Location doesn’t matter until it does
A prime location for a garage training facility has to be inexpensive, accessible, and convenient. Some storage units meet all of these requirements with just a little tweaking. I had a conversation in 2016 with two gentleman who were thinking about starting up their own garage gym. The problem was they didn’t have access to a house with a basement or car port that would serve their needs. My suggestion to them was simple: rent a storage facility.
Storage facilities work because they
- don’t charge a great deal
- have security of some sort so that somebody’s watching over your stuff when you’re not there
- if you are the unit owner you have almost unlimited access.
Granted this wouldn’t work if you plan on something extravagant
But for somebody who just needs to put in a power rack or squat stands, a bench and some dumbbells or kettle bells it’s perfect. You can either lift inside there if you put mats down or store equipment inside in the unit and take out only what you need and train right in front of it. That second option depends on the rules of the facility where you’re going to store your equipment.
As for space
My second home gym was in a small shed no bigger than a storage unit. Worked out just fine and made me more efficient because I didn’t have a bunch of nonessential stuff cluttering up the space.
One final thought:
You need to make sure that the facility’s insurance doesn’t prevent you from training on the premises, but I’d say that this is probably a pretty viable option for those of you who live in apartment complexes or condominiums.