Build Your Own Garage Gym and Ditch the Monthly Membership Fees

To accelerate your push to financial freedom, I recommend that you keep your fixed monthly costs as low as possible.  Along with monthly cell phone bills, a gym membership is one of those pesky monthly fees that is challenging to reduce or eliminate.

There are several reasons why a gym membership may make sense in your budget.  For example, if you enjoy tennis, swimming, or racquetball, it would be impractical and cost-prohibitive to have these sports arenas on your home or property.  If you enjoy group fitness classes and need camaraderie to motivate yourself to exercise, then it may also make sense to keep a gym membership in your budget.

However, if you simply use a gym membership to lift weights, a gym membership is wholly unnecessary.  You can completely eliminate the need for a gym membership by taking some time to construct your own garage gym.  Here’s how to do it.

Step 1: Make sure you’re actually going to use a home gym

There is no point in spending money on a home gym if you’re not going to use it.  A home gym is a depreciating asset that does not make money.  If you don’t use it and end up selling it, you will lose money.  However, if you have the discipline and self-motivation to lift weights in your garage, you will not only reap the health benefits but will also save money for more important things, like freedom.

Step 2: Make sure you have space for a gym

If you live in a 500 sq. foot apartment in Manhattan, then a home gym is completely out of the question. Ideally, you would have some sort of garage (even a single car garage will do), but if you live in a temperate area (like southern California), you might be able to set up a gym in your yard or patio.  If you don’t have a garage or any outdoor space, then you could also set up a gym in your living room, but make sure to ask your significant other first.

Step 3: Do the math

In most (but not all) cases, you will come out ahead purchasing equipment for a home gym rather than continuing to pay a monthly gym membership fee indefinitely.

For example, when my wife and I first moved to Alaska, we found the cheapest bare bones gym that cost us $35/month per person.  This was around $400 per year per person or $800/ year total.

After doing some research, we found that we could construct a garage gym for less than $1,600.  After 2 years, we recouped our costs and now stash that $800 per year into savings instead of gym fees.

Step 4: Understand that the outdoors is part of your gym

Getting outside is free and you should do it whenever possible.  You may also be able to find an outdoor playground that can be part of your gym.  However, even if you can do pull-ups at the park, and even if you regularly bike, paddleboard, surf, and run, you will still need weights. It’s also pretty tough to lift weights at a park when it’s -20 degrees out in the winters of AK.

Step 5: Figure out what equipment you need

The goal is NOT to recreate a professional gym in your garage.  It is to prioritize which pieces of equipment will give you a reasonable, well-rounded strength training workout without going overboard.

Here’s a list of what we have in our garage gym, along with the rough pricing.

This allows us to do a large number of exercises including squats, cleans, snatches, deadlifts, push-presses, pull-ups, Turkish-get-ups, rows, muscle-ups, push-ups, and various types of intervals.  You get the idea.

We assembled these items from WalMart and Sports Authority (when they were still in business).  If you want the highest quality and don’t mind paying a premium, be sure to check out Rogue Fitness.

Step 6: Use your gym!

Once you have your gym, don’t look back.  Cancel your gym membership and use the money for more important things, like earning your freedom!

Remember, It’s Not About the Money; It’s About the Freedom