DIY Indoor Home Gym

Finding time to exercise is hard enough, am I right? What a drag. On top of that, you have to figure out where to exercise. Between the pandemic, and old man winter our options have decreased dramatically. It’s time to be resourceful and use what we have right in front of us. Today I’m sharing my best tips for creating your very own “DIY Indoor Home Gym” and I’m going to take you on a tour of ours! Keep in mind that no matter what size your home is, there is always a way.

Our DIY Indoor Home Gym is located in our walkout basement…

Before “Spooky” and I take you down there, I want to invite you to visit my blog friends at the end of this post. We all came together once again to bring you our “Thrifty Style Team” series, where we share affordable DIY ideas for our home the second Friday of every the month. We have 10 projects this month. Let’s start at the gym 😊, but first sign up HERE so you don’t miss our monthly posts.

Okay, let’s go!

Where to Create Your DIY Indoor Home Gym

When I began to think about where we could work out, I naturally gravitated towards the walkout basement because it is very rarely used now. Back in the day, the kids had all of their toys down here. We also had many birthday & Halloween parties here. It was a great “kid zone”, but you know how quickly they grow up 😢. It’s basically become just a place we put extra furniture.

Speaking of which, if you are interested in visiting our “Guest Suite Makeover” which is located to the left of this dining table just click HERE.

This walkout basement is a rather large space that made it very easy for us to set it up for a home workout area. I realize not everyone has this kind of space, in fact for many years we lived in an apartment, and then a very small home. I still think there are many ways to incorporate “workout stations” into your home no matter what size your space is, and I will mention them below.

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Indoor Home Gym Mirror Weight Station

The first thing you may need is a mirror for a “Weight Station”. When you go to gyms they have damn mirrors all over the place, right? A mirror is a great motivator 💪🏻 when you are working out, and it can help you focus more internally. You can also learn to feel more confident in your gorgeous self as time goes on, and you see the results of your hard work.

If you don’t have a large mirror for your indoor gym, I searched for an affordable alternative and what I found where these impressive self adhesive wall mirrors. I have also seen many old fashion type long mirrors at the thrift store, and even some new ones at the dollar stores, and 5 Below. Your bathroom mirror might work, too?

Now, for the weights, I am fortunate to have a husband that has collected many weights over the years. We finally organized them because he is quite the scatterer 😆. We lined them all up on a cheap rug here, and we work out our arms in the mirror, and on his bench. I wrote more about our weight lifting experiences HERE.

Weights are quite expensive, so the the thrift store is a great place to start , or Facebook Marketplace. Hey, I’ve even used cans of soup before, 😊. Any other tips? If so, leave them below in the commons please.

Home Gym Walking Video Station

The second station that we both utilize in our DIY Indoor Home Gym is the “Walking Video Station”. This is basically an area where we can do our favorite “walking video” in a relatively small space. If you look closely, you can see there’s not much room there if you have 2 adults (can you believe I got my husband to join me?).

Rick actually seems to get a kick out of the workout, and during the walking/running intervals we run upstairs and spook the kids 😉, and then run back down. It’s very fun, and really get’s our heart pumping. It is always more fun to have a partner to work out with, but absolutely not necessary. In fact…I enjoy it both ways.

I should mention that I use a Fitbit, and a hand held pulse oximeter (which is much cheaper!) to make sure I’m in the correct range to burn fat without under doing it, or over doing it.

Click Here for My Favorite Walking Video

Click Here for My Favorite Finger Pulse Oximeter (must have!)

Home Gym Break Area

After that workout in the indoor home gym it’s important to allow some time for your mind and body to heal. I actually forgot to put my favorite protein bars in the photo, but you get the idea. It should be a nice place designated to rest, get some water, and enjoy the endorphins that will make you feel like you can conquer the world. Don’t forget to eat some protein to repair those muscles!

TIP: Add clean hand towels, a mini fan, water bottles, and protein bars to the rest area to make yourself feel like you are at a real gym 😉.

Home Gym Affordable Folding Treadmill

This last idea for the indoor gym happened kind of by accident on Christmas after I had already done the photos for this post. I ended up purchasing 2 folding treadmills for my family because the four of us were not utilizing the indoor gym like we should be. These treadmills are more affordable than the traditional large versions, and let me tell you we absolutely love them.

Foldable Treadmill

I hope my these DIY Indoor Home Gym tips help you if you are ready to start some healthy habits. It’s hard, but I am always here to lean on if you need me~

Wait, don’t go yet…check out the other 9 Thrifty Style Team projects below:

My Laser Lipo Mini Tummy Tuck Journey

My Weight Loss Recipes