How To Build Your Own Home Gym: Equipment & Costs (2024)

It seems like building a home gym is the new craze, especially with the rise in reasonable gym equipment being sold online. Not only that, but the crowd of D.I.Y. projects on Instagram and Pinterest are irresistible! 

Want to start building a home gym for yourself? You’re in the right place. 

We take you through everything from creating the right home workout space for you, to finding the best cheap home gym equipment to suit your needs. 

Looking to start your fitness career? Go check out our great L3 PT Diploma, download our course prospectus to learn more!

Contents:

1. The Essentials
2. Where to Build your Home Gym
3. Building a Home Gym You’ll Actually Use 
4. Cheap Home Gym: How much does a home gym cost?
5. Sticking to your Home Gym Routine 

The Essentials 

When building a home gym, it’s best to have a rough idea of the type of equipment that you will need to get an effective workout. 

You want to aim to have the right equipment that will allow you to make as much progress as you would at the gym, otherwise there would be no point in bringing the gym to your home!

Bare minimum essentials 

Whether you’re a beginner or someone who has plenty of experience with exercise, if you’re just looking to gain strength, muscle, lose weight, and see some noticeable changes in your appearance then here’s what you’ll need. 

The good news is that this equipment takes up minimal space, which is only fair if you’re not looking to start busting out Olympic deadlifts! There’s really no need to use up the extra room if getting fit and toned is your only goal.

#1 - Dumbells 

It may not come as a shock, but dumbbells are probably the first thing you should get when building a home gym. 

Not only can they be used for endless upper body, lower body, and core exercises, but they’re also one of the best methods of building strength and muscle definition. 

Used to bodyweight exercises at home? Step things up with dumbbells! 

They’re not always cheap if you buy them brand new, but we’ve seen some great deals online on websites such as Gumtree, eBay, and Facebook Marketplace. However, we’ll talk more about cost in our pricing section. 

For a rough idea, here are two dumbbell sets we found on Amazon UK:

DKN Rubber Hex Dumbbell

This is probably one of the most popular and reasonably priced dumbbell sets we’ve come across on Amazon. 

It also has 93% 5 star reviews, so that certainly speaks volumes! 

Hex Dumbbells are also really nice to look at if that matters to you… 

Price: £12.98-124.99

EXTREME FITNESS Hex Dumbell Rubber Weight Sets

Another great set of hex dumbbells that have 86% positive reviews. 

One customer writes: ‘Good products at a good price. Why are the other brands so much more expensive?’ 

We couldn’t agree more; there seems to be no reason for the overly priced dumbbells out there. Keep your eyes open for great deals such as this, and you’ll have a cheap home gym with good quality equipment. 

Price: £10.89-94.99

If you’re thinking ‘but I don’t have space for a rack of dumbells’, worry not. You can purchase adjustable dumbbells that have 5-in-1 weight settings, yet take up the space of one set. Not too bad!

Mirafit 6 Pair Hex Dumbbells + Storage Tree Kit

Next on our list of home gym equipment is Mirafit’s Hex Dumbbells.

The set includes the following 6 dumbbells:

• 2 x 1kg 
• 2 x 3kg 
• 2 x 5kg 
• 2 x 10kg 
• 2 x 15kg 
• 2 x 20kg

Each is a solid cast dumbbell with a rubber coating for enhanced traction and durability. 

The set comes with a storage tree to keep your space tidy and professional. The dimensions of the frame are:

• Height: 95.5cm
• Width: 61cm
• Depth: 54cm

This is perfect for tucking away into a corner to maximise your gym space. 

Price: £369.95

Opti Dumbbell Tree Set

Alternatively, if you’re after cheap home gym dumbbells and perhaps don’t need as heavy weights, this next option could be a better fit. 

Opti’s range of dumbbells offers the following weights:

• 2 x 1.1kg
• 2 x 2.3kg
• 2 x 4.5kg

The dumbbells come with a compact stand to help keep your workout space tidy. 

These are made from vinyl which makes them relatively soft and easy to use, perfect for those starting out their fitness journey. 

Price: £30.00

#2 - Adjustable Bench 

If you really want to make a go of a home gym, it’ll only feel real with a bench to use your dumbells with. We can’t think of a space that couldn’t fit a bench in, as it’s not something that has to be huge!

A quick browse on Amazon will show you products such as the ones below:

JX Fitness Adjustable Weight Bench

The first thing that you’ll notice about this bench is that it’s a #1 Best Seller, which speaks volumes. You don’t see that often with cheap home gym equipment! 

It holds 85% positive customer reviews and can be adjusted to fit five different positions. It doesn’t get much better than that. 

Price: £74.99

Ultrasport All-in-One Weight Bench

On this bench, the backrest has 8 different adjustable settings as well as the seat having 3. Not too bad!

It has been reviewed positively by 86% of customers, and one writes: ‘the bench is brilliant, even better than the ones I used to use in the gym.’ 

Price: £73.40

If you want to save a bit of cash though, we’d definitely advise checking out some second-hand benches! The more money you save on this, the more dumbbells you can buy…

#3 - Pull-Up Bar

Don’t be scared off by this if you haven’t managed a pull-up yet. It’s just an inexpensive piece of equipment that you should have on standby as you’ll be building up your upper body strength with dumbbells after all! 

Everyone has a doorway so there’s no excuse. It takes up next to no space and is an invaluable piece of equipment, as no dumbbell exercise can mimic the movement of pull-ups. 

We’ll talk about some alternative types of pull-up bar later (depending which type of home gym you’re building), but for now, here are some suggestions with a reasonable price:

Umi Essentials Door Pull Up and Chin Up Bar

The Umi pull up bar is easy to install as it doesn’t actually require any screws. If you’re looking for something to give you the option of pull-ups at 6am rather than making a trip to the gym, this is perfect!

NOTE: you should definitely check the strength of your door frames before purchasing a doorway pull up bar, for both your own safety and to prevent damage to your door frame. 

Price: £38.99

BeMaxx Pull Up Bar

Another door frame pull-up bar without the need for screws and a more promising price (let’s face it, £9.99 just isn’t safe…) is this product from BeMaxx.

One customer writes: ‘well-made sturdy product which requires no assembly. Took it out of the box and was doing chin-ups about 30 seconds later.’  

Price: £69.99

If you feel a little nervous about the well-being of your door frames and have the space for one, then here are a few pull up bar frames that could be good when building a home gym:

VEVOR Freestanding Pull-Up Station

When shopping for equipment for home gyms, pull-up stations may be something that you’d like to look into. 

The VEVOR freestanding pull-up bar is crafted with premium iron with a powdered coating which makes a highly durable, sturdy, and easy to clean frame. 

The bar features two height levels (98cm/3.2ft, 194cm/6.3ft). It can also hold a maximum weight of 100kg.

The high-quality materials make the bar suitable for both indoor and outdoor usage. So, if you enjoy exercising in the garden, you can be sure to count on this bar station.

Price: £115.99

YOLEO Power Tower

This power tower has the option of wide or close grip pull ups, push ups, dips, leg raises, etc., and is very similar to the previous model in terms of specs and price. 

It has 80% positive reviews, and there's really no wonder as to why - the padding is brilliant, it's incredbily sturdy, and it's also adjustable in a number of ways. 

Price: £169.99

#4 - Resistance Bands 

Easily the most inexpensive piece of equipment on OriGym’s building a home gym equipment list. Check out the products below for an idea of what to look for:

METIS Power Bands

Resistance bands are key pieces of equipment for home gyms. 

This is a pack of 6 resistance bands that each come in different colours to correspond to different levels of resistance. 

The colours and their resistance approximations are as follows:

• Yellow - 3-6kg / 6.6-13 lbs
• Red - 8-15kg / 18-33 lbs
• Black - 18-30kg / 40-66 lbs
• Purple - 26-38kg / 57-84 lbs
• Green - 36-54kg / 79-119 lbs
• Blue - 64-104kg / 141-229 lbs

These are highly durable rubber bands that can offer a truly rigorous workout without needing weights and machines. 

With this in mind, working out at just £4.99, METIS offers super cheap home gym equipment that can truly transform your workout. 

Price: £4.99

Fitlit’s Fabric Hip Fitness Resistance Bands

Next on our list of the best gym equipment for home spaces is a range by Fitlit. 

Their pack of 3 fabric resistance bands helps you to focus your workout in 5 key areas:

• Abs
• Glutes
• Quadriceps 
• Calves
• Hamstrings

The bands offer 3 different levels: light, medium, and heavy. The weight approximations for the bands are as follows:

• Light - 18-32 lbs
• Medium - 30-50 lbs
• Heavy - 45-70 lbs

So, if you’re after home gym equipment, we think that these resistance bands are a must-have and for under £25, it’s easy to do so! 

Price: £24.99

Core Balance Fitness Resistance Tubes

Resistance tubes are a great alternative to cable machines in the gym (and a far cheaper one too!)

For under £20, you can grab a set of 5 resistance tubes that will allow you to work the same muscles.

Core Balance’s range offers the following 3 weight sets:

• 100 lbs
• 150 lbs
• 200 lbs

Each is colour-coded to correspond to different weights. These are made from natural latex for superior elasticity and durability. 

The range also has very impressive reviews with an average rating of 4.9/5-stars, awarded by over 45 happy fitness enthusiasts. 

So, if you’re after top-quality, cheap home gym equipment, this is the best place to get them!

Price: £14.99

#5 - Exercise Mat

Gym flooring isn’t that necessary for a home gym unless you’re lifting weights that are significantly heavy. That’s where exercise mats come in!

They are essential to have, particularly if you don’t want to damage your floor or injure yourself when doing HIIT or circuit training. They’re also great for comfort purposes. 

You can actually find them in pound stores across the UK, but here are some popular online choices to take a look at for the time being:

REEHUT Exercise Mat 

As an Amazon’s Choice product with 90% positive reviews, the REEHUT exercise mat already speaks for itself. 

It’s 1 ½ inches thick which is certainly thicker than most that you would find in cheap stores around the UK when building a home gym, and is 180 x 61cm. 

Price: £15.99

BeMaxx Fitness Interlocking Soft Foam Floor Mats 

This 18 piece set of foam flooring is a little different to your average exercise mat, but certainly a great idea if you want to go all out when building a home gym. 

The price isn’t bad at all for what you’re getting, especially for an Amazon’s Choice product! 

Price: £23.99

Advanced Essentials 

So, you’re already a frequent gym goer and you’re looking to do a little more than tone up and lose weight. 

You may even want to compete in bodybuilding competitions, but you don’t want to spend a fortune on a gym membership (or you just don’t have time for the gym anymore). 

#6 - Barbell 

First things first, there is no reason why you can’t do squats or deadlifts at home. 

Barbells can be pricey, but you can snap up some good deals online (especially on second hand websites).

Amazon has a fair share of deals for beginners, which you can check out below:

Bodymax 100kg Olympia Iron Barbell

It may seem expensive if you’re not used to barbell prices, but 100kg for this price is an absolute steal.

We’d usually raise our eyebrows, but considering the fact that the product has 89% positive reviews it seems as though it is as good of a deal as it appears. 

Price: £219

Bodypower 32kg Tri-Grip Vinyl Weight Set 

Is 100kg a little too much for your personal goals? Not to worry, you can save a great deal of money by grabbing a set with lighter plates. 

The Bodypower vinyl weight set has 32kg, a much lighter weight for those who want to feel the benefits of barbell rows, squats, and deadlifts but isn’t set on bodybuilding. 

Price: £49.99

If you want to get serious about bodybuilding though, you’ll have to invest a good deal more (unless you browse secondhand websites for fitness enthusiasts and gyms selling off old equipment!). 

Often barbells are referred to as being one of the foundations of a home gym, especially if you want to start bodybuilding.

#7 - Plates 

You can’t have a barbell without plates! 

Plates can be expensive depending on the weight that you need as the heavier the weight, the greater the price. It’s also important for you to keep pushing past your personal best and upping the weights that you use if you want to build a lot of muscle, so do keep this in mind. 

Here’s a great set that we found from Northern: 

CAMO Olympic Bumper Plates

If you’re a keen weightlifter, then these camo plates from Northern would make a great addition to your home gym.

Not only do they look great with their unique camo design, but this bundle set features a selection of weights ranging from 5kg upto 25kg, making them a really versatile piece of kit.

Altogether, this set allows you to lift 150kg, meaning you can get to work on big compound movements and squats at home.

If that wasn't enough, this product has been designed with durability in mind, made of hard-wearing rubber to ensure that they're of the highest quality.

Price: £449.99 (for set of 10 plates) 

If you’re going to make the purchase, remember to order barbell locks alongside them! These will secure the plates to the barbell and prevent them from slipping off. We’d recommend the FYGJ Barbell Clamps from Amazon to get you started!

#8 - Squat Rack 

If you’re going to be weight training on a daily basis then you’ll definitely want to pick up a squat rack. 

A squat rack is used for squats (surprise), bench exercises, overhead presses, deadlifts, barbell rows, and barbell lunges. It makes working out with a barbell much more diverse, as well as safer in many cases. 

You can pick squat racks up for pretty cheap on local secondhand websites or eBay, or you can also find some great deals on Amazon if you’re not keen on shopping second hand. 

Here’s a couple of bargains we found on Amazon:

Yaheetech Adjustable Heavy Duty Squat Rack 

Considering this squat rack is under £50 it’s already off to a great start. The 77% positive reviews also fight in its favour, and the fact that it has 14 height adjustable pins. 

Its height is from 114-179cm, so no matter how tall you are you’ll be safe within this range. 

Price: £49.96

METIS Adjustable Squat Rack

METIS has created one of the best pieces of home gym equipment on the market. 

Their adjustable squat rack is made from highly durable and strong steel with a black powder coating to create a super professional aesthetic for your gym. 

It also features anti-slip rubber feet to protect your home floor as well as being fully adjustable to make it suitable for both benching and squatting exercises. 

METIS’ range has an average rating of 4.4 / 5-stars with many reviewers enjoying the sturdy design, great durability for an affordable price. 

Priced at just under £90, this is a cost-effective way to enhance your home gym. 

Price: £89.99

#9 - Kettlebells 

These little pieces of equipment are one of our personal favourites. Not only are they a great variation of free weights (as they are technically designed to be used in a different way), they’re also pretty cheap to pick up with the right deal. 

One way that they’re different to free weights is that they can be used to incorporate cardio into weight training.

As kettlebells were designed for more dynamic movements, they’re a great way to get your heart pumping without having to run for 20 minutes! 

Here’s some great deals on kettlebells when building a home gym:

UK Fitness Store’s Vinyl Kettlebells

UK Fitness Store offers a wide variety of different kettlebell sets to accommodate various fitness levels. 

They’re made from high-quality vinyl that is super strong and easy to clean.

Each different weight is colour-coded to make using them super straightforward. Examples include:

• Yellow - 4kg
• Blue - 6kg
• Red - 8kg
• Green - 10kg
• Black - 12kg… just to name a few

This is one of the best sets of gym equipment for home gyms and one we’d highly recommend implementing into your space. 

Price: From £15.99

Body Revolution Neoprene Kettlebells 

Another great deal for kettlebells on Amazon is the Body Revolution brand. 

They come in pairs up to 8kg and have a fantastic reputation with 91% positive reviews singing their praises! 

They’re also really nice to look at with their large range of colours, and would be a great aesthetic addition when building a home gym. 

Price: £29.99-49.99

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#10 - Medicine Balls 

If you want to throw some ballistic training onto the table, then medicine balls will be the perfect choice when building a home gym. 

They usually come in 2-25kg and they’re great for conditioning and building explosive power. 

They’re quite a different exercise to that of dumbells, as you throw and catch them rather than pull against their weight! 

Like the sound of them? Try them out here: 

BodyRip Medicine Slam Ball

An Amazon #1 Best Seller with 92% positive reviews, it’s easy to see why the BodyRip medicine balls made it onto our building a home gym product list. 

Its weight range is 3kg-10kg, making it perfect for those just starting out with medicine balls. 

It also looks the part in full-black and would make a great addition to any cheap home gym (it really is a fantastic deal!). 

Price: £12.99-26.95

JLL Slam Ball 

The JLL slam ball is another great choice from the platform, especially with 78% 5-star reviews. 

It has a weight range of 5kg-15kg, which is even heavier than the previous product!

One customer writes; ‘the slam ball is sturdy I have used it outside training where it was subjected to a lot of impacts. It held up well with no tearing or ripping, and the sand doesn’t move too much so it is quite stable when using.’ 

Price: £18.49-33.99

Cardio Equipment

Are you building a home gym but worried that you won’t be getting enough cardio without a state of the art treadmill or exercise bike? 

We have the answers to your prayers, especially when it comes to saving an enormous amount of cash. 

The truth is that there’s no real need to fork out your life savings on expensive equipment when you can gain just as much cardiovascular exercise from either your own bodyweight or some simple pieces of kit.

#11 - Skipping Rope 

Remember using a skipping rope in P.E. lessons or the exhausting games of Double Dutch on the playground?

If your memory is clear enough, you should remember that these exercises can be just as sweat-inducing as running for 20 minutes on the treadmill. They’re also less monotonous, which is always a good thing! 

There are a few variations of skipping that you can use, as well as incorporating skipping into HIIT workouts with bodyweight exercises. Click here for powerful jump rope HIIT workouts and get an idea of what your programme could look like!

Skipping ropes don’t have to cost much, and you can grab one for as little as £2.99 on Amazon:

Farabi Skipping Rope Jumping Fitness Boxercise

This product has 71% of positive reviews from 346 customers (which means it’s quite a heavily reviewed product!). It comes in 6 different colours too, which is pretty good considering the price. You might even want one of each for your cheap home gym! 

Price: £2.99

Gritin Skipping Rope

If you’re not sure about the previous product, then you can normally rely on an Amazon’s Choice one… 

It has been very heavily reviewed (890 customer reviews), and 85% of them are either 5 or 4 star which certainly isn’t bad. The fact that it is adjustable is also really handy, as you can find your optimum length for double unders! 

Price: £6.99

#12 - Punch Bag and Boxing Gloves 

Another extremely fun and yet forgotten way of getting your cardio workouts in is buying your own punch bag and set of boxing gloves!

Let’s face it, when building a home gym you want to make it something you’re actually going to use. How many treadmills are used as washing hangers? We dread to think… 

Whereas if you had a punching bag, it’s almost easy to imagine yourself taking a swing at it every time you walk past!

We can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t have fun with a punching bag, and it seems like the perfect way of doing cardio without realising that you’re even doing it. 

#13 - Bodyweight Cardio 

This is something that is vastly underrated when it comes to cardio exercises. Why invest in a treadmill when you can get a better workout using your own body weight?

There are countless exercises that you can do this way, as you can probably imagine. Most of them fall under the categories of HIIT or circuit training, and we can vouch that they are much more exciting than long duration cardio. 

You could get your cardio done in 10-15 minutes before you hit the weights! 

Examples of bodyweight cardio exercises include:

• Burpees 
• Mountain climbers
• Squats 
• Lunges
• High Knees 
• Star jumps 
• Push-ups 
• Planks 
• Moving planks + many more! 

You can do them as HIIT training or circuits and then go about your day.

Building a Home Gym: Where to Build It 

When you’ve decided which of the essentials you want to use when building a home gym, it’s time to make a start on the gym itself!

The truth is you can almost always make room for a home gym. Even if you have limited space, it’s still very much possible to create a space where you can exercise just as effectively as you could in the gym.

So, where exactly is a good place for building a home gym?

• Spare room
• Garage 
• Outdoors (garden or yard)  

Have a spare room that you use for storing all of your old rubbish? Got a garage filled with junk? Does your garden or yard have a little extra space? 

These are the questions you should start asking yourself if you’re serious about building a home gym. After all, you’re going to need somewhere to put it! 

The ideal equipment for a very small space would be:

• Dumbbells (especially adjustable, take up less room)
• Resistance bands
• Exercise Mat 
• Kettlebells 
• Medicine balls 
• Skipping rope 
• Doorway pull-up bar 
• Bench (it sounds big but you should be able to fit one almost anywhere!)

Put all this equipment together (as well as your bodyweight exercise plan for cardio), and you have a really effective home gym that can get you exactly the same results as you would have from going to the gym (unless you’re into full-blown bodybuilding). 

You may even fit in a few more pieces of kit, but this is a great list to start with if you’re working with an exceptionally small space. 

Got a quarter of your garage to claim when building a home gym? Or half of your spare room? This list should be fine. You can even ditch the bench if you need to, and use the exercise mat for weights. 

The ideal equipment for a medium-large space would be all of the above plus:

• Barbell
• Plates 
• Squat rack 
• Punch bag and boxing gloves 
• Power tower/larger pull-up bar 

If you’ve got a medium-large spare room, garage, shed, outdoor space, etc. that you want to use for building your home gym, you should definitely try out the equipment above. 

If you wish, you could also include equipment such as a treadmill or exercise/spin bike (we’d recommend being careful about the quality of things like this, however). 

You’ll be glad to know that with the above pieces of kit, you’ll definitely be able to make the gains you’d make at the gym without even having to leave your door. 

Also, it’s good to note that you can still make a cheap home gym with ‘more expensive’ types of equipment, but we’ll talk more about that later.

Building a Home Gym That You’ll Actually Use 

It would be a real shame to put a lot of effort into building a home gym and spending your hard-earned money on it only to give up using it shortly afterwards...

We don’t blame you. There’s not one of us that hasn’t given up on the gym at some time or other, and we are human after all! 

However, we’re about to give you some tips to avoid this common pitfall and make sure that you’re building a home gym that you’ll always want to be in. 

Creating the right space 

Creating the right space for your exercise is probably one of the most important elements to ensuring you’ll stay motivated. 

There’s no shame in getting creative when building a home gym that encourages you to exercise. If you think about it, most gyms don’t really have a personalised feel and actually create a repetitive and boring kind of atmosphere. Some people see it as similar to going to work!

No one wants to feel like they’re in a P.E. lesson, or like exercise is something they have to do and have no choice with. 

People give up on gym memberships way too easy and the reason is that it either becomes an inconvenience (getting in the way of your everyday life) or starts to feel boring and monotonous. 

The simple answer to this when building a home gym is to make sure that neither of these things happens. 

Here’s OriGym’s top tips for creating the right space when building a home gym.

#1 - Make it feel like a home gym  

If you’re building a home gym then it should feel like one when you’re done. Make it look the part!

This certainly isn’t difficult, and it doesn't have to cost a lot either. Think about what kind of equipment you’ll have, and what would compliment it nicely. Can you think of anything that the gym has or doesn’t have that you could include in your own?

The idea is to make it feel like somewhere you should be working out in terms of practicality as well as visually. 

Some things you could pick up include:

• Mirrors 
• Ventilation (a good old-fashioned window would do)
• Lighting 
• Gym flooring 

It’s a great idea to have mirrors in your home gym, and even better if you can get hold of some that cover the majority (if not all) of the walls depending on your preference. 

Not only will they make the gym look bigger, but they’ll also be important for perfecting your form and monitoring which muscles you’re working. 

Ventilation is a must, even if you just workout with a window or door open. Your home gym will need ventilation to stay hygienic and cool enough for you to work out in!

You can play around with lighting depending on your preference, but it will be necessary if you’re working out. Think about it; you’ll be working with heavy weights and various exercise equipment so you’ll need to see what you’re doing!

Gym flooring isn’t compulsory but it would probably make things a lot comfier for you (as well as looking the part). It doesn’t have to be expensive if you’ve got a cheap home gym in mind, and you can pick up 18 pieces from £23.99 on Amazon (as we mentioned earlier). 

There’s other little bits and bobs that you can pick up along the way as you begin to work out and get a feel for what you need. 

For example, a chalk bucket may be useful if you’re lifting weights, or a whiteboard to keep track of your progress.

#2 - Personalise your space 

On the whole, gyms frequently get this part wrong. 

Personalisation is key when building a home gym, and is possibly one of the most important factors when it comes to sticking out your new exercise routine. This is the opportunity to have some fun and get inventive!  

A few things you might want to think about are:

• Posters 
• Inspirational quotes 
• Theme/colour scheme
• Lighting (customised) 
• Sound system
• TV
• Other luxuries 

Posters make sense, especially if you’re into any particular sports or fitness personalities. Who doesn’t like a poster of Arnie? 

Any decorative lettering (this can easily be done D.I.Y.) can also look impressive on your home gym wall and give it some personalisation to balance out the emphasis on work. 

The theme may or may not matter to you but for some, it can make a real difference to their workouts and be a great opportunity to put their creativity to work. 

It doesn’t have to cost a fortune, and a cheap home gym can be personalised with a lick of paint and some minor details. Custom lighting can come in to help to create a certain ambience or theme and is also something that can be done economically. 

Ever fancied a gym that’s serene, industrial, urban, or rustic, but there’s no such thing in your local area? Make it yourself!

Luxuries are a must for most people and can be accumulated as time goes on. 

Do you ever hit the gym and want an ice cold water or shake to hand? Get yourself a mini fridge. 

Do you crave a good playlist when lifting weights without the hassle of headphones? Get a new sound system! 

Want to work hard and play hard? A new pool table may be in order… 

Once you’re finished with OriGym’s tips for building a home gym, your neighbours will certainly be jealous.

Cheap Home Gym: How much does a home gym cost?

If you’re wondering ‘how much does a home gym cost?’, you’re probably hoping that it won’t be extortionate. 

Luckily for you, that’s an area that we can certainly help you with! 

If building a cheap home gym is your goal, stick with us to see just how economical a home gym can be. 

In short, you can easily create a cheap home gym for well under £1000 if that’s your budget. 

Alternatively, if you’re willing to spend more on building a home gym and want to kit it out with everything you possibly can, we can also help you there. 

Here’s OriGym’s 3 home gym pricing pathways, so you can really get to the bottom of ‘how much does a home gym cost?’.

#1 - The Ultimate Cheap Home Gym: Essentials (Budget: under £1000)

As an estimate of how low-cost a cheap home gym can really be, we’re going to show you how much you can expect to spend when you’re only buying the essentials.

If we take from our section on the essential equipment for building a home gym, we can get a good idea of the price range of each item and how much they would cost together. 

This pathway includes:

• Dumbbells 
• Adjustable bench 
• Pull-up bar 
• Resistance bands 
• Exercise mat 

Taken from the specific models of equipment that we included and some other variations online, here’s what you can expect to spend on a cheap home gym that has everything you need. 

Lower price: £370 (not with power tower)

Higher price: £560 (with power tower)

As you can see, this is a pretty impressive price and not too much to spend when you think about how much a gym membership can cost you over a year-long period. 

If the average gym membership is around £25-30 per month for the top UK gyms, then that’s around £300-360 for the year. 

If you create a cheap home gym then you’re going to be saving that amount per year after your one-off payment to kit out your gym… that’s enough for a holiday abroad! 

Also, do keep in mind that you can pick up some of this cheap home gym equipment second hand online, and this could even halve the price.

#2 - A Cheap Home Gym with Added Extras (Budget: under £2000) 

If you’re wondering ‘how much does a home gym cost?’ when you add in some of those more advanced pieces of equipment, worry no more. We couldn’t write about building a home gym without giving you all the essential pricing info!

OriGym’s second pathway when building a home gym includes the following:

• Barbell
• Plates
• Squat rack
• Kettlebells
• Medicine balls 
• Skipping rope 
• Punch bag and boxing gloves 

So, how much does it cost when you throw it all together? 

Lower price: £953 (with previous pathway’s higher price)

Higher price: £1,663 (with previous pathway’s higher price) 

To work out an estimated price for our second cheap home gym pathway, we’ve taken the higher amount from the previous pathway (including a power tower), as we assumed that you would want to add this equipment on top of the minimum essentials. 

Hopefully, we’ve given you a good estimate according to what you’ll wish to include in your own cheap home gym, but if you want to adjust anything then, of course, feel free! 

NOTE: kettlebells and medicine balls are difficult to price up as the price depends on the brand, the material they’re made out of, which weight you want to purchase, etc. but we’ve provided the best possible estimate for those building a home gym. 

#3 - Mega Home Gym (Budget: under £3000) 

We’ve still classed this pathway as a cheap home gym as you’ll make some great savings over a few years, but it’s certainly not for those looking to spend under £2000… 

The mega home gym pathway is for those who want to mimic the gym as much as possible in their own home, but still in accordance with a reasonable budget. In short, it involves some professional equipment and some added luxuries for your own comfort and enjoyment. 

All equipment from the above pathway, including:

• Treadmill 
• Spin Bike
• Gym flooring 
• Mirrors 
• Mini fridge  

Let’s see how much it all costs when rounded up:

Lower price (with previous pathway’s higher price): £2,228

Higher price (with previous pathway’s higher price): £2,528

Hopefully, now you have a good idea of how to save money when building a home gym! Not every home gym needs a pool and a pulley machine… 

You can create a cheap home gym that has everything you need for an effective workout at home, and even add in some luxuries for under £3000. Not too bad if you ask us! 

Here’s some Amazon suggestions for the equipment we’ve mentioned in the Mega Home Gym pathway: 

PrestigeSports XM-PROIII Treadmill 

As you can see, the reviews for this product reflect it’s popularity as well as quality. Who said you need an industry standard treadmill?

That being said, you should still keep your eyes peeled for deals on non-folding treadmills in your local area and online. Gyms sometimes sell them off when they get a refurb!

JLL S300 Digital Folding Treadmill 

Here’s a slightly more expensive model, but it also has a significant amount of positive reviews. 

One customer writes: ‘I purchased this treadmill in April of 2016 and have used it constantly. Build quality is superb, you really are getting a lot for your money.’ We can’t argue with that!

Ultrasport F-Bike

Being an Amazon #1 Best Seller and an impressive 2,050 customer reviews, this is another cheap home gym product that we can’t seem to fault! We’d highly recommend checking it out if you’re looking for a quality exercise bike for home use, or if you’re worried about getting in some cardio alongside all the weight training.

Building a Home Gym: Sticking to Your Routine 

Now let’s get to the less desired conversation. Before spending anywhere from £100-£3000 on building a home gym, you want to make sure that you’re going to be able to maintain a regular exercise routine. 

After all, what’s the point in building a home gym if it isn’t sustainable for you and your lifestyle? 

If you want some in-depth tips on actually creating a programme for yourself, check out OriGym’s article on Nailing Your Home Workout Routine. 

If you’ve already got your programme set up and ready to go, then we’re about to walk you through exactly how to stick to it (and prevent giving up after the initial novelty of your home gym wears off).

#1 - Switch up your exercises 

So many people fall at the first hurdle, and that is that they become bored with the programme that they’re on. It seems all fresh and motivating at first, but after a few weeks it becomes tedious. 

Don’t give up just yet! Remember the reason that you enjoyed it in the first place; it seemed new. 

Try a different set of exercises each week that work similar muscle groups (there are an endless amount), and you’ll never get bored.

#2 - Keep things gradual 

You’re not going to be lifting 50kg in your first session (unless you’re already a bodybuilder). Allow yourself room for improvement and don’t push yourself too hard in the early days!

It’s fine to have days where you don’t do as much as others, in fact most exercise programmes follow this rhythm. It’s certainly better to do something rather than nothing, so even if you just do a quick punching bag session before your shower that’s absolutely fine. 

In real life, you’re going to have times where you are unable to exercise often, so accept this and work around it rather than feeling disheartened and giving up.

#3 - Exercise with a friend 

Depending on your personality this may seem intimidating or strange if you’ve never done it before but trust us, it’s worth a try! 

Not only will you motivate and encourage one another, but you’ll also feel a sense of competition (which will actually make you push yourself harder). 

You can even enlist their help when you’re building a home gym too!

#4 - Work within your limits 

This is a nice piece of info that most of us neglect. Working within your limits during an exercise programme is crucial when you’re wanting to stay motivated and avoid surrendering before you reach your goals. 

Next time you start to set goals for yourself that are unreasonable adn too challenging for your current fitness level, stop yourself. 

At the end of the day it will only leave you feeling disappointed and you’ll risk abandoning your whole routine. It’s good that you’re excited to push yourself, but use this excitement in a productive way and keep to your current limits!

#5 - Make sure it’s all for yourself  

If you’re trying to lose weight or bulk up from building a home gym, be sure that you’re doing so for yourself. If you begin an exercise programme to try and please someone else you’ll be waving the white flag in no time… 

Make sure you’re loving what you’re doing and find something that clicks with you. Do you WANT to get up and exercise? Can you see yourself exercising regularly for the rest of your life?

If so, this means that you’re internally motivated (and that’s a great sign). If not, you might want to think first before spending money on building a home gym.

Before you go!

We’ve reached the end of our Ultimate Guide to Building a Home Gym...

Hopefully now you’ve got a solid understanding on what building a home gym involves, as well as how to build a cheap home gym that doesn’t require spending your life savings. 

Looking to kick-start your fitness career? Go ahead and download our free prospectus, or browse our L3 PT Diploma to get an idea of what you could be learning!