Going to the gym to keep yourself active and healthy is a very common pastime. However, after taking a good look at your bank statements, you’ve noticed that paying for your gym membership has gotten more expensive. Gym memberships have an average cost of approximately $35 to $45 a month. But the price does vary on the gym and the packages they offer. There are some memberships that can cost as much as $90 per month, which equates to $1,080 per year.

Even for those dedicated to living a healthier lifestyle, this can be too much money to spend just to go to the gym. Furthermore, you might even be someone who doesn’t go to the gym that often. Rather than spend money on a gym membership, it’s far easier and economical to build your own. In this post, we’ll be covering how you can build a home gym and what you can expect to pay for it.

Think About What Kind You Want

You may be thinking that building your own gym might cost you a fortune. While it’s definitely going to cost you a fair amount, building your own gym is far cheaper than paying for a gym membership. You’ll pay a one-time price of at least $3,000 rather than $760 to $1,080 every year. How much you have to pay will depend on what you want to put in it. Most of the costs are going to come from the equipment you’ll need. But if your house is small, you might not have enough space. If you want to have a whole room dedicated to your gym, adding more space isn’t a bad idea.

However, you’re going to be investing more money into this. It’s around $80 to almost $270 per square foot to add space to your home. Adding an entire room is going to cost a couple thousand by itself, so you need to be absolutely sure you’re ready to make such an investment. A great way to pay for everything you need is to take out personal loans. Personal loans can be used for almost anything, including everything needed to build your home gym. But how much you’re able to receive typically depends on the current standing of tour credit and debt-to-income ratio. Make sure to check on your score and pay off any debt you have before applying.

What Equipment Do You Need?

At first glance, adding the necessary exercise equipment seems pretty clear cut. However, each piece of equipment does have variations to it. Some are rather low-quality, but cheaper and effective. Others are more high-end with additional features to further aid you in your routine. As for what equipment you should add, here’s a quick list that goes over the basics:

  • Treadmill
  • Elliptical machine
  • Exercise ball
  • Weight machines
  • Water dispensers
  • Rowing machine

Make sure to thoroughly search for the right equipment and don’t buy whatever comes up first. This is actually a common mistake many people make when they first build their gym. Always read the reviews left by others who purchased the products. Furthermore, conduct some background research on the company and manufacturer of the equipment. If they have any complaints with the Better Business Bureau, your best option is to keep looking. No one wants to waste their money on defective gym equipment.

Frequently Asked Questions

When it comes to making a rather a large investment, it’s only natural to have a few questions of the process. Here are a few frequently asked questions to consider:

  • How Much Should be Spent? This is one of those questions that can’t be definitively answered. You can get rough estimates, but the ultimate decision of how much you should spend is up to you. It all depends on what gym you want as we mentioned above.
  • Is It Best to Purchase the Cheapest Equipment? This is another question whose answer is dependent on your choices. However, there are a few pieces of equipment that are low-quality. It should be noted that just because something is cheaper doesn’t mean it’s not going to work. In fact, it’s highly recommended that you save as much money as you can. But cheaper products do tend to experience more problems than more high-end pieces of equipment.