By Nicole Kinsman

It’s time to turn that forgotten basement into a useful space.

When renovating your basement the first thing to consider is what purpose the room will have. While there are many options for this space, this article will discuss transforming your basement into a personal gym.

There are several important steps to take when setting up your basement to become a work out room.

The first step to take is to determine your needs. The size of the space that you are transforming will be very crucial information to have during this stage of the process.

You will need to determine the square footage of the room. This information may be included in the statistics on the documents that you received when you purchased the home.

If these papers do not list the square footage of the basement a simple formula will be used to ascertain the size of the space.

You will first measure a wall that extends the length of the basement. Then measure a wall that runs the width of the room. Take these two numbers and multiply them together. This length times width formula will give you the square footage of the basement. This will give you an idea of the amount of space that you will have to work with.

The next step in this process is to get a preliminary idea of the equipment you will be purchasing for the room. In order to do so, you need to consider your personal goals. Exercise equipment can be used either to build muscle or lose fat. Weight benches and utility benches are used for this specific purpose. However, reducing fat to lose weight will require the use of cardiovascular machines. After you determine your work out needs you can begin to buy the equipment you will place in the room.

When you are ready to buy the equipment, the space of the room as well as your personal goals need to be taken into consideration. For example, a treadmill is ideal for someone who wishes to lose weight. This machine will provide an excellent cardiovascular work out to aid in the reduction of fat cells. However, you may not have the space for a machine of this size. In that case a recumbent bike may be a more appropriate piece of equipment to purchase. The newer models of these machines are compact and take up less space in a room.

The last factor that may need to be taken into consideration is the cost of this project. Exercise equipment can cost anywhere from a couple hundred dollars to several thousand dollars depending on your personal needs. However, you can purchase second hand gym equipment at a reduced price. You may also want to consider joining your local Freecycle community to obtain the equipment. Both of these options will reduce the amount of money needed to finish this project.

Turning your basement into a personal gym will be a very rewarding experience. Having the equipment right in your home will save you the time of having to drive to the gym on a daily basis. And overtime the equipment will pay for itself due to the fact that you will eliminate the monthly fees associated with a gym membership.

Only the right basement finishing system will give you a healthy, dry, comfortable and mold free room to work out. Total Basement Finishing systems are 100% waterproof and mold resistant, developed to withstand the harshest moisture conditions, even basement floods! You can have your dream personal home gym in a matter of days, and with the high end look you expect!