It is challenging to picture how much space is adequate when designing your home gym.
Let’s find out how much space you need for a home gym.
The space requirements of a home gym vary depending on the available space and what you want to fit in the gym.
When you have limited space, you must be diligent when deciding which equipment and machinery are mandatory to your workout routine.
You need to be creative when organizing workout equipment and the activities you perform in your home gym based on the available space.
The average space required for most home gyms is about 100 to 250 square feet, and some home gyms are up to 500 square feet. The 100 to 250 square feet threshold can accommodate most cardio and muscle equipment with some adjustments.
You have more options with a 500 square feet gym, as it provides enough space for cardio and strength equipment.
It also gives you enough space to work out with family and friends.
Before deciding on your home gym size, consider the available floor space, equipment, and machinery required for exercise. You can make the available space work for your fitness goals.
This architect-inspired guide will show you how to customize the available room for your gym setup and work with different floor spaces.
Home Gym Floor Plans
Here is a review of various home gym floor plans to design your home gym.
1. 100 Square Foot Gym
This small home gym can accommodate a few pieces of equipment.
The space is adequate for cardio equipment with a smaller footprint, such as a spin bike. A treadmill, elliptical, and a squat rack may not fit.
You will need free weights and a squat stand for strength training, such as an isolation machine, and a power cage won’t fit.
A bench, plates, squat stand, a punching bag, wall-mounted pullup bar, and dumbbells can fit the space.
Bodybuilding machines, most cardio machines, and a lifting platform cannot fit in the room.
You can do several exercises like lunges, snatches, deadlifts, bench presses, some cardio, rows, overhead presses, and some isolation movements in a 100-square-foot gym.
This floor plan is best to keep a few functional pieces of equipment.
2. 200 Square Foot Gym
A 200-square foot is still a small space but offers more options than a 100-square foot gym.
It can accommodate your weightlifting, general fitness, CrossFit, and bodybuilding goals.
It needs diligent planning.
For instance, while the floor space can accommodate a power cage, it is best to use a squat stand to free some space for other exercises.
Using equipment that uses less space to meet your workout goals will make your gym feel less cramped.
Some equipment that can fit in the gym include dumbbells, a plyo box, a lifting platform, a bench, a collapsible squat rack, storage posts, a gymnastics ladder, and a wall-mounted barbell storage rack.
The room may not be enough for more than one bodybuilding machine, extra cardio equipment, and a power cage, especially if your ceiling is not high.
You will need to prioritize some equipment over others in a 200-square-foot room.
You can do plenty of cardio and strength workouts in the gym, including deadlifts, squats, bench presses, core work, isolation movements, box jumps, overhead presses, and rows.
3. 300 Square Foot Gym
A 300-square-foot gym provides much flexibility with the exercises and equipment to add.
You can fit large cardio machines like rowers, a lifting platform, and treadmills.
There is also enough room for a bench, dumbbells, and bodybuilding equipment.
You will get the functionality of a commercial gym with a 300-square-foot gym, as it provides enough room for all your fitness goals and equipment.
Which equipment can you fit in a 300-square-foot gym?
A concept 2 rower, bench, power cage, plyo box, a wall-mounted cable station, dumbbells, kettlebells, wall-hanging storage, and a barbell wall storage will fit comfortably.
While 300 square feet provides a lot of flexibility, the space may not fit extra cardio machines, more than five bodybuilding machines, an additional power cage, and a full power cage if your ceiling is not high enough.
The floor plan provides enough room for squats, lunges, snatches, deadlifts, isolation exercises, rows, pullups, cardio, box jumps, bench presses, and overhead presses to mention a few.
A 300-square-foot gym is very reasonable, and you can fit plenty of equipment and do all workouts depending on your goals.
4. 400 Square Foot Gym
This gym is relatively large and provides enough space for most equipment.
It can accommodate several cardio machines, isolation machines, and other equipment with a large footprint, like lat pull-down machines.
The space is adequate for isolation movements, cardio exercise, and training with family and friends. Various equipment will fit a 400-square-foot gym with a lot of space.
The equipment you pick will depend on your training goals.
The floor plan can accommodate a treadmill, bench, an exercise bike, GHD machine, two wall-mounted storage posts, a plyo box, a power cage, a cable machine, a lifting platform, and a barbell storage rack.
A power cage will not fit the room if the ceiling is not high. Cardio equipment has a large footprint; hence the room cannot accommodate two of them.
The gym will not accommodate an extra squat rack if you have a cardio machine.
The room is enough for general strength, weightlifting, powerlifting, and CrossFit workouts.
You can do squats, snatches, rows, cardio, bench presses, core work, lunges, pullups, and assistance work with other people in the gym.
You can easily fit a combination of workout equipment in a 400-square-foot gym.
5. 500 Square Foot Gym
500 square foot floor plan offers many options for workout equipment and exercises, even with others.
You can fit a T-bar row machine, treadmill, water cooler, bench, squat rack, power rack, deadlift platform, two plyo boxes, GHD machine, cable station, and dumbbell storage rack.
While most equipment can fit in the space, there are a few limitations; you cannot fit more than two cardio machines, weightlifting platforms, power cages, and bodybuilding machines.
Some of the conditioning and strength workouts you can do in a 500 square include bench presses, snatches, squats, box jumps, cardio, rows, pullups, deadlifts, and core work.
There are many possibilities for a 500 square foot, and you can get an excellent floor gym with the space.
How to Choose Gym Equipment and Machinery
Most gym equipment requirements need over 20 ft2. When fitting the equipment in the gym, consider room for circulation and movement.
Don’t fill the space to enhance safety in the gym, make it functional, and provide enough storage space.
Leave extra room for an additional kit if possible. Consider purchasing multifunction equipment if you have limited space, like a 100 or 200-square-foot gym.
Plan the space meticulously and prioritize equipment necessary for your fitness goals; don’t overcrowd your gym.
Summing Up How Much Space You Need for a Home Gym
You can make an ideal home gym with the available space. Regardless of your fitness goals, be particular about the equipment you fit in the room.
By organizing the equipment meticulously, you can get a functional and safe workout space.
Whether your home gym will fit your garage or an empty room in the house depends on the available space and your fitness goals.
You can work with a space as small as 100 square feet. Larger areas of over 300 square feet have more flexibility and can accommodate more equipment and people.
However, a home gym can be more beneficial to you than the commercial one no matter the size.
