You aren't going out to the gym, whether it's because you're self-conscious, because of the cost, for your health, or for other reasons. Either way, you want a home gym, but you don't have a lot of space. Gyms can take up a lot of room, but they don't have to have the tall ceilings and wall-to-wall mirrors that you see online and in commercial gyms. These Small Home Gym Ideas will help you get fit and stay healthy.

1) Compact, Foldable Treadmill

Foldable gym equipment lets you put a lot more in a smaller space, but have you ever seen a folding treadmill before? Usually, the treadmill would be the biggest or one of the biggest pieces in your gym, but with a folding treadmill, it won't take up much space. This one from Amazon folds up, and it's also smaller than most treadmills, to begin with. This makes it ideal for a small gym, and it's even portable so that you can take it on the road. Travel won't interrupt your Fitness schedule anymore!

2) Portable Gym

This workout package is ideal if you want to do various workouts but don't have room for each exercise to have its own station. You might think that you have to eliminate some exercises, but instead, you can choose pieces like this portable gym that you can pick up and stow away when you're not using it. This is a tiny portable gym with straps, but you can find them with different types of equipment and in various sizes.

3) Bodyweight Exercises

Gym equipment is large, so you might not be able to fit a lot of it in your home gym, but there are many exercises that you can do without equipment. Instead of trying to cram a lot of equipment into a small space, you can get a couple of pieces of essential equipment and focus on bodyweight workouts for the rest of your routine. If you're stuck trying to think of ideas, this video by Zuzka Light has some bodyweight exercises that you can do in small spaces.

4) Power Tower

Power towers are excellent for strength training and building up your core strength, and they're a versatile piece of equipment. It's essential to have pieces like these that serve multiple functions since you don't have room for many different pieces of equipment, particularly substantial pieces like these. This tower from Amazon is taller than it is wide, so it won't take up much room, and the height is adjustable so that you can pick a height that works best for you.

5) Start With a Plan

In a huge room, you could simply buy whatever equipment you want and place it in the room as you got it, but since you have a small room, that's not going to be an option. If you just buy things you want, you'll end up creating a crowded and inefficient space and will probably stop using it as often, so it's essential to plan your gym based on your workouts and the flow of the room. This article by Lela Burris has some suggestions to help you plan the best gym for you.

6) Under Desk

We're not working on styling your office right now, but your office and gym designs can be connected, believe it or not. There are some small pieces of equipment that don't have to be part of your gym or even your regular workout. You can put pieces like this mini under-desk elliptical machine in your office or elsewhere so that you're getting a little exercise at various points throughout the day instead of trying to cram all your exercise into one session and all your equipment into one room.

7) Priority

What’s the most critical piece of equipment to have in your gym, based on your preferred workouts and the exercises you know you need to do? Get that piece. What's the second most important? Get that one, too. In other words, when you have limited space, you need to decide which pieces of equipment are most important. We suggest watching this Ivana Chapman video to get an idea of how you can prioritize equipment to get the most out of what room you have.

8) Straps

Straps are probably one of the best pieces of equipment to have in your gym since you don't have a lot of space for big pieces. They don't take up much room, but there are many ways to build strength and flexibility using straps. A strap set like this door-mounted one from Amazon is even better because you typically can't put equipment in front of the door, making that area wasted space. With door-mounted straps, the space is no longer wasted.

9) 3-Piece Gym

It's hard to pack everything you need into a small space if you're serious about working out, but you don't want to compromise the quality of your workout by not having the equipment you need. We found this Gym Crafter article with an idea for a 3-piece gym that still covers all your needs, but with the awareness that you simply don't have room for every piece of equipment out there. These three pieces should cover you for a variety of workouts.

10) Cardio Mat

Large workout machines can be great for a comprehensive workout with a variety of movements, but unfortunately, they take up a lot of space, so you might not be able to have any or may have to settle for just one or two. If you don't have a lot of heavy workout machines holding down your gym mats, you need to make sure you have something that won't move or separate during bodyweight workouts that require a lot of movement. A cardio mat like this from Amazon works well since it’s one piece and should grip the floor well.

11) Cage Workout System

If you haven't heard of it, a cage workout system probably sounds like a strange device, but it's one of the most efficient ways we've found to combine many workouts into a single piece of equipment. This cage system from Amazon even has weight racks so that you can use it as a single central station for all your strength training, leaving the rest of the gym free for cardio. It’ll take up a bit of room, but you won't need any other strength training equipment in your gym.

12) Multifunctional Room

You're probably thinking of dedicating one small room to your home gym, and we understand completely. That seems like the most organized thing to do, but is it really the best thing for motivation and organization? We liked the way Anna Rietz designed her small home gym to have multiple functions so that she didn't lose as much space to her gym. Using the gym for various purposes may also keep it at the forefront of your mind and keep you from slowly turning it into a storage room.

13) Pick Five Favorites

What’re your five favorite exercises or five most essential exercises? What five pieces of equipment do you think you'll use more often? Put those in your gym. If you don't have enough room, pick two or three favorites instead. We found a list of five of the best pieces of home workout equipment, so if you're unsure of what to get, try picking your favorites from this list. Look for a combination that’ll let you work on each muscle instead of focusing too much on the same muscle groups.

14) Define Functions

Defining your gym space is an effective way to optimize it. That is to say, if you pick a function for each section of a room and don't stray from that, you don't have to worry about other equipment getting in the way of doing your workout. You can use this guide by Emily B. to learn how to create an organized gym space by designating the functions of each area and keeping everything organized.

15) Versatile Total Gym Strength Training

If you have a very small space or like to focus on cardio but still need a little bit of strength training equipment, this total gym is one of the smallest pieces we've found with a variety of movements to give you an upper and lower body workout. It doesn't take up much space, but you can see the variety of exercises you can do in the Amazon pictures, and it has different levels of resistance so that you can change it for each activity or as you improve.

How small is your gym? Which idea inspired you or helped you figure out what to do in your own gym? We'd love to hear about it in the comments below!