Did You Know You Can Work Out in Your Garage?

Losing Weight Is Hard To Do

There are countless ways that the fitness industry promises to whip you into shape through various tricks and trends that they’re happy to sell to consumers who desperately want to lose weight.

Unfortunately, many of these fitness solutions don’t return results as promised, eventually ending up as a waste of time. A quick look at statistics shows that the majority of gym memberships – around 67% – are completely unused, showing the overall trend of fitness solutions that fall short.

In the end of the day, you can get a fantastic workout in your own garage, setting up inexpensive equipment that includes items lying around the home. Check out how much weight people can lose by simply setting up a workout routine based around their garage.

Starting Workout Trends In Your Garage

One of the most inspirational true stories of people who lost a lot of weight working out in their garage follows the example set by Andrew Deutsch, the owner and leader of Nerdstrong Gym in North Hollywood, California.

He got the idea from his Dungeons and Dragons group, for whom he acted as personal trainer. Starting the Nerdstrong movement in his garage, he helped his friends lose lots of weight, and the movement became popular enough to translate into a profitable business.

In an interview with Men’s Health, Andrew revealed that, despite his fitness expertise, he felt uncomfortable at gyms: “The worst part was to be using an exercise machine and feeling like I’m not using it properly, and other people watching, judging, and laughing at me.” This spurred his move to the garage, where he could create unique workout regimens that worked for his fitness needs.

One of his star pupils has been Mel, a comic book marketing manager who had difficulty staying on a workout routine despite feeling “lethargic and slow. I would lose my breath just by walking up a flight of stairs on the subway.”

Since learning of Nerdstrong and starting his own workout routine, he’s cut down to 273 pounds, thanks in part to workouts inspired by the garage.

Turning Your Garage Into a Workout Space

The first thing that you want to do when turning your garage into a home workout facility is clear as much space as possible to work with. Remove as much as possible from the space and organize the rest to clear as much floor space as possible.

The equipment that you choose for your garage gym depends on your workout needs and financial situation. If you’re just beginning and are on a budget, it’s a good idea to start small and grow your collection. If you have plenty of financial resources, feel free to invest in a full suite of workout hardware.

Those with cash can easily put together everything needed to workout the entire body, including Olympic bars, plates, benches, racks, barbells, kettlebells, elliptical machines and other fitness gear. However, you can also create a great workout using items that you might already have around the home.

If you have a deflated basketball that you no longer use, you can turn it into a medicine ball. All you need to do is cut a moderate hole in the ball, fill it with an appropriate weight of sat tablets (not sand) and fill the crack with a tire sealing kit.

Using a large piece of plywood, you can put together a plyometric box that’s ideal for leg and core work. Cutting the plywood into six equal squares, you can put together the box using screws and wood glue. It’s recommended that you fasten a screw every few inches as well as wood glue wherever the squares of wood meet. This will ensure that the box will stand up to repeated landings.

If you have a large tire, you can use that to your benefit. Flipping the tire end over end is a great full‑body workout, requiring that you use your legs to start the lift, the core to stabilize, and your upper body to complete the fix. If you tie a rope around your waist and the other end of the rope to the tire, the added resistance leads to a fantastic leg workout that also strengthens cardio.

The only piece of equipment that you really should have that can’t be DIY is a Olympic bar with plates. It also doesn’t hurt to have kettle bells, which give you the opportunity to perform a good variety of strengthening exercises.

Protect Your Garage Gym

Using your garage as a gym is a great way to melt the pounds, especially considering the Nerdstrong success stories of Andrew and Mel. If, in the process of setting up your gym, you notice that your garage door could use a little help, it’s a good idea to contact a Garaga expert to learn more about panels that will keep your workout space functional and secure.