Every time I was in my garage working out, something always felt a little off. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something just didn’t seem right. Then spring came, and for the first time in several months, I opened the garage door before I started training. The fresh air and warm temps were amazing, but the kicker was the sunlight! Training in a bright and inviting environment was a game-changer!
That day set me down a path of trying to figure out the best way to recreate that sunny environment every single day I trained. I seriously wanted to know what the best way to light my home gym would be. After a bunch of research and multiple visits to local lighting stores, I figured it out.
The best lighting for a home gym is natural light let in through lots of windows. When this is not possible, mimic natural light by installing multiple fixtures evenly across the entire space. They should use daylight temperature bulbs (5000k) and provide a bright and energetic space to train in.
If you want to see how I fixed my lighting problem in my garage gym, check out the same lighting I use and love here on Amazon!!!
I never really noticed before, but the only lights in my garage were an overhead 60w bulb and a single shop light over my workbench in the corner. That meant that I spent most of my time working out in the shadows. Our bodies take cues from the light we are exposed to. Shadows and dark tell our bodies it’s time for bed, not time to work out.
That day in the sunlight, I had one of the best training sessions I’d had in a long time. The credit is due, in large part, to the bright and inviting light streaming through the door on that warm spring day.
That meant one very important thing… It was time to fix the lighting in my garage gym. I didn’t want to work out in the dark anymore, so I started my research that night.
There are several general options to light our home gyms. You can do something basic like getting brighter bulbs for existing fixtures. You can hang some simple lighting that’s a step up from what you currently have. You can install recessed or track lighting for a high-end, finished look. You can even get creative with smart lighting that will add spark and a little fun to your training space.
I looked at a lot of different options as I thought about what I might want to do in my dark and shadowy garage gym. I learned a lot about both lighting and lights. Here’s what I found.
Nothing beats the sun
When considering your lighting options, natural light is always the best choice. Sunlight hits your skin, and vitamin D is generated. It hits the photoreceptors in your eyes (And in your ears. You have them in your ears!!! Isn’t that crazy?) and tells you to be awake and alert. If you can get sunlight into your gym, that should always be your first choice.
If adding or opening windows and skylights is an option for you, it’s your best course of action. The problem for me, and I’m guessing many of you, is that I work out in an area with no windows and no ability to add them.
At best, most garages or basements (the places many of us build our gyms) have zero to very few windows. Sure, I can open my garage door when it’s nice out, but I live near Chicago. It’s just not nice enough around here for that to be a full-time solution!
If you can’t have sunlight, mimic sunlight
If you can’t get sunshine inside your gym, you should have one overarching goal: To use lighting that is as close to sunlight as possible in amount, direction, and color. In other words, lots of light coming from above our heads and as close to the color of sunshine as possible.
That means no fluorescent lights. Those old-school shop lights or cheap lighting ballasts aren’t the best choice and can be quite harsh on your eyes. Fluorescents tend to flicker and buzz. They have a short lifespan and are not very efficient. They aren’t even the right color temperature. In other words, they are most definitely not like sunlight!
Instead, if you can, use LED lighting. It will often be the most flexible and cost-effective. Today’s lighting choices are rife with LED options, and you will have a ton of lights to choose from. The right LED lighting can be very close to actual sunlight and will almost always be your best option.
A primary benefit of LED lights is the choice of color temperature. Make sure to choose lighting that is classified as “daylight” in color or has a listed color temperature of 5000k. 5000k is the same color temperature as the midday sun.
You will often see “soft white” as an option. Stay away from this for your gym. Matching the color temperature of the lighting to that of the sun will add energy to both you and your space. It will be easy on your eyes and will provide a pleasant atmosphere in which to train.
Just like the sun, you want your lighting overhead. Hang it from or recess it into the ceiling. Get it up and out of your way. You will be especially thankful for this if you have mirrors in your gym. Overhead lighting will be more flattering than light that comes from most other directions. It will also eliminate unwanted reflections if you have mirrors mounted in your gym.
Light spacing and coverage
The goal is for a bright and evenly lit gym. Depending on the type of lighting you use and the room you are working with, there are several guidelines you could apply.
While not ideal, you could simply place a light over each piece of equipment. In a garage or unfinished basement, this may be the most workable choice. Adding lights at regular intervals or installing recessed lighting might not be an option for you in a space of this type.
In these cases, simply mount the lights of your choice over each main area of activity. One over the power rack, one over the elliptical, and so on.
If you find yourself in an area that allows you to install multiple lights at regular intervals, this is the much better route to choose. It will take a few more lights and a little more work, but the result is well worth it!
There are a couple of general rules of thumb you can use to determine the correct spacing for your lights. If you are using recessed or track lighting, simply take the height of your ceiling and divide by two. That will give you the proper spacing between your lights and also give you an idea of how far out from the walls they should be.
For example, if you are using recessed can lights and you have an 8-foot ceiling, your lights should be about 4 feet out from the wall and also 4 feet apart. 9-foot ceilings equal 4.5-foot spacing, 10-foot ceilings equal 5-foot spacing, and so on. This isn’t a hard and fast rule, but it’s a great starting point that will ensure excellent coverage.
If you are using shop lights (what I use), then you can go a bit further apart. Because this type of lighting is so much brighter and spreads its light across a broader area, you can space them further apart.
For shop lights, I like to go with ⅔ the ceiling height instead of ½. So, in my garage, which has 9-foot ceilings, I started my plan by putting my lights about 6 feet out from the walls and 6 feet apart. I added two more that had closer spacing but gave me a nice symmetrical coverage of my garage. This setup gives me outstanding coverage and the bright environment I was looking for!
Install everything spaced evenly and use identical lights; don’t mix and match if you can avoid it. The main rule here is even coverage. Don’t leave room for any weird shadows to creep into your space. Especially in the corners.
Lighting options
What your options are will be determined by your space, your access to electricity, and your budget. I had to consider all three for my garage gym lighting project. You will, too.
Upgrade your bulb
If you have a limited budget or are in a space that doesn’t allow the installation of anything, there are a couple of stopgap measures that fall in the “better than nothing” category. I strongly considered both of these as I am as reluctant to spend money as I am lazy.
Overhead, in my garage, I have a single light socket. One solution I looked at was this bulb I looked at on Amazon. Equivalent to a 250w bulb and at the desired 5000-kelvin color temperature, it seemed like a reasonable solution to me.
If all you have is an overhead socket to work with, and you don’t mind a super bright single light source, this may work for you. It’s not the route I took, but it would still be an improvement over an old-school 60w or 75w equivalent CFL bulb.
Another way to make use of a bulb like that is to pick up a couple of hanging lights on Craig’s List or at a garage sale. You can hang them in a variety of ways, and they will get the bulbs up above your head where it belongs.
Be creative. If your space or budget doesn’t allow anything else, this is the perfect solution for you.
Basic yet highly effective lighting
The next option I considered (and the one I ultimately chose to go with) is nicer-looking LED shop lights that put out 5000k light. My gym is in a garage. If it were in a finished room of my home, I probably wouldn’t have chosen to go with this type of light. But for a garage or basement area, I think they work great!
If you look around, there are a million options for this type of light. I went with a model that I found on Amazon that came in a 6 pack and had great reviews. You can check the current price and description of those by clicking here.