How I set up my Sh350,000 home gym

Except that it does not have to be. If this is you, home gyms are your saving grace.

If you have the space and a small starting budget, you can put together a gym that works for you.  So, what does it take to set up a gym in your house and what are the benefits? BDLife spoke to Eshuchi Lumumba, a longtime fitness enthusiast who works as a teacher, recording musician and interior designer in Nairobi.

“The idea to have a gym in my house came from the inconveniences I faced about two and half years ago after I moved from Nairobi’s Lavington to Ruaka. Going to the gym meant I would have to detour at least four times a week—the number of times I work out weekly,” he says.

The detours meant he would spend up to two hours in traffic jams just to get to the gym for a one-hour workout session.

“The time spent on the road did not make sense to me and when I looked around, I didn’t find a gym that had the right equipment to suit my workout needs,” he says.

He quickly did the math and concluded that, if he put together the monthly subscription fees as a lump sum amount, he would save the money in the long term and have his equipment to himself.

“As an interior designer, planning and designing the space was a no-brainer, I installed a floor-to-ceiling mirror—just to transpose the communal gym to my private space. I mounted a few of my photos on another wall to complete that feeling. I added some downlighters to boost aesthetics and also provide ample lighting for my photography (he is big on that),” he says.

His research before embarking on this process helped him to make informed purchases.

“When I went shopping, I knew what I could do without. For example, I don’t have a treadmill. It is bulky and takes up a lot of space. I can easily achieve similar results by setting up another station that doesn’t eat so much space,” he says.

When building your home gym, functionality and effectiveness are key drivers of the decision-making process. Unlike in the case of public gyms, you might not have the space, money and need for some equipment. What works for you depends on what you are trying to achieve with your body.

To optimise his gym’s functionality, Lumumba first installed a rack cage. He then bought enough plates for his strength training and hired a metal fabricator to build a rack for his dumbells.

“Most, if not all, types of equipment that need installation in the gym will come with a manual. To cut costs, you can read the manual and install them yourself. This also helps you familiarise yourself with what you have in case there is a need to disassemble or fix loose nuts.”

He fixed the floor himself as well.

“It would have cost me about Sh10,000 to arrange the interlocking floor mats. This would have been an unnecessary cost since this is something that anyone can do easily.”

Does it make economic sense in the long run? “Yes, it does. Over time, I have spent less on putting up my gym than I would have spent on subscription fees over the last two and a half years,” he says.

He has spent Sh350,000 this far. Money, he says, is a fraction of what he would have paid for a decent gym subscription.

“When you think about it, it is a save for me,” he says.

Having a gym at home encourages laziness, many would argue. It could be one of those things you are extremely psyched about when setting up but only getting to use once in a while. Lumumba disagrees.

“I have to remind myself not to go to the gym more than my body requires. To my advantage, I can use it any time I want. Additionally, having it here means I don’t have to wake up earlier than I should in the morning to beat traffic both on the road and at various stations in the gym,” he says.

Besides saving on time and costs, a personal gym enhances your privacy. Some people lack the confidence to train in spaces with strangers or might have depleted social batteries. Public gyms become a great hurdle in their fitness journey—a contranym by any definition but a valid reason not to show up for the reps or any gym activity. Others demand privacy for religious reasons.

“Your own space guarantees you maximum privacy from any people or energies you don’t want to interact with. It also pulls you back from the pressure of doing things in the gym because either a trainer or a fellow gym user is doing them. It saves you from a crowd’s workout guilt when you can’t reach certain levels as your other gym compatriots. It reminds you to do things at your own pace,” he tells BDLife.

What about maintenance? “Treat your home gym as you would any other room. It requires regular cleaning and sometimes, specialised cleaning. Just like the public gym, disinfecting surfaces should be routine. Additionally, having good aeration in the room ensures you keep the gym and the rest of the house fresh,” he says.

Does having a personal gym mean one stops going to the public gym? “I go to my local gym when I want a change of environment. There is no guilt in going to places you once frequented,” he says.