Garage Gym Essentials
In-home personal services have always been popular, but as are becoming more popular, as they provide a convenient way to get one-on-one help from fitness experts. Private training sessions are one-on-one and can be as short as 20 minutes or as long as 2 hours. Clients love private training because it gives them the opportunity to work individually with their trainers.
There are many benefits of building out your home gym in your garage and running one-on-one and group personal training sessions in your garage gym. You save time because you have no commute. You can enjoy considerable tax benefits. You save money on gas and wear and tear on your car. You become far more productive because of time savings. You can spend more time with your family. Your clients come to you. You can work less and keep more money.
Buying Used Gym Equipment
Building a garage gym isn’t always the cheapest endeavor, especially if you are just getting started in the industry and do not have a bunch of your own equipment to start. Depending on a number of factors, including quality, brand, product, a garage gym can vary wildly in terms of cost. Arguably the best way to build a garage gym on the cheap is by scouring the used marketplace. Top sources of used equipment and gear include:
- Facebook Marketplace
- Craigslist
- OfferUp
- LetGo
- Local garage sales and estate sales
- second-hand and thrift stores
You’d be surprised how many amazing pieces are posted on these sites. If you’re lucky enough to find a commercial outfit unloading their gear, you’re in for a real treat. Check these sites frequently and get ready to pounce when the right pieces are posted.
You may also consider reaching out to friends, family, colleagues, or your mentors and seeing if any of them are looking to purge some of the equipment or gear in their collections.
With a bit of creativity and some time spent searching, you’ll be well on your way to building an excellent garage gym without paying a bunch.
What Garage Gym Equipment Should You Buy?
The most important aspect of your garage gym is the equipment that you plan to use. Inexpensive items like dumbbells, kettlebells, yoga mats, and resistance bands are a great start in building your ideal garage gym. Some of the more expensive items include a squat rack or power rack, barbells, weight plates, and a weight bench.
Kettlebells
Kettlebells are a hugely diverse piece of equipment and take up hardly any space. Providing your know how to use them then they should be at the top of your shopping list. You likely don’t need to purchase many kettlebells, an 8kg, 12kg and 16kg is usually enough for women and a 12kg, 16kg and 24kg for Men. Non-competition kettlebells offer more diversity because they can be held with 2 hands rather than just one.
Pull Up Bar
Having some kind of overhead pulling option is essential to keep your body balanced and prevent potential muscle imbalances. You can purchase ones that attach to the wall, are part of a rack, or are self-standing. If space is limited then purchasing a complete unit just for a chin-up bar can be a bit excessive.
Cable Machines
Cable machines offer a huge selection of exercises that are both functional and challenging. For core training exercises including the wood chop, Pallof press, and horizontal pushes and pulls, a cable machine is superb. Cable machine design has improved over the years and a single column machine is really all you need and takes up very little space.
Stability Ball
There are hundreds of exercises you can perform with a stability ball from core training and stretching movements to joint stabilization and using it as an unstable bench. The stability ball is an essential piece of garage gym kit that offers a refreshing variety compared to many of the other pieces of equipment.
Plyometric Box
A plyo box can have many other uses than just jumping on and off. For example, beginners can use plyo boxes to elevate their hands when performing push-ups or use them for step-ups. Those more advanced can use their plyo box for elevating their feet during push up or for Bulgarian lunges or pistol squats.
Foam Roller
Everyone should have a foam roller and use it regularly for improving their soft tissue. Not only is a foam roller excellent for addressing existing knots and adhesions but it’s also great for warming up muscle tissue before a workout. There are also a number of core exercises that can be performed with a foam roller including the ‘ab saw’ which is an extremely intense eccentric core exercise.
Getting Started with a Personal Training Career
Check out what it takes to start a career in personal fitness training. This is your most affordable and fastest way to become a highly qualified personal trainer.
There is always something exciting about earning a new training or coaching certification and applying that new knowledge of how you train your clients. This also helps you hit the reset button.
Learn more about our Home Gym Profit Center. This FREE business system is perfect for Yoga, Personal Training, Pilates, Martial Arts, Nutrition, Wellness Coaching, Sports Conditioning and Similar
NESTA and Spencer Institute coaching programs are open to anyone with a desire to learn and help others. There are no prerequisites.
That’s it for now.
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