MAXUMize Your Home Gym: How to Make the Most of Any Space

At-home fitness is part of a growing trend of home-based conveniences.

Over the course of the last few years, people have increasingly been relying on digital technologies and e-commerce to perform tasks and activities that used to require trips outside the home. Virtually everything needed for daily life can now be done from the comfort of home.

Working from home? Crack open your laptop and hop on Zoom. Want to watch the latest blockbuster film? Stream it. Need groceries or dinner? Food-delivery apps. Need a new mattress? Have one shipped to your door in a box.

The same goes for the fitness industry as well. Whether subscribing to an at-home training program, or outfitting your home with fitness equipment through an online retailer like MAXUM fitness, it has never been more convenient to get all of your physical activity from the comfort of your own home. 

Home Gyms – Change in fitness lifestyle

For health and safety reasons, millions of people around the world that relied on shared public or private spaces for their fitness needs were forced to find creative ways to stay active at home or outdoors during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

This resulted in a surge of interest in home gym and fitness equipment, particularly in Canada where cold, snowy winters result in limited outdoor workout opportunities. 

Ever since those early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, finding and creating safe and healthy spaces has been more important than ever. Although we have returned to some degree of normalcy in recent months, the demand for functional home gyms has not decreased, and rather, continues to accelerate. 

In line with the rapid adoption of remote work as a permanent arrangement for many employees, there is a large number of people that switched to working out from home during the pandemic that will never return to their old gym, or will go on a less frequent basis. 

Making the most of the space you have in your home.

The biggest challenge of working out from home (aside from motivation) is creating a safe and conducive space for your desired fitness activities. 

Working within space limitations can be difficult at the best of times, but almost any space in your home can be transformed into a workout-friendly zone with the right planning and equipment. 

Let’s take a look at some ways you can optimize the spaces you already have in your home to make the most of your home workouts.

Basement

There is perhaps no space more frequently used for home workouts than the lowly basement. Whether finished or not, the basement is usually a perfect place to set up a comprehensive home gym space. 

With some rubber gym flooring, the concrete floor in an unfinished basement becomes the perfect platform for a wide-range of home fitness equipment. You can install a full Smith Machine and Functional Trainer, a squat or power rack, an adjustable weight bench, treadmill, rowing machine, or just about anything else you can imagine. 

Our personal favourite set up for the basement home gym is the S-150 Smith Machine Functional Trainer with Squat Rack. Combined with a premium set of Olympic lifting weights and barbells, the S-150 Smith Machine delivers an unparalleled home workout experience. 

Garage

Much like a basement, a garage can be an ideal space for a few pieces of home gym fitness equipment. Although you may have limited space if your garage is actively used for vehicle parking or storage, there are creative ways to turn it into a multipurpose space for your home. 

Although it’s almost stereotypical to see a set of dated dumbbells and a workout bench rusting away in the corner of an older relative’s garage, this is a common and effective use of space for your home workout. We recommend getting rid of that bulky, rusting equipment in favour of a modern and highly functional adjustable set of dumbbells and weight bench.

Depending on how much space you have in your garage, and whether you store vehicles, the garage can also be a perfect spot for a squat/power rack and set of Olympic barbells and weight plates. 

Balcony

One space that rarely gets talked about as an option for home workouts is the condo or apartment balcony. For anyone that endured quarantine in a big city and had the luxury of a balcony, this space became an absolute saving grace for life during lockdown. 

Depending on the size of your balcony, it can be the perfect space to lay down a couple of rubber gym mats and outfit with an adjustable weight bench and set of adjustable dumbbells. You’ll need to make sure you protect them from the elements when not in use, but this combination can quickly turn your balcony into a strength building zone. 

A slightly less orthodox approach to using your balcony could be to use the railing for stretching, ballet, or barre exercises. These types of exercises can push you to increase your flexibility, balance, and overall strength, and you might just have a built-in barre studio on your balcony. 

Living Room

Although the living room is not often thought of as a space for working out, it can be a very versatile space for workouts that require little or no equipment. These types of workouts have exploded in popularity over the past few years, and there is a wide-range of subscription services and programs for purchase in this fitness genre.

Covering everything from yoga and pilates to intense bodyweight strength programs and aerobic challenges, no/low-equipment workouts can be incredibly diverse. For many of them, all you need is a workout mat or an empty patch of floor. Some may incorporate dumbbells or resistance bands, and these are great compact fitness equipment for your living room. 

One of the best ways to use your living room for fitness is for stretching and recovery. With just a yoga mat or a soft carpet, you can easily turn your living room into space for active recovery or flexibility training. Supplementary equipment that can easily be moved or stashed away like foam rollers, massage/release balls, and therapeutic massage guns are perfect for a living room workout space. 

Bedroom

Much like the living room, the bedroom can double as a space for light workouts, depending on how much space you have available. A classic approach to bedroom workouts can be inspired by high school and college-aged boys that live with a set of dumbbells and a pull-up bar for their anytime upper body strength needs. 

But beyond these classic strength workouts, the bedroom is a terrific place to recover and engage in breathwork and meditation. If you have enough floor space, you might roll out a yoga mat, or you might even lie on your bed.

If you happen to have the extra space, you could even invest in a piece of compact cardio equipment for your bedroom. A stowable rowing machine or exercise bike could be exactly what you’ve been looking for. 

The bedroom might not be the most ideal space for working out, but if you don’t have any other options, there are always ways to work with the space you have. 

Contact your online home gym fitness equipment retailer.

Beyond these suggestions, an expert representative from an online fitness retailer, like MAXUM fitness, can help guide you through the purchase of equipment that will perfectly suit whatever space you have to work with. 

Sometimes,all it takes is a little creative thinking and some furniture rearranging to turn a crowded space into a functional and affordable home gym. 
At MAXUM fitness, it’s our pleasure to work with you and your space to make your home workout goals a reality.