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February 2, 2024Your Realistic Guide to Investing in your Home Gym Cost UK
What To Expect In This Article
This article will focus on the specific home gym cost for the UK – no American links or recommendations here. We’ll break it down by fitness type, and by budget. You’ll end up with 3 budget-friendly levels of investment, depending on what you’re looking for. Just a simple, easy guide on how and where to spend your investment! Our categories will therefore be Cardio, Strength Machines, Strength Free Weights, Stretching, Flooring, and Ventilation. If there’s anything you think we’ve missed, send us a message. You can also ask us more questions, or get our help as online personal trainers.
How Much Will I Spend on Home Gym Cost?
In the following estimates, bear in mind that you may not want every piece of equipment available! We’ve estimated the cost of a full home gym, but you might just want a treadmill, a kettlebell, and an exercise mat. Because of this, your actual spend may be lower, higher, or in-between our estimated brackets. We’ll break everything down fully in the article. To give you an overview – for a small budget full home gym, you’d likely pay around £500-£1K. Medium budgets are likely to total £2K-£8K, and big budget home gyms will be £20K-£50K.
If you just want the essentials, check out our article breaking down your options, from Starter to Pro.
Cardio Home Gym Cost UK
Cardiovascular equipment works your heart and lunges primarily. Because of this, the primary benefits are general fitness, heart health, and weight loss. The most common pieces of cardio equipment are treadmills, bikes, and rowing machines. You can also get cross-trainers and steppers frequently.
Small Budget
Cardio pieces tend to be fairly large and can be costly. For those with a small budget, we’d recommend looking for second hand pieces. If they’ve been well cared for, however, they will have plenty of life left. Check on Facebook Marketplace or eBay. If your Small Budget stretches slightly, consider something like this bike for around £130.
Medium Budget
Medium Budget cardio equipment is a great place to be, with Treadmills starting at around £600. Good quality Spin bikes can be had starting at a similar point, and even second-hand Concept 2 rowing machines for similar on gumtree or ebay.
Big Budget
If you’re in the market for top-quality cardio equipment, check these out. SkillMills are considered the creme-de-la-creme of treadmills, and are around £11,000 from the manufacturer. Arguably the best Rowing Machines are priced around £1000. The treadmills you’d find at your local gym can be had for between £3000 and £7000 here. These are all commercial products designed to be used for hours per day, and if you look after them, should stand any workout you want.
Strength Machines Home Gym Cost
If you want to get stronger, but aren’t comfortable using free weights, then check out the options immediately below. If you’re comfortable using free weights (which we’d recommend over machines if so), then our next section will cover your home gym cost options. Strength machines can be great to build strength from a supported position, because you won’t have to worry about anything other than optimising your movement.
Small Budget
Similar to cardio, strength machines tend to be larger and can be costly. However, you do have options! Consider checking out Gumtree where you can pick up a second-hand multigym for around £150-200. Brand new multi gyms from budget outlets like Argos go for around £400+
Medium Budget
With a medium budget, getting a good multigym is very achievable. Lower-medium options are around £600. Check out these better options for around £800-1500.
Big Budget
The big budget options for home multigyms are very high quality, but you may not actually get much benefit over the Medium Budget options. At the same link as the Medium Budget, the top options are around £3000. Realistically, you may not want to max out your budget here.
Strength Free Weights Home Gym Cost UK
Free weights are fantastic for building strength, and there’s an incredible variety to what’s available. From kettlebells and dumbbells, to racks and bars and weights, to full rigs, there’s something for everyone. Read on to find out what works for your budgets and priorities.
Small Budget
You have some fantastic options with a small budget. Check out kettlebells from around £15 from Decathlon, and dumbbells and adjustable dumbbells from about £40 on amazon, although we’d really recommend spending around £80-100 and getting a metal, not plastic, pair. At this budget, you’ll find getting a metal barbell and rack for squats very challenging, but you can still get a great workout.
Medium Budget
With a medium budget for free weights, you can start to have some real choice. High quality kettlebells and dumbbells from Wolverson are around £35 each, or £180 for a set. Consider a power rack starting at around £300, which you will also need a bench, bar, and weights (available from the same outlet, and totalling around £600-800) to complete.
Big Budget
If you have a big budget for free weights, you’ll want to consider this checklist.
Kettlebells – go to Wolverson with the same link as the medium budget, or a similar high-quality brand.
Dumbbells – if you have the space, get a set of 5kg-30kg from Mirafit. If you have less space, get a good adjustable set.
Rack – get a solid full power rack for around £800-1K.
Bar – Eleiko make equipment for the Olympics – their barbells are good enough for you too.
Weight plates – sticking to Eleiko; the matching branding will look fantastic in your gym. Depending on your strength level, expect a total of around £2K-£4K.
Stretching, Flooring, and Ventilation Options
We’ve combined these categories, as they’re essential accessories to your home gym setup. Because they’re similar and sometimes multi-functional, read the section below to find out what to do.
Small Budget
For a small budget, stretching and protecting your floor can both be achieved with a good stretch mat! Consider spending around £20-25 on Amazon, and you can pick up a foam roller for similar.
As far as ventilation goes – opening the window is free! Also consider a simple plug-in fan, around £20-30, to keep some air flowing. This will make a big difference in the summer months!
Medium Budget
At the medium-budget point, split your flooring and stretching. For flooring, rubber interlocking matting is around £25 apiece, so figure out how much space needs matting, and expect a total of £250-500.
Follow the same link for a stretch mat as the Small Budget recommendation, but look for the £30-40 mark.
For ventilation, a good quality tower fan will start at £80-100 from Argos. If you really value staying cool, consider looking at the Dyson unit in the Big Budget section.
Big Budget
High quality flooring is around £100 per metre squared, so cost will depend on your space. You’ll want a similar stretch mat the the Medium Budget options, but you could consider the top option – a reformer pilates machine starting at £1500 here.
Your ventilation options are to go with a full air-conditioning unit, or a high quality fan. Consider a Dyson bladeless fan for around £350, especially if space is a consideration. For a full air conditioning unit, we’d recommend speaking to a specialist for your specific requirements.
As mentioned previously, you may want to allocate different levels of budget to different areas of fitness. Because we have different fitness goals, we’ll therefore require different pieces of equipment. You’ve got the information above and some links we’ve found, but feel free to explore more variety if what we’ve suggested doesn’t work for you. Once you’ve got your home gym sorted, you may want motivation and technique advice. Talk to us here and find out what we can do to take your progression to the next level.
