Home Gym Design Mistakes & How To Avoid Them

modern gym design


We’ve all been there. You’re scrolling through Pinterest or reading an article on your favorite fitness website and you see that perfect home gym design. It has all the equipment you need and it’s in a perfect location for your house.

But then you start to think about how much space it would take up, or how difficult it would be to install. And before you know it, you’ve talked yourself out of building your own home gym again.

But don’t worry, we’re here to help! In this post, we’ll share the top five design mistakes people often make when creating their home gyms, and we’ll provide simple solutions to help you avoid them. Let’s get started.

Not Considering the Space When Designing A Small Home Gym

It’s important to be realistic about what you can fit in your home. Generally, it’s best to choose an area that has plenty of room for all of your equipment without bumping into the walls or furniture. If you don’t have a dedicated space like this, try to find an open wall (or two) that could work.

small workout space
Small home gym with bench with dumbbells

When finding the space, make sure you measure what will be going on in it. This is especially important if you’re buying equipment to fit a specific home gym floor plan.

If you don’t take measurements before making a purchase, you’ll end up with workout equipment that’s too big or small for your room.

Even if you’re trying to maximize the space, the important thing is that you don’t end up with equipment that won’t fit.

So measure your space and keep those measurements where they can be referenced easily.


Not Being Realistic About Your Exercise Room Storage Space

Another important consideration when designing your home gym is storage space. You need to have a place for all of your equipment to go back between workouts, otherwise, it would just be floating around and taking up valuable space.

The first step here is figuring out where you’ll keep everything and how much room you’ll need to store it. Generally, the best home gym design doesn’t have all of your equipment in one big pile on the floor or jammed into a corner. You want some separation between the different types of equipment to make choosing what you want easier.

When figuring out your storage space, remember that many machines require at least a little bit of room to operate properly, so don’t cram everything into the same corner. Also, make sure you’ll be able to reach everything for each workout.

It’s important not to underestimate your storage space here! It can be easy to think that you have enough space at first, but then realize halfway through your workout that something is just out of reach. And then you either get discouraged and quit or try to improvise, which can cause injuries.

Not Planning Your Home Gym Design Workout Space

Many people assume that equipment is just used for weight training, but it’s easy to use machines for cardio without even realizing it.

For example, if you’re using a treadmill, slow your speed or increase the incline to work out your upper body at the same time. If you want to tone your arms, ellipticals and rowing machines are great, too.

Not only will this help you get the workout you want without having to buy extra pieces of equipment, but it could also save you money if you use free weights instead.

So don’t forget to plan your workout before using getting any equipment for your modern home gym design. Decide what type of workout you want and then choose your equipment accordingly.

Not Having A Plan For The Rest Of Your House

It’s important to keep your workout area separate from your living space so you can focus on your workout and not be distracted. This is why it’s so important for everyone, even those who work out at home, to have a dedicated workout space. That way, the only thing you’ll see as you work out is the equipment and nothing else.

incline bench and dumbbells in home gym
Simple Home Workout Space

But don’t let this stop you from enjoying your home. You can come up with a great workout space without sacrificing other areas of your house.

The best way to do that is by adding some temporary or permanent partitions to create smaller rooms and then choosing furniture and decor that’s appropriate for your workout space.

Having a great workout space can also help you create boundaries between domains, like home and work.

That way, when you’re at home working out or resting after a long day of work, that’s all you’ll be focused on. You don’t want your workout space to affect the rest of your life.

Not Setting Goals For Your Exercise Space

Just like with anything, it’s important to set goals before you start a new workout plan. Is your goal weight loss? Strength training? Being healthier and more fit on the whole? You can hire an in-home fitness trainer or virtual fitness trainer.

Do your research and figure out what equipment you’ll need to reach those goals. You can even come up with a home gym workout plan to follow!

If you don’t set a goal, you’ll end up using all the equipment in your home gym for general toning and that isn’t ideal. For example, if you’re going to use a barbell, look at some examples of workout plans online and choose one to follow. Also, consider taking a virtual class! This will ensure that you get an excellent workout.

In this post, we’ve shared the top five home gym design mistakes people make when creating their home gyms. We’ve also provided solutions for those problems so that you can build your dream gym without regret! If you have any questions or would like to learn more about our gym design services, reach out and contact us today.

Carter’s Home gym, from Long Island NY, designs and provides custom gyms for homes and businesses. They specialize in building custom fitness centers for Home Gyms, Hotels, Universities, Travel Teams, Airbnb’s, Senior Centers, and Commercial Spaces.

Contact us to assess your home gym equipment needs today!