You have your space picked out and now you’re salivating over all of the gear you want to fit it out with.
There just isn’t anything else like putting together your first home gym!
Some of the lucky ones have access to a wide-open area in their little used garage or even in a large backyard shed, but for most others, there is a lot more creativity involved with arranging their training area.
Sometimes the space is a bit cramped. Other times there are a number of random columns or wires getting in the way. In some situations, a lower-than-ideal ceiling height is a cause of concern.
If that latter concern has been a buzzkill to your home gym design process, don’t worry; you’ve come to the right place. Today we’re going to look at some workarounds you can incorporate into your training when the ceilings start to cave in (figuratively…and kind of literally!)
Best Equipment for Low-ceiling Home Gyms
Before we begin our discussion about ways to modify your workouts for a low-ceiling environment, let’s discuss equipment. Most items, like dumbbells, kettlebells, and resistance bands, with will work in just about any space, but certain pieces require a closer examination, most notably larger racks and, more specifically, Smith Machines.
As you can probably imagine, not all Smith Machines are created equally and Smith Machine dimensions can vary greatly (to include their respective heights). For example, if your ceiling has 90 inches of clearance, the M1, PSR05, and the Buffalo will all easily fit into your space. Drop this down to 84 inches and the Buffalo (81 inches tall, 2x3-inch uprights, 13-gauge steel) and the PSR05 (82 inches tall, 2x2-inch uprights, 14-guage steel) are your only real options (the M1 is slightly over 85 inches tall with 2x2-inch uprights and 14-guage steel).
If you haven’t already done so, go ahead and take careful measurements of the ceiling height in your future home gym space. Be sure to note any areas where the ceiling is lower than the rest since this may disqualify that area from being a potential Smith Machine location. Also, take into account any floor mats you plan to stack your machine on since they will add around another inch to its total effective height.
Now that you know just how much ceiling you’re working with, you can eliminate options that will simply be too tall for your space. You can also eliminate those that may not possess the necessary features that you need in your Smith Machine. If you need free weight capabilities, the PSR05 won’t be the best choice for you and if you want to be able to execute vertical leg presses, the Buffalo is by far the best option for you.
Low-ceiling Home Gym Hacks
The two main issues that low ceilings present to home gym enthusiasts are:
- Pull-up limitations
- Overhead barbell and dumbbell limitations
Let’s explore strategies to minimize these problems while still maximizing workouts
Smith Bar Pull-ups
One of every Smith Machine’s hidden gems is its “secret” pull-up bar. Interestingly enough, this bar is hiding in plain sight; the Smith Bar itself easily doubles as an adjustable pull-up bar!
Depending on your ceiling’s height, move the Smith Bar to the highest or second-to-highest setting and securely rack it. Next, kneel on the ground under the bar, reach up with your standard pull-up/chin-up grip and begin performing pull-ups/chin-ups as you normally would.
This pull-up variation is slightly more challenging due to the fact that you will need to keep your knees tucked under you throughout the duration of each set. Besides this, the stimulus and muscles worked are very similar to traditional pull-ups. Overall, Smith Bar pull-ups are the most effective strategy to combat low home gym ceilings.
Towel Pull-ups
If you have an inch of clearance between the top of your Smith Machine and the ceiling, you can perform another effective pull-up variation. Towel pull-ups are excellent at not only developing the same back, shoulder, and core muscles as traditional pull-ups, but are also outstanding for developing an ironclad grip.
Grab a longer towel and throw it over the top of your Smith Machine. Pull one side down so that there are ends hanging from both sides of the top of the machine. Assume a similar starting position as the Smith Bar pull-up and begin pulling yourself as high as you are able to.
With a longer towel, you will reach full flexion before your head comes close to the top of the Smith Machine, allowing you to complete full towel pull-up repetitions.
Our two pull-ups hacks leave you no excuse to skip this all-important exercise, regardless of your home gym’s Smith Machine dimensions!
Seated Presses
Even if you have a low ceiling, overhead work should never be a problem. As long as you have a sturdy weight bench, you can easily complete all of your usual exercises simply by “taking a seat”.
Seated overhead barbell and dumbbell presses do not have the same challenging balance and stability requirements that their standing variations do, but still provide many of the same strength and muscle-building benefits.
By placing your bench adjacent to the Smith Bar (for seated Smith Bar presses), next to your machine’s J-cups (for seated barbell presses), or behind a couple of dumbbells, you can get all of your overhead pressing work in.
Check those Smith Machine Dimensions…and Get to Work!
As we’ve explored in this article, it doesn’t really matter if your home gym ceiling space is on the lower side; as long as you can fit a Smith Machine in, you’ll be able to perform a variation of every exercise you can imagine.
Also, if you check the Smith Machine dimensions of your desired piece and find that it just won’t fit into your space, you can rest easy knowing that there are likely superior options that actually require less ceiling height.
Just do us one favor: after a month of practicing all of your low-ceiling movement variations, head back to your old commercial gym for a workout. Prepare for heads to explode when you knock out your first sets of Smith Bar pull ups and towel pull ups!
