Designing a Family Gym: How to Select the Right Products?

When it comes to building your home gym, it's important to think of the whole family! Have kids in sports? Keep up with their training during the off season. Does your partner love to workout with you? Design a gym that comfortably fits two. 

At the end of the day, the gym you design can support your family. Don't believe us? Check out how three of our PRx crew created a space perfect for the whole family.

Building a Gym the Whole Family Can Use

Rachel, VP Marketing

Family: Spouse & Two Teens

When I started at PRx in 2016, I knew very little about lifting. I was a runner and hiker who threw in some circuit training a few times a week. But after taking two Bootcamp classes back to back, I realized how much improving my strength improved my runs. In 2017, I decided to pull the trigger and build a home gym that went beyond the treadmill. So let me share why we selected the equipment we did for our family gym.

We have an older home (classic brown paneling) and our garage is a solid two stall, but it doesn't have room for much more than our two cars. Throw in all the kids' stuff - and it gets pretty tight. 

Against all odds, we were able to clear enough wall space to fit in a pretty decent workout area! When it came time to select products, we factored in our active pre-teen children. Both kids are in multiple sports and having a home gym was an attractive prospect for them too.

Our home gym:

• Profile ONE Rack with Kipping Bar
• Folding Flat Bench*
• Olympic Elite Jr. Bar & Single Bar Storage
• 205lb set of Crumb Rubber & 4-Peg Plate Holder
• Jump Rope
• Mobility Band Bundle
• AbMat & AbMat Storage
• Med Ball & Med Ball Storage 
• 2 horse stall mats

On my run days, the horse stall mats give me just enough room to warm up and stretch. Since the kids were still pretty young when we purchased, I went with the Jr. Bar - which allowed them to actually use the weights instead of just lifting the bar! My son and husband use the rack regularly for lifting. I also recently picked up the EZ Curl Bar, which has found a home in my now 15 year old son's room (duh mom, gotta do the curls).  

My only regret is getting a Med Ball. I had high hopes of using it, but you should see the layer of dust on that thing!

*Product testimonial: Somebody left the bench out after their workout and I MAY have nudged it a bit while backing out. Still folds up! 

Saving Space and Being Safe 

Katie: PRx & Sensory Product Line Manager

Family: Spouse, 2 & 5 Year Old Boys

The biggie for us was saving the space and being safe. I have a couple things for the kiddos, but maybe not as much as other families with older kids just yet. It’s more about them hanging out in the space when I’m there or feeling like they can touch things without being in trouble.

They’ll do empathy burpees with me though 😊

We have a two stall garage, but we only park one car inside most of the time because of all the bikes and toys, mini tramp, basketball arcade game, etc. We made sure to set up our gym to accommodate having a car in the garage because the garage door opening can wake our two year old, or because it’s -20 degrees and I just got the garage heated up.

Family first home gym items:

• Rack: I specifically picked a folding rack so I can pull my truck in if I need to during bad weather.
• Cardio: a smaller footprint treadmill so it fits. Also the kids can operate it easily so it’s fun to watch them walk on it. We have a bike mount as well that hikes up the rear tire and makes it like a stationary bike. $40 vs $500! The kids love hopping on the bike even if they can’t reach the pedals yet. 
• Soft Plyo: I have no qualms with wood, but everyone else in the house wanted something soft and safe to climb on / jump on. This is our 5 year old's favorite piece.
• Gym Rings so the kids can hang and swing from the Savannah Bar. My favorite is putting our mini tramp underneath it, then they really get bouncing and swinging. Our youngest's a big fan!
• Gym stall mats because my family doesn’t know how to keep any floor surface clean. Plus it’s just common sense.
• We got a 15kg bar for my wife to handle better, and we have a lot of lighter kettlebells, dumbbells as well as a decent handful of bands and tubes. The kids like using the tubes too!

Some things for safety:

• I used to have Crash Pads to quiet my drops since I lift at 430am. I ditched them though because I just got too weak to justify dropping anything anymore.
• Crumb Rubber Plates: Safer and softer drops
• Dumbbells and Kettlebells are actually on the floor right now instead of the wall in case the kids try to mess with them, they won’t crash on their tootsies. I’m glad the plates are on the wall though, way more sturdy than a plate tree.

Next on the wish list for the crew:

• Junior Bar
• 3lb Dumbbells
• 5lb Vinyl Kettlebell
• Tumble mat and wedge
• A bigger treadmill and bench when we get the shed built for the lawn equipment and have room for bigger equipment!

Keeping the Garage a Multi-Purpose Space 

Corey: Sales & Customer Service Manager
Family: Spouse, 8 Year Old, 5 Year Old, & Newborn

Folding Rack: This was the most important thing for me. I got a folding rack to get it out of the way, whether it be for other garage activities during the cold winter or just more room for storage if necessary. Plus, my wife and her family love to have garage sales!

Soft Plyo: We went with the soft plyobox over the wood one because it eliminates the fear of injury with scrapes and bumps if the kids decide to use it as a “toy”.

Storage: Our gym is located in the garage and our garage is a communal place with lots of traffic. So I pretty much have every piece of our storage products. By storing everything on the wall, it helps diminish the possibility of accidents caused by equipment being stored on the floor and it gives everything a home.

Designing Your Home Gym

Here's how you can build your home gym in 3 easy steps!

1. Click here to schedule your 1-on-1 PRx Video Consult

2. Work with our experts to walk through your home gym questions

3. Pick the right rack for your home gym set-up