When basement renovation ideas pop into the minds of residents in Toronto and the surrounding areas, they mostly revolve around creating a home theatre, a cozy home office, or a joyful place for the kids to play. However, there is one lightning idea — home gym. The purpose of this article is to outline renovation requirements and provide design tips that will help you transform your basement into an efficient and attractive space where every member of the family will want to work out and stay active. From the type of flooring to install, air circulation, lighting choices, colour psychology to consider, and more. We’ll discuss the key factors that will help you create a basement renovation that will encourage your family to live a healthier lifestyle.
Proper Flooring for the Basement Gym
One of the most important decisions you will make when creating a home gym in your basement is choosing the kind of flooring you want to put down. If you do not make the right choice, it could negatively impact the functionality and the safety of the work-out space.
Luxury vinyl
One of the best types of flooring for a home gym in the basement is luxury vinyl. Apart from being a versatile and durable material, luxury vinyl is moisture resistant, which is a big concern in a basement. If someone were to spill water and leave it there for a bit, the floor wouldn’t be affected, unlike with wood or laminate flooring. It’s also extremely easy to clean. Another great feature of luxury vinyl is a variety of styles, including ones that mimic the appearance of wood or stone, which can elevate the looks of your gym and make it match the overall design of your home.
Rubber mats
Another great flooring option for basement gyms is rubber mats: rubber flooring is very popular because its shock-absorbent qualities make it a perfect material for weightlifting and other high-impact workouts. It’s also great for protecting floors underneath the equipment, so you won’t have an issue if you drop your weight plates. Shock-absorbent mats will also help to prevent foot injuries. Rubber mats come in different colours if you want to give your space a more striking appearance.
Foam tiles
If you are looking for a softer gym floor, you could opt for foam tiles. These are easily installed and are inexpensive, making them a great option for anyone looking to save money in the process of setting up their home gym. However, keep in mind that foam mats are incredibly light and therefore will not be as durable as rubber or vinyl when used with heavy gym equipment. If you have any heavy weights which you plan on placing on the floor, you are better off choosing another flooring material.
Carpeted floors
Keeping with the soft theme, carpets are another option worth considering. Carpets are great for a basement gym because they will keep the place warm and also drown out excess noise. That being said, however, they are not the material most associated with gyms for a reason. They are difficult to clean, and have a low durability. However, they are great if you are setting up a home gym in a basement, as they still possess some of the qualities that make for good gym flooring.
Air Circulation in the Basement Gym
One crucial point in creating an optimal and comfortable environment for your basement gym is proper air circulation.
Generally, most gyms are hot and humid thanks to the high amount of sweating that occurs there. Hanging overhead fans is among the most effective solutions for basement gyms. By ensuring that the air is adequately circulated, overhead fans help in preventing the gathering and accumulation of dampness, which is a common phenomenon that tends to occur in basement gyms.
Lots of Lighting for Motivation
Lighting is one of the most important aspects of a basement-gym build. It helps to create the right mood for an invigorating workout and helps to counteract the inherent gloominess of a basement.The lack of a natural source of light in a basement makes the room insufficiently bright and is often depressing. Good lighting plan will not only illuminate your gym but it will also drastically improve the mood, which is crucially important in case of exercise enthusiasm. Choosing the right kind of lighting fixtures can make a substantial impact: for instance, it seems a good idea to install overhead lighting which will evenly spread out the light and make sure that there are no places that are pitch-dark.
While lighting is one of many choices you must make when setting up a basement gym, LED lights are a great choice. LED lighting is one of the most energy-efficient types of light on the market, which makes it a great choice for homeowners who are also trying to keep their energy bills low. They provide a good, clean, unvaried and consistent light, which is important for keeping you energised and alert during a workout. They come in a variety of colour temperatures, which you can select according to your preference: a cooler colour to feel refreshed or a warmer colour to feel cozy. And LEDs last much longer than other bulbs, meaning that there will be less need to replace them, and less maintenance in the long term. Good lighting will make your workout space more welcoming and invigorating, bringing you in more often and helping you to make exercise a habit.
Bold Colours for Boost Energy
The psychology of colour can play a big role in our emotional states and energy levels, which can be harnessed effectively in the planning and design of a home gym. Bold colours are the best stimulants for a space, which is why considering them for the walls of a home gym is great. Fiery reds, bright oranges, and electric blues all stimulate the mind and body and, in doing so, stimulate energy levels, which is great for a workout space.
Red, for instance, can increase heart rate and stimulate adrenaline.
Orange is another favourite and, while sharing many of those same traits as red, a dash of yellow in the mix brings forward the positive effects of happiness, which can really increase the intensity and enjoyment of your workouts.
Bold choices need to be balanced out with neutral tones elsewhere Technically, a scheme with many vivid colours could get quite overwhelming. To sothe the harsher impact, a bit of bitmap or other simple patterns could break up the vivid barrage of shapes; however, if a chorus of vibrant tones is what the owner is going for, ‘the louder the better’ can be a suitable guideline.
Mirrors for Selfie
Adding mirrors to the design of a basement gym can be useful for furniture placement, but it also has more subtle psychological effects. Working out in a small space can easily lead to claustrophobia, and mirrors can gradually ameliorate such feelings. Another important function of the gym mirror is a control of the correct exercise technique. By allowing one to check one’s form in real time, it is much easier to correct one’s movements – a crucial feature if one wants to work out without injuring oneself. After all, good form is critical to the efficacy of any exercise, and a full-length mirror provides the kind of fast and immediate feedback concerning one’s position, posture and movement.
Furthermore, given the prevalence of the ‘gym selfie’ in the age of social media (‘YOLO! It’s Leg Day!’), the mirror in the basement gym may provide the perfect background for those post-workout pictures. After all, these photos appear to reflect not just the physical space, but the efforts – indeed the diligence – it took to get fit. What better vehicle to demonstrate this transformation than a mirror-selfie? So smile for the camera, snap and wait for your Instagram ‘likes’!
Wall Storages
Adding wall storage can be a tremendous boost to an already well-equipped basement gym. One of the main challenges of setting up a successful fitness area in a home, and especially in a basement, is utilising unused space. Remedying that is easy. Install wall shelves and throw in a few simple hooks, and you instantly have a hugely useful wall of storage for all your favourite fitness accessories.
These shelves and hooks can also be used for heavier equipment such as dumbbells and kettlebells, keeping heavier items and cast iron pieces off the floor to minimise the risk of tripping while you exercise and protect your floor’s longevity. Also, an organised space translates into a more welcoming, more motivating environment that you feel like using regularly.
The wall storage can be designed in a way that’s tailored to the gym’s specific needs and interior style. For example, bold, minimalist shelving could complement more contemporary gym interiors. Overall, it’s another small detail you can tweak in order to maximise your experience while working out down in the basement. Utilization of these little hacks make the routines of training and exercising a more enjoyable part of your daily life.
Additional Tips for Basement Gym
You can make working out more appealing by turning a basement gym into a fun natural playground by colourful sporty items. It can be vibrant work-out gear such as neon yoga mats, kettlebells and patterned resistance bands, or a kids’ play corner. This is an added bonus because, not only will you enter the gym zone with your kids, but you will also be able to keep an eye on them as they play, saving you stress. If you set up a kids’ play and exercise area in the home, as you introduce them to the concept of burning calories and exercising, they too will get hooked to this concept of play-working, and share your enthusiasm to work out. This would create an environment where the entire family can bond while working out and share a healthy lifestyle.
Dehumidifier
Since Toronto is a humid place, a dehumidifier is necessary for a gym in the basement. It will help to create a comfortable place, which will avoid dampness and will help to protect the basement gym apparatus and the building itself from rust and flakes.
A dehumidifier would be a good idea to add to your basement gym, especially if you live somewhere with high humidity. By nature, basements are a moist environment, which creates an aura of damp and mouldiness in itself. A dehumidifier removes moisture from the air, making your gym area a more comfortable and healthy space to exercise. Not only making the air around you easier to breathe in when having an intense sweat session, but also helping to prevent your gym equipment from rusting and your space from mould and mildew growths, thereby creating a fresher and more inviting gym to use regularly, and therefore a space and equipment that should last you for a long time.
Music or TV
Having a music system or a television in your basement gym can really help kick up your exercise routine. Music in exercise settings helps to boost mood, increase endurance and provide a rhythm to move to. You can definitely install a sound system to stream the latest party music or make your workout a zen experience with calm, slow songs.
Portable speakers can also be set up for listening to music if you do not wish to spend money on a sound system.
A television can be used several ways to make your workout more exciting. You can play along with a workout video or roll with whatever your Fit app for an online class suggests. You can also use a TV to stream your favourite show during longer periods of cardio to make the time fly by. Whether it’s the motivating sounds that keep your energy up or the escapism of a tv show, having audio and visual elements in your gym can enhance your exercise routine.
Hydration Station
Having a hydration station in any home gym, especially if your space is in a basement, is very helpful; you might be far from the kitchen or a water source and will want the water near your workout area to make sure you’re staying hydrated and drinking enough. Keeping yourself hydrated while you exercise helps with muscle expansion, endurance and recovery, and having water available to you will encourage small sips throughout your session. If space allows, we recommend keeping a small cooler or dispenser stocked with water for easy access, or just a shelf stocked with water bottles.
Or you can add in a mini-fridge with cold water, electrolyte drinks or healthy recovery snacks, making hydration and nutrition just as much a part of your workout as the cardio itself.
In Conclusion
In conclusion, turning your basement into a home gym is a great way to improve your living (and lifestyle) space. By paying attention to things such as appropriate flooring, necessary air circulation, motivational lighting and colour palettes, you create an environment that works in tandem to not only push you to keep up your fitness routine, but one that is comfortable and fun to work out in as well.
While these are important considerations to have, so too are practical aspects. For example, think wall storage, mirrors (they’re great for both learning the form and having a bit of fun!), and other essentials such as a dehumidifier and television (yep, sometimes we need a little entertainment to get us pumped up).
In a world where we’re now combining so many aspects of living, it seems like a slam dunk to also add our fitness. A basement gym is so much more than an exercise space. It’s a tributary to a more well-rounded life.
One that honours our health and our spirit. Keeping this in mind, your basement gym will not only be transformative for your home, it will be a vital space to help you and your family lead and enjoy a fulfilled and healthy lifestyle.
Read more: 10 Pitfalls to Avoid When Renovating to Prevent the Contractor from Increasing the Price
