At this point I’ve published several dozen articles on personal finance and development. This time around, I wanted to show you how you can be frugal and still invest in yourself – particularly, in your own health. Gym memberships are expensive, prohibitively so in my opinion. On top of that, going to a gym to exercise has a lot of negatives like the commute, setup time, and the fact that it makes it even harder to stick to a consistent workout schedule. In modern life, with everyone so busy, there is an easier solution. Besides, it’s one that’s far more cost effective to boot. Without further ado, let’s get into how you can build a home gym on a budget.
Why Should I Bother?
So, I’ve already established that home gyms are more convenient and cheaper (we’ll discuss the math later on). However, if you are someone that is insecure about working out in front of others, has issues staying consistent, or are fairly new to workout programs, then a home gym is probably the perfect solution. After all, it’s important to find the thing that will actually help you with your health the most. Finding a good spot for it in your home and the initial setup may be annoying, but it’s worth it. Let’s get into more of the reasons about why it could be a good solution for you:
- If you’re insecure, a home gym lets you work out in privacy. Of course, anyone who makes fun of you for trying to better yourself should worry more about themselves and their behavior than you.
- A home gym is the peak of convenience. If you find yourself buying gym memberships, but realize that you never have the time to go, a home gym cuts out that excuse. As long as you have a few minutes to spare, you can just walk over and do your workout!
- If you’re newer to working out, then you will probably have a cheaper home gym cost up front. Eventually you’ll have to upgrade certain things or buy more plates, but it’s a lot easier for you to get something that works for your level. Of course, if you’re brand new make sure you take the time to learn the proper form for your exercises. If you do, it helps to prevent injury and make the most of your routine.
The Basic Equipment
For most people, it should be safe to say that you’ll be spending significantly less than $1,500 on a solid home gym even with the recent increase in equipment costs. After all, a home gym doesn’t require a ton of equipment – just the core essentials (which should cover most workout routines).
The main things you will need are:
- A barbell (ideally an Olympic barbell)
- A squat rack, preferably with a pull-up bar
- A bench
- Enough plates to push your limits and gradually increase the weight
- A jump rope (or other miscellaneous items you may want)
Building a home gym on a budget may mean you need to find sales and cut corners when possible. Still, don’t forget to prioritize safety above all else.
Olympic Barbell
This will probably be your core piece of equipment that you’ll use for most of your exercises. It’s also one of the main things you don’t want to be cheap about. Cheap barbells tend to have low weight limits and are prone to breaking. So, to avoid that make sure you do your research and get a high quality barbell.
I’m not affiliated with either brand, but Rogue Fitness has some great all-rounder options, and if you’re looking for a cheaper option Rep Fitness also has some good barbells. However, I am an affiliate of Amazon, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that they do have good deals on some barbells. Although, for the widest selection you’ll need to use a vendor’s site. A good barbell will likely cost you $150-300.
There are a few things to remember when you’re shopping for a barbell:
- Ensure it has a good maximum weight limit.
- Depending on your routine, you may need to get a barbell with a center knurl.
- If you need it, get some gloves for your routine. For newcomers, barbells can be rough on the hands.
Squat Rack
A squat rack is just as important as a barbell, especially since it’s main function it to help you stay safe and prevent injuries. Fortunately, there are a lot of good deals on squat racks like this one on amazon. A solid budget squat rack with a pull-up bar will probably cost you another $250-300. If you want one with more bells and whistles it could cost a lot more. Again, this one from Amazon has a good price, and it has a good weight capacity of 800 pounds – more than enough for most lifters. On top of that, the assembly is fairly easy for a project like this.
Plates – Individual Or Sets
Obviously, since you have a barbell you’ll also need some plates for it. There are tons of different types of materials you can use for weight plates, but iron Olympic plates are the best bet for most people. If you want new, individual plates then CAP usually has the best mixture of quality and price. However, in recent years the price of plates has almost doubled, so your best bet might be to get some used from Ebay, yard sales, or some other storefront.
Depending on what you exercises you want to do, you may also need to get some bumper plates. The plates are much more expensive, so if you decide you want them try to only get what you absolutely need for those exercises and use other types of plates for everything else.
If you’re determined to get a set of new plates for cheap, try to get a complete set from a store like Dick’s Sporting Goods. Again, I’m not an affiliate, but they (and a few other stores) have a couple of sets that are about as cheap as you can get – sometimes they come with a free barbell (be careful though, as sometimes those barbells have low weight capacities). All-in-all how much you spend on plates will vary wildly, based on how experienced you already are. Let’s assume you’ll spend $200-400 on plates, if you’re buying new.
Bench
The best solution for this one is to keep it simple. There are three things you’ll need to know when you get a bench:
- Flat benches are usually the cheapest.
- You need to make sure the bench is the right width and height so that you can do exercises properly. 10-12 inches is the most common width, and 17-18 inches is the standard height.
- Make sure the weight capacity of the bench is enough to support you AND your barbell (and plates).
A good option is something like this. It’s not the best bench, but it is only $60, has a solid width and height, and a maximum weight of 600 pounds (which is more than enough for most people). It also goes on sale, which makes it even cheaper. All-in-all it’s one of the best budget picks currently on the market.
Jump Rope And Other Items
Last, but not least, you need to get any other exercise equipment you may need. For example, you can get a jump rope for $5-20 if you want to do some cardio. Additionally, if your barbell or plates didn’t come with a clamp, you can get one from Amazon for about $10. That, coupled with everything else, will nicely round out your home gym setup. Of course, you might need nothing from this category.
Let’s Do The Math
Now, let’s estimate how much a home gym will cost and how long it will take to pay for itself. Assuming you bought the items I recommended or got something even higher quality, your total cost will be about $1080. That’s not bad for a home gym, especially since it is basically assuming you got top of the line equipment and didn’t get anything second-hand (which would reduce the total to something potentially much more manageable like $700-800). But, for argument’s sake let’s go with the higher number of $1080.
Gym memberships can vary wildly, but most sources I found say that the average one costs about $58 per month. Assuming that, and the higher figure for the home gym cost, your home gym will pay for itself in just under 19 months. In other words, the home gym makes up for itself after about a year and a half – while also being far more convenient than gyms. That’s hard to beat in my book!
Conclusion
Home gyms definitely are a good investment, make your life easier, and pay for themselves fast. While an investment of $700-1100 might be a lot for some, it may be worthwhile to save up for it. Your health is important, and having a home gym may be the best way to take care of it, in addition to eating right through things like meal planning and buying in bulk. If you want to find other ways to save money, check out my articles on it here.
Remember, your mental and physical health are just as important as your financial health. Sometimes it can be easy to forget your priorities, especially in the hustle of modern life. If you have any other tips for creating a home gym, let us know in the comments!
For more content like this, and a free budgeting template and financial goals worksheet, be sure to sign up for the Bitter to Richer newsletter.
