all applications. They are in the middle of the budget range for
racks. You will have space to maneuver and the
rack will have more stability. You will also be able to store some
plates on the
rack itself. Attachments will find enough space so that they are usable. They take up more space than a half rack, o are not ideal for gyms with limited space.
Fold racks can be folded to the walls when not in use. This is a great option for
garage gyms in which you still want to park your car when you are done with your exercises. They are a little more expensive than half racks but not as costly as
full racks.
Plates
Plates will also run up to 1000-2000 if bought new. With
plates, you have more options to get something used.
Bumper plates and steel pates are usually the cheapest per pound while competition and calibrated plates are higher in price. The estimated cost is based on 180kg. If you can work with less weight you might get away with investing less. Try to get your
plates together with your rack,
bench, and
barbell.
Plates cost a lot when shipped separately for little value-added.
Barbell
The
barbell for your
garage gym will put you back between 200 - 800. It is more likely that you will be on the lower end of this spectrum. A good all-around
barbell can be had for 200. The cost goes up when you want a special design or bearing. If you are not specifically into weightlifting and want an Olympic
barbell, stay under 500 for this item.
Bench
A
bench will put you back between 100 - 1000. It all depends on whether you want it to be adjustable or not. Flat
benches can be had at a very low cost. Anything adjustable brings up the cost quite considerably. I recommend that you invest what you save on the
barbell into a better
bench. Many people do it the other way around which I think is false economics.
Storage units
Storage units can put you back 100 - 500 apiece depending on what you get. You will at least one form of storage to out dumbbells, kettlebells or other equipment away. You can save here, but I would not recommend it. If you do not have a place to store things, your
garage gym will turn into a right mess fairly quick.
Flooring
Plan another 500 for horse mats for the floors to make the home
gym a better place. Otherwise, you will be wrecking the floor.
Summary
Depending on the size and whether you get the material used or new your
garage gym conversion will put you back somewhere between 1000 - 10000. 3000 should cover most scenarios including floors, rack, barbell
plates, and a bench.