How to transform your garage into a gym

One of the most popular New Year's resolutions is to get in shape. Why not treat yourself all year round and turn your garage into a home gym?

"Going to a gym is awkward"; "It's too cold"; "I don't want to go out"... No more excuses for not going to workout anymore. We're going to bring the gym home, so you can work out whenever you want.

The first step: what portion of your garage will become a home gym?

Usually, garages tend to be the place in the house where everything ends up.

Install an elliptical trainer in your garage? What a great idea!

Will you keep a small place in your garage to store all those things? Do you want to keep your workbench in the garage? Will your car need to be stored inside the garage from time to time?

To maximize the available space, think about wall storage. For example, you could choose a vertical bike rack or add a slatwall to maximize wall storage.

Before purchasing any fitness equipment, you must consider exactly what you want and how you will arrange it in the room. Consideration should be given to the small details since gym equipment is heavy and cannot be easily moved once installed.

Maybe a wall in your garage will turn into a giant mirror?

Wall mirrors are trendy in gyms. A mirror is useful in many sports, whether your wife does yoga in her spare time, or your daughter does ballet.

The second step: prepare your garage for its new use

This picture shared by BoxJunkies shows an in-garage gym. The owner decided to install a TV and other conveniences.

This is the part where all the necessary renovations will be done. Start by planning the new sections of the garage, its future use and the work that will be required.

Perhaps you will choose to install a television or power outlets to plug in your training equipment?

In this case, electrical work will be necessary.

We recommend that you hire a professional for this part, for the simple reason that an accident can happen so quickly, and a tiny mistake could turn into a disaster. The experts are there to make sure everything runs smoothly.

There are other jobs you can easily do on your own, such as painting, installing new storage units, or if you’re a DIYer, you could redo your garage ceiling yourself or build some of your own training equipment.

Is your ceiling made entirely of wooden beams? If you want to give your gym a nice finish, a drop ceiling is a great option to consider. Be careful to insulate the remaining space, as an empty ceiling is an ideal hiding place for mice.

If you have a solid finished ceiling, it’s possible to add a lightweight storage unit to your ceiling. This blog by BLACK+DECKER explains how to install it securely.

What are you planning to do with your floor?

An epoxy garage floor. Picture by AllGarageFloors.

You already have a concrete floor in your garage, and you tell yourself that it will be enough to support the weight of the equipment.

You’re right. If your floor can support the weight of your car, it can undoubtedly support your equipment. However, this isn’t practical.

A concrete floor isn’t impact-resistant enough and could deteriorate over time. After only a few months, your floor will end up with lots of scratches and cracks.

In addition, the concrete is cold in winter. It makes it harder to keep the temperature stable in the garage. So, for your floor, you have 3 options:

1. Epoxy or polyurea

You could hire a professional to install an epoxy or polyurea coating. Both are waterproof (which is super important if you plan on converting your garage into a gym), solid and impact resistant. Plus, it gives a nice and shiny look to your floor. As well, covering your floor with layers of coating will help it last longer.

A waterproof floor is something essential to consider.

Garages are usually prone to mold and a lot of humidity. If you want to make it a livable room, you must leave the least chance for humidity to take in the room. It could be by installing materials that will not be disturbed by water or humidity, hence the need for a waterproof floor, or by installing or by purchasing a sufficiently powerful dehumidifier.

2. Rubber training mat

Your second option is to cover the concrete floor with a rubber training mat.

A textured rubber mat will help the equipment to stick to the ground and reduce the risk of falls during workouts. A training mat is also useful to make training less noisy if a dumbbell ever falls to the ground.

What’s more, the padding protects your knees, elbows and tailbone during floor exercises. It’s more comfortable than concrete.

Want other mat flooring ideas? The Best Flooring Options for Your Home Gym by Men’s Health proposes many mat options for your home gym.

3. Carpet

You should be careful with the type of rug you choose for you home gym. If you insist on wanting carpet on your floor, prioritize those that are hard wearing and tightly woven. This will allow better adhesion of your equipment and provide you with better stability in your training.

A carpet isn’t the best recommendation since it will soil quickly. It will deform over time and mainly, a rug does not allow a complete adhesion of the equipment to the ground.

Also, rugs aren’t waterproof. If your garage gets a little damp, your carpet will absorb it and you'll have a hard time getting moisture out of your carpet before it molds.

Although a carpet might be helpful against a cold concrete floor in winter, consider installing a heater instead. This will allow a stable and pleasant temperature all year round in the garage.

Equipment can weigh a ton. You need to have solid flooring if you don't want to break it after only a month.

Think About Aeration

Fresh, cool air is vital during and after hard training.

You must plan at least one device that will take care of the air quality, whether it’s a dehumidifier, an air conditioner, or a heater.

As your gym is in the garage, you should install a dehumidifier. The hard training you will be doing can cause the room to increase in humidity quickly.

If you don’t want a heavy and hard-to-operate monitor, you could go with something small and quiet like this garage ventilation system from Humidex. This small monitor helps improve air quality, reduces mold, and is even impact-resistant! What more could you ask for?

If winters tend to be cold, a portable heater could become your best friend.

What About Insulation?

Your garage must be well insulated, both for your health and for the longevity of your equipment.

Insulating the garage will prevent you from freezing in the winter and keep garage noise inside the garage. It will be more convenient not to wake everyone up if you decide to work out at night.

Check the walls inside and outside the garage.

Look for the holes and cracks that will need to be filled. These cracks could let in cold air and mice. Against mice, you could fill your walls with polyurethane foam or a fiberglass insulation. Mice won’t chew those materials.

If you have had your garage insulated to keep a comfortable temperature inside, during winter or summer, but the door isn't so well insulated, all your efforts will be wasted.

This garage door offers the great R-16 insulation of the Standard+ construction and lots of natural light thanks to its window layout called Left-Side Harmony. The Vog design, here shown 9’x7’ size and in Black, adds a nice modern touch.

Different types of insulated garage doors are available on the market. You can choose your options between no insulation at all, R-12 or R-16 insulation. Insulation, for anywhere in the house, is calculated in R-value. The higher the value, greater the insulating effectiveness. Roofs are often insulated with R-40 insulation, while house walls range between R-13 and R-21 insulation.

If you have had all the walls in your garage insulated, the next logical step is to choose an insulated garage door. Without that, all the efforts invested were wasted and the temperature will not remain stable regardless of the outside temperature. The air will still circulate. You will be spending more to heat your house because some of it is lost through your attached garage’s door.

Good insulation also depends on good installation.

It’s not only the door that is important, but also all it’s components: the gaskets, the weatherstripping... It is important that all the components of the door are properly installed, preferably by a professional, to ensure the best performance of the door. You need a door that is energy efficient.

If your garage has a second floor with a sleeping area, or if it’s attached to the house, having your garage fully insulated will be an advantage. This will prevent you from heating the house and still losing heat.

There are easy ways to reduce your electricity and heating bills just with your garage door: first with the choice of the right weatherstripping. Weatherstripping is extremely important on a garage door. It is used to fill all the spaces between the door and the walls. There are different types of weatherstripping, each with their own particularities.

Garaga also offers weatherstripping between each panel of its garage doors. Called the InterLok^TM joints, they make the door completely sealed against cold winds, among other things.

Other factors contributing to garage door insulation are window seals, bottom weatherstripping or a seal on the floor, such as a Storm Shield threshold. The floor seal is useful if the floor of your garage entrance is uneven and cracked or to prevent water from entering your garage during heavy rains. A rubber threshold is also useful in winter. It gives your door extra protection by preventing ice from forming under your weatherstripping and sticking the door to the floor.

Windows Are Sooo Important When Training

Do you find your garage dark and would like to add natural light? In an existing garage, it can be a challenge to cut holes in the walls... Fortunately, it’s possible to order a garage door with windows.

Different types of windows are offered, depending on the level of privacy you want to your garage to have. If you want to add natural light to your garage with windows, you might not want everyone to be able to see inside. As well, you can decide where on your door you want your windows to be. They can be at the top of the door or on the sides, as you wish.

You have a garage door without windows, and you would like to add natural light to your garage without changing your garage door? It's possible! We can install windows simply by changing certain panels on your door. See this article about adding windows to an existing door for more information.

Your Brand-New Gym in the Garage Starts With a Brand-New Garage Door?

Your garage door will really add curb appeal and value to your home if it fits your exterior style. See how the 4-lite Orion windows of this Classic CC garage door design bring out the charm of this house’s windows while letting the natural light enter your very own home gym in the garage.

Get in touch with a GARAGA dealer in your area.

They are indeed experts in garage doors. They have extensive experience, and they love helping you find the perfect garage door system at the right plus for you.

Find the door of your dreams already? Ask us for a quotation by email.

You’d like to shop online a bit first? You can browse our residential photo gallery. Or grab your smartphone and try our Design Centre. You’ll have fun building your dream door and you will be able to try your favourite ones on a picture or a plan of your home.