Home Gym Ideas for a Timber Building

Can You Turn a Timber Building Into a Home Gym?

Yes. A timber garden building can make an excellent home gym. With enough space, good insulation and ventilation, it can provide a comfortable place to exercise throughout the year without taking up room inside your house.

At a Glance

When planning a garden gym:

• Choose a building that's large enough for your equipment
• Allow enough ceiling height for your workouts
• Insulate the walls, roof and floor for year-round comfort
• Include opening windows for ventilation
• Plan electrics for lighting, music and gym equipment
• Think about how the building could be used in the future.

Why build a Garden home gym?

A home gym makes it easier to fit exercise into your daily routine.

Having a gym at home means, in theory, you are more likely to find the time to exercise. No need to leave the house, no annual membership fees and no set times that you can or cannot be working out.

Can you use a garden building as a home gym?

Granted not many people have the space just waiting to swallow gym equipment or room for home yoga but a garden studio can be a quick, cost effective and planning friendly way to get your home gym. Assuming you will not be trying to use an indoor trampoline most home timber gyms fall inside permitted development rules. You will need a solid base and a base wall, the size and shape can be tailored to you and your exercise requirements.

You can check the latest guidance on outbuildings and permitted development on the Planning Portal.

What Size Garden Gym Do You Need?

A good start is to think about the machines, weights and equipment you will require both now and in the future. A keen athlete may have a bike, an ergo (or rowing machine) and weights bench, this will fit nicely in one of our smaller studio buildings but a good size to consider is 12ft x 18ft.

We often install home multi-purpose garden buildings, for example a children's games room or home office at one end and the other part is a gym. Of note is that if you do sell your house in the future, a timber building can be different things to different people, your gym could be someone else's artists studio, home for a model railway or workshop.

When designing a timber building that will be used as a gym there are a few things to keep in mind.

• Firstly height, depending on what you intend to do exercise wise we can alter the roof design to give maximum height above you.
• Secondly assuming you will be using the gym all year, we would recommend insulation for warmth in winter and coolness in summer but also, often forgotten, windows and doors.
• Fresh air makes exercising so much more pleasant, it keeps the air fresh and generally makes the atmosphere nicer.
• Lastly a lot of people choose to exercise to music, you can do this quickly and simply with a phone and headphones or consider a sound system or TV.

For more information, read our guide to designing an insulated garden studio for year-round use.

Does a garden gym add value to your home?

We can add in extra supports on a wall for brackets very easily (the same is true for mirrors). A home gym is a lifestyle choice that is hard to justify price wise but not when you consider, as with any timber building, you are likely adding the value to your house. Should you sell, the house that offers more will likely attract a buyer more quickly and a better price.

The huge benefit for the gym owner is a place to train and workout in peace without the need to leave your own home, at whatever time of day you would like, wearing what you want and get fit in your own time. You can read more on this topic in this article.

Design a Garden Gym Around Your Training

Whether you're looking for a simple space for yoga and cardio or a larger building for weights, strength training and fitness equipment, we can design a timber garden gym around the way you exercise.

At Olson Timber Buildings, every garden studio is made to order, with options for insulation, extra height, larger windows and bespoke layouts.

Explore our range of garden studios, or get in touch with our team for friendly advice about your project.