Building Out Your Home Gym for Functional Fitness
You can get really fit in whatever space you have. Whether it’s your garage, your living room, or your driveway, you can get started with just a few pieces of equipment.
The home gym trend keeps growing, not just out of convenience, but as a necessity for many.
When life keeps you from being able to train at a gym, the ability to train effectively at home is more than just a luxury — it’s a crucial part of maintaining consistent fitness habits.
WODwell’s own coaches Joe Masley and Lisa Reither hosted a live webinar in which they walked through how anyone can build (or expand) their home or garage gym to support effective functional fitness training:
Lisa and Joe covered picking the right equipment, as well as creating a space that enables and motivates effective independent training.
They also talked about the value of following a training program to instill accountability and consistency.
Finally, they shared a handy “home gym equipment checklist” to help you figure out what to get when you’re just starting out, or what to get next if you’re expanding:
Key Takeaways
Why Build a Home Gym?
For many of us, the journey from gym-goer to home fitness enthusiast starts small — a pair of kettlebells here, a jump rope there.
Over time, these small additions can transform a corner of your garage or a spare room into a fully functional training space.
The ah-ha moment comes when you realize that you can get really fit — even with limited space and limited equipment — from home.
That doesn’t mean you need or want to cancel your CrossFit membership. But it does give you the option to train effectively at home when you can’t make it to the gym.
And if life ever does make it impossible for you (as it did for us) to train at your favorite CrossFit affiliate, you’ll realize your home gym was the best investment you ever made.
What else?
- Flooring Matters: Start from the ground up. Proper flooring, like the recommended horse stall mats, can protect your floors, of course. They can also serve as delineating the “dedicated space” for training…a psychological bonus.
- Essential vs. Expanded Equipment: In the webinar, coaches broke down the equipment into three tiers — Basic Essentials, Advanced Essentials, and Expanded Setup — to help you prioritize purchases based on your needs and budget. From simple setups with dumbbells and a pull-up station to more advanced setups including a rowing machines and a climbing rope, the focus was on practicality and scalability.
- Accountability for Training: Having the right gear is just part of the equation. If you’re primarily training independently, then a structured program that scales with your fitness level and available equipment will help you make the most of the time you carve out for fitness. A well balanced program also ensures progression while minimizing the risk of overtraining or injury…plus access to a community of likeminded athletes.
Developing More Than Just Fitness
A home gym is more than the sum of its parts. It’s a commitment to a lifestyle that values health and personal well-being.
It’s a statement that says you’re serious about maintaining physical fitness, regardless of external circumstances like weather or global events.
For most, setting up a home gym is a journey. It doesn’t have to be completed in a day, a week, or even a year. But every piece of equipment you choose and every square foot you dedicate brings you one step closer to a more accessible and personalized fitness experience.
Let us know how you’re building your space or what challenges you’ve encountered. We’re here to help guide you through creating a home gym that not only meets your fitness needs but exceeds them.
