With an increasing amount of the population becoming more and more overweight, developing postural and health  problems from over sedentary lifestyles, an obvious solution is to workout from home.

Why is this a good idea?

Many people are now too busy, overworking and would like a way to workout while saving time commuting to  and from gyms. Many are also too embarrassed to workout in daunting and sweaty gyms, which are way outside their comfort zone.

Most people who require more movement to feel well, are not going to succeed in gyms. This is simply because they are beginners at exercise. Therefore the result is that most people who join gyms give up or do not regularly attend and therefore waste their money.

Useful tips

I passionately advocate the try and develop behind closed doors. There are plenty of ways to learn and empower yourself to train at home, you can get some professional assistance from personal trainers budget permitting or simply workout with friends or learn from others. A tip is to after these sessions to sit and jot down all or most of the exercises you did. give them names you remember such as squatting (like sitting down on a chair but not reaching then rising again) or draw little pictures. Repeat the same workout again in the next two days as you will remember it again.

Assess your home for useful areas for specific exercises. For instance, my home has a hard floor corridor of 21 meters, I lovingly call it my treadmill as I use it to run on, especially in winter. I can even use it for a beep test which requires a 20mter track for shuttle running. Other useful house features are backyard lawns, bars used for pull ups or body rows and even the humble step can get your heart rate up in many ways.

Some of the lessons to avoid

Plan the space and budget you have thoroughly. Check all dimensions of larger equipments. Fit your design to your own and family body goals. Balance the best blend of gym design to maximize the overall family benefit.

Be accountable. I suggest booking a time to workout and sticking to it. This may sound silly but required to avoid complacency in getting to the workout area when it is only 20 meters away.  We all know it requires discipline to work from home and home gyms are the same.

Depending on your budget, you will have to learn to effectively exercise with little or no equipment such as body weight exercise or simple equipment such as boxing gear, gym balls, resistance bands, bosu balance trainers and dumbbells. Alternatively for more advanced athletes and bigger budgets acquire equipment which is non specific for exercise, for instance I recommend cable machines, Pilates machines and Olympic bar racks are fantastic as you have unlimited ways to do an infinite amount of training. I do not recommend expensive and big space needing specific machine machines like a quad press or bicep curl machine, although they may have a very specific use to some situations.

Use a personal trainer to advise you to setting up your home gym and continue an apprenticeship from them with the aim of empowering your family to better train alone and progress you training style to achieve your body goals. If you cannot afford this try buying fitness magazines or research idea on You Tube.

Finally, don’t be one of the people who buys without ever having known or tried the equipment before. Always do your time on a machine with others or hire for at least five workouts before you buy it. Then you will know how to use it well. This will reduce the chance of your machine becoming a great dust collector.

Good luck and hope your home gym will be a proud and treasured possession of yours, just like your body.

Design a home gym

By Romeo Caporaso of www.bodyandbusinessbalance.com.au

Romeo Caporaso is a Personal trainer in Adelaide and has coached hundreds of clients to success in weight loss, stroke rehab, rehab from knees, hips and back pain or injury. He also has his own designed a home gym for viewing and consults in home gym design and implementation.

Comments or questions are welcome.

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