So you’ve decided to start working out at home and are looking for garage gym ideas, huh?
That’s great! For me personally, it’s been the best decision to prioritize my health and time spent with my family.
I surveyed thousands of garage gym owners and asked them “What’s one thing you wish you knew before you started your home gym?”
And they provided a TON of great tips and feedback.
I gathered all that info and put together a massive list of my ideas and the knowledge other garage gym owners have amassed throughout the years.
Some of these garage gym ideas took a lot of brain power and trial and error.
Others are just simple gym hacks that will save you some money.
Whether you have a 2 car garage, small garage, half garage, 1 car garage, or simply on a budget, you’ll find some ideas in this list that will flip a switch in your head.
Regardless of your training style, these garage gym ideas have helped kick start many home gyms around the world.
Sell your junk
Not talking about prostituting yourself, get your mind out of the gutter.
You’d be surprised how much bigger your garage will look once you get rid of all the clutter.
I’m sure you have stuff there that’s been taking up space for years.
Then you can get a better idea of the equipment you can bring in to your space.
Believe me! I know first hand.
That picture up there is what my garage used to look like before it became what it is today.
Why not list some of that online for sale and start saving for that piece of equipment you must have!
If it doesn’t sell, just donate it.
Start with the gym flooring
Set up gym mats from the get go to protect your floor.
The last thing you want to do is move hundreds or thousands of pounds of equipment into your garage, to just move then back out, and in again.
The best mats for a home gym are horse stall mats.
These mats are sold at stores like Tractor Supply.
They’re 4 x 6 feet long and 3/4 inch thick so they cover a lot of floor space.
They will last a very long time.
Just make sure you air them out for about a week or two because they have a strong new rubber smell when you first buy them.
If you don’t have a Tractor Supply near you, you can also find them online here.
P.S. Bring a truck, not a sedan to pick them up. Expect a workout, they are heavy and awkward to move around.
Cheap gym equipment is rarely worth it
Spend the extra money on quality equipment that will last you a lifetime so you only have to buy it once.
That doesn’t mean you always have to buy it brand new.
You can always deals and discount gym equipment online from reputable retailers.
Also look for quality used equipment from Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, OfferUp, LetGo, and other social selling sites and garage sales.
Just make sure it’s made of heavy duty quality material so it can last a long time and you don’t have to replace things constantly.
Take advantage of FREE shipping
Gym equipment takes up a lot of space and is heavy.
Just ask the UPS delivery guy who’s never worked out a day in his life.
That means you’ll be paying a pretty penny to get it to your door.
Whenever possible, see if the company you want to purchase from has an Amazon store.
Many times they will ship equipment for free if it’s already at Amazon’s warehouse.
One company that prides themselves in offering free shipping regardless of order quantity or size, is Titan Fitness so check them out.
Start basic
Start with the fundamentals and don’t spend money on gimmicky equipment.
A quality barbell, weight plates, bench, and a set of dumbbells will get you a long way.
As you save up, try adding a rack for pull ups, bench pressing, and squatting.
Flip it til you make it
Racks, specialty bars, and many other pieces of equipment are expensive so if you want something badly, there is nothing wrong with putting in a little work.
Play the gym equipment flipping game.
Buy low and sell high.
Go on marketplaces and buy other people’s equipment and negotiate down.
Then turn around and list it online for higher so you make a little bit of money.
Quality gym equipment retains its value so you shouldn’t have a problem doing this.
Repeat that over and over again until you’ve made enough profit to get the expensive piece of equipment you want.
Use your walls
Don’t clutter up the floor space you worked so hard to clear.
Hang stuff on walls so you can get a lot of equipment off the floor.
This will also keep your garage gym more organized.
If you have dry wall, just make sure you learn how to find wall studs before you hang heavy pieces of metal on it.
I’ve used my wall to hang my PRx Performance foldable rack, dip bar, weight plates, jump ropes, resistance bands, parallettes, sledge hammer, and other miscellaneous accessories.
This give you so much floor space to play around with.
Read my post on home gym organization ideas so you can see how I built a full gym while taking up little space.
Save on storage
Instead of buying storage equipment from exercise equipment companies, think of other products that are just as strong and cost less.
I’ve done this myself many times and saved hundreds of dollars.
I’ve used tire hangers to hold my weight plates and a lot of other stuff on the wall.
These tire hangers have a weight capacity up to 120 lbs so you can insert multiple weight plates (as long as you have them anchored to wall studs).
I’ve also done the same using heavy duty hooks.
I used these hooks to stand up my barbell and rower against the wall.
Get good lighting
It’s time to throw away your 1980’s incandescent light bulbs.
Get an LED garage light and you’ll improve your lighting instantly with a flip of a switch.
Good lighting will make you appreciate your gym more and lift up your mood.
These lights screw in to the socket just like a regular lightbulb and are better at energy usage as well.
Resistance tubes are your friends
Don’t have room for a home cable pulley system or cable crossover machine?
Use heavy duty, stackable resistance tubes!
You’d be surprised how much resistance these tubes provide and they can be attached to just about anything with carabiners at each end.
These also come in handy whenever you travel and need to get a workout in.
Blow it all away
Garage gyms have direct access to the outside world so they will get dusty.
The easiest way to clean things up is to lift both garage doors, get to the back wall, and turn on your leaf blower to get all the crud out.
The leaf blower will get to nooks and crannies your broom won’t so you’ll probably see stuff on the floor you’ve never seen before.
Do this at least once a week and you’ll appreciate your space more.
Crank your speakers up
Get some music going to hype you up and keep you motivated.
A speaker is better than ear buds or cables that can get in the way of your lifts.
Crank it up as loud as you want to and throw in some dance moves while you’re at it.
I own a Sonos speaker and the sound is amazing.
You control everything on your phone through their app.
Play some of your neighbors’ favorite tunes once in a while so they don’t complain 😉
Training style
Will you be doing calisthenics, powerlifting, weight lifting, CrossFit, or something else?
So many people buy gym equipment just because they think it’ll get used and it ends up taking up space or being a clothes rack.
Know your training style so you stick to equipment that will benefit your goals and workouts.
Ceiling height
Do yourself a favor and measure your ceiling height with a measuring tape before looking at racks.
The last thing you want to do is buy a rack that barely fits.
Make sure you have plenty of clearance to allow exercises like pull ups.
On the flip side, if you have plenty of space, go for the big rack instead of the short one.
Get some fans
During the summer, the garage gym will get very HOT!
I’m talking 90 degrees or more.
Make sure you get some fans blowing your way to get the air flowing and help you evaporate sweat off your skin.
I have 2 wall mounted fans blowing at all times.
I hooked these up to the bracket that connects the garage door track to the ceiling so I didn’t have to drill holes.
This way I don’t take up any floor space either.
Bundle and save
If you can afford to buy several pieces of equipment at once, do it.
Paying for one shipment of bulky, heavy equipment will be cheaper than paying for several shipments.
Garage floor slope
Garage floors require a slight slope for drainage so water from the outside doesn’t pool on the inside.
This can throw a curve ball on your plans when setting up a rack or deadlift platform.
Watch the video below so you can see how to correct a slanted deadlift platform.
When it comes to leveling off your squat rack, you may need to squeeze some metal shims or UHMW plastic below the uprights.
Another option is attaching washers to the bottom of your uprights to level it off.
Get your kids into it
When I’m working out my kids know they need to give me space so that they don’t accidentally get hit with a dumbbell or anything I’m moving around.
But, I also allow them to be around and use equipment that gets them moving and makes them feel like they’re involved in working out.
They love doing pull ups, push ups, squats, and challenging each other.
I even bought them a trapeze set that’s anchored to the ceiling.
This sets a habit for them that they can hopefully continue to practice for a long time.
Plus, this gives them a place to burn some energy whenever it’s too hot, cold, or raining.
DIY garage gym ideas
Can’t find something or don’t have the dough for it?
There are many creative people on the internet who have built DIY gym equipment and have shared it with the rest of us.
Below you’ll find just a few of thousands DIY garage gym ideas:
Know your space
Have a realistic idea of how much room the gym equipment you need will take up.
You could use a basic design software so you get an idea of how much space your equipment will take up.
Click here to heck out the free Rogue home gym builder software.
If a piece of equipment like a squat rack takes up a 4′ x 4′ of space, it really requires about 9 – 10 feet so that you can load the bars.
Physically go through the motions and routine of your entire workout (especially if you have a small space.)
Go through the motions of racking and removing plates and exercises to see if your barbell doesn’t get too close to objects it can potentially crack.
Because once you’ve placed those mirrors, glued down that floor, and set that rig up with the hundreds of pounds on it…
It surely is harder to move and adjust it after the fact.
Don’t rush it
You don’t have to buy everything you want at once.
Don’t put yourself in a predicament where you spend way too much and you can’t pay the bills.
I get it, people post pics of their stuff on Instagram and you want it too.
But in reality, most people have built their garage gyms slowly over time with both new and quality used equipment.
Take your time.
Time is priceless
If you’re committed to training on a consistent basis, a garage gym can save you money over time.
When you look at gym memberships you also have to consider several things, not just the price of the gym membership:
Gas cost.
Wear and tear on your car .
Time it takes to get to and back from the gym.
Toe nail fungus from sharing showers.
Old guy’s saggy balls hanging out while walking around naked in the locker room.
And it’s even worse for those people who pay a gym membership and don’t even go!
Time is something that’s undervalued.
I’d rather spend time at home with family than on the road.
You can never get your time back.
Check out PRx Performance’s home gym saving’s calculator to get an estimate of the numbers and time you’ll save.
A garage gym is a door away, saves time, saves gas, saves wear and tear on your car, and will pay for itself for many years to come.
Liquid chalk
Do you use chalk for better grip?
Does it get all over your gym floor and equipment?
An easy way to solve that problem is to use liquid chalk.
It comes in a bottle, you put some in your hands and in a matter of seconds you’ll see your hand covered in chalk.
You can then close the bottle and you’re not covered in a powdery mess.
Use your ceilings
Finding wall studs doesn’t just come in handy when hanging stuff on your walls.
You can use the same technique to find ceiling joists and use them to anchor down other pieces of gym equipment that can take up floor space.
In my garage gym I attached a ceiling ring hanger, a climbing rope, and some ninja obstacles for my kids.
Simple solution to keep equipment from piling up on the floor.
Resell what you don’t use
Have you ever bought gym equipment just cause it was something new or because it looked cool?
Did you use it once or twice and then just let it sit there?
Yes, it happens to all of us.
But the good news is that you can resell your equipment.
The resale value for quality equipment is high so you can get most of your money back.
Then you can come back to this page for more garage gym ideas to spend your money on.
Label equipment
This garage gym idea comes in handy especially when you own a rack with tons of holes.
You can label which holes you use for benching, squatting, dip bar attachment, etc.
This will make it easier next time you’re going from one exercise to the other.
Use permanent markers, a pencil, sticky labels, or magnetic labels.
It’s your equipment so do what you want without getting in trouble for vandalism.
Let your body recover
Having a garage gym readily available is a great thing but don’t over do it.
Instead of lifting everyday, use your gym for recovery activities.
Whether it’s a light bike ride, stretching, mobility work, using a massage gun, or having your kids walk on your back, your body needs enough rest to make gains.
Garage Gym Ideas Conclusion
Now you have plenty of home garage gym ideas to start your own.
There’s no excuse anymore.
Fitness companies are creating more products to fit home and garage gyms of all shapes and sizes.
Small garage, 2 car garage, 1 car garage, half garage…
There is something available for everyone.
I’m sure you can come up with some ideas of your own as well.
Feel free to share them with us so we can update this post.
Garage gym athlete, gym hacks, DIY gym projects, and garage gym equipment reviews