Fitness doesn't have to be expensive. Most people think of home gyms as elaborate affairs made of heavy metal frames or sleek high impact plastic ones, with weights, pulleys, and other gadgets sticking out of them.
While these home gym systems are effective, you don't necessarily need them to stay in shape. You can actually build your own gym equipment, using simple exercise gear that will allow you to work out without placing a large dent in your wallet.
The first and simplest piece of equipment you can use is a clean soft floor mat. Make sure it's wide enough to accommodate your body lying on the floor full length, and thick enough to cushion your body from the hard wood or concrete of the floor. Don't make it too thick or soft, as this will throw your balance off when it "yields" under your body weight.
Rubber mats work best for this purpose. This mat can be used for sit-ups and crunches, as well as simple calisthenics like jumping jacks and running in place. Free standing squats on the mat held build up leg strength considerably, too. Even before you start building your own gym equipment, using a simple mat that you can pick up at any department store can already go a long way.
Another exercise tool you can make when building your own gym equipment is push up bars. These are simple and easy. Find a pair of U shaped metal bars, with the bottom of the U fitting your hand's grips comfortably. The ends of the U are then fastened to either wooden blocks or metal sheets (your choice) that will let you place them on the floor. You can wrap the "grip" portion of the bars in foam or heavy tape to make your grip better.
Studies have shown that push ups done when the hands are in a straight fist position are better for the wrists than placing your palms on the floor. These simple handle-bars allow you to do push ups correctly, and from any of the various positions that push ups are done from to hit various pectoral muscle groups.
Another piece of gym equipment that's easy to build is a chin up bar. I highly discourage the classic approach some people take of mounting these on a door frame, as this can lead to accidents when people walk in on you. Instead, get a long comfortable bar and mount it one and a half to two feet from a wall. Use mounting and support brackets to ensure that it can take your weight. Set the bar's height at just high enough for you to reach on tiptoes. This height is ideal because you can get enough ground clearance by simply flexing your legs slightly when you do chin ups.
The reason the bar should be set so far from the wall is so you can do pull ups both facing towards and away from the wall. Also, if you want to, make the bar long enough so that you can use a "wide" grip, with your hands positioned past your shoulder's width. This allows you to target your lats when you work out.
Another variation of the above gym equipment you can build is a device used for tricep extensions and rowing exercises. This is a simple metal bar set horizintally at a certain height. To determine the height of the bar when building this piece of gym equipment, lie down on the floor and extend your arms straight up. This is the height the bar should be at. Set support bracket legs at the ends of the bar so it retains it's height. Make two sets of these bars, one for your arms to grip, the other is a place where you put your feet on.
Two exercises can be done with this set. One, you can lie on the floor underneath it and "row", pulling yourself up in a reverse push-up. For the other, you place your feet on the other set of bars, and position the "arm" bar right behind you. The position looks akin to sitting on the edge of a chair with your feet up on a table, and your hands directly behind you gripping the bar. You basically raise and lower your body using your arms. This works out your triceps and gives them a great deal of definition.
The above ideas are just a few examples of how with a little imagination and work, you can build your own gym equipment easily. It helps if you actually have prior experience in a real gym working with free weights and other exercise machines, as you will know which exercises target certain muscle groups.
However, if you want to build your own gym equipment and have no prior experience in working out, I highly recommend going to a real gym and getting some exposure first before you get too creative, as any mistakes when building your own gym equipment may actually lead to personal injury.
You know going to the gym regularly will get you back in shape. You know you need to work off a few pounds. You know you want to feel fit, healthy, energetic and all the other benefits going to the gym will give you.
But you just can't find the motivation to get out the house and down to the gym.
Sound familiar? I know, I've been there, done that. I spent years knowing I should but always putting it off until tomorrow. But since I picked up the habit of going to the gym every day, without fail, it's made such a positive difference to my life. It's one of the best habits I've ever committed to.
But I'm not here to tell you about me. I want you to feel the same positive effects that I do from going to the gym in the morning. From feeling fit and healthy and more alive than ever before, to leaping out of bed in the mornings, and having all the energy I want.
You can have all this, and more, just by cultivating the habit of going to the gym. Here's a few pointers I felt were useful when I was trying to convince myself I should get off the sofa and on to the running machine.
I started slowly. I didn't go five days a week at first. I went once a week, on a Saturday, and did a 30 minute work out. It was hard at first. I really felt the pain of not having exercised previously for years and years. But from that small start, I gradually grew over a couple of years to going to the gym every day. But I wouldn't have been able to do that straight away; it would have killed me! Start small, with a short, focused workout. And grow from there as you notice you are enjoying it more and more.
I always kept an image in the back of my mind when I was on the way to the gym, working at the gym, and going home afterwords. An image of me, in one years time. Looking happy, healthy, energetic. No beer belly, but a nice toned stomach. Me able to run without feeling constantly out of breath. Visualizing that image of me in the future helped me get through those really tough workouts in the beginning.
I put a huge poster up on the back of the front door to my house that I couldn't miss every time I left home. Every time I noticed a positive effect from working out, I wrote it on the poster. Every time I saw it, I remembered what a good impact my new gym habit was having on me and made me look forward to my next workout session.
Notice what's working and do it more. Measure everything. As the old saying goes, if it can be measured it can be managed. My aim every week was to run more miles, swim more lengths. I was always aiming to do better than the week before. To constantly make progress. There are a myriad of gadgets available -- don't obsess over them -- but get whatever you need to get to make sure you can measure yourself improving every time you workout.
Most importantly was just getting started. This was by far the most difficult part. But that initial session, going to the gym, registering, meeting the staff, and getting on the treadmill for the first time was also the most important. Like a rock rolling down a hill, once it's got over the initial resistance to start, the rest is downhill. And as a rock picks up speed, so you'll get and feel in better shape. But you just have to start.
These were the most important lessons I learned when I was first motivating myself to go to the gym. And now? I still practice all these principles, every day, and I've never felt as good as I do right now.