For most, lighting is one of the last things you think about when building out your first garage gym. You focus on the best home gym equipment you’ll need and where it will all go and then when it’s all set up….you notice how dim it is, or how one end of your home gym is lit up, but not the other. Now you have to determine what’s the best lighting for garage gyms. No need to worry though; we have you covered.
We’ve determined our picks for the best lighting for garage gyms, covering a broad range of needs to best suit your needs. If you feel the need to remake your home gym with some lighting ideas, keep reading for a complete guide to some of the best options on the market.When deciding on the best gym lighting, we will compile this garage gym lighting list based on the actual conditions of the gym so that you can make the best decision on choosing the right lighting system for your garage gym.
Best Hexagonal Lighting: Hexagon Led Garage Lights
Hexagon lights are popular in garages and can stylishly illuminate your home gym. This kit comes in multiple specifications, so you can choose the right one according to the size of your ceiling. Assembly is do-it-yourself, however, so you can snap the tubes together in any hexagonal or rectangular pattern you want. Since this is a complete set of bulbs, make sure you have enough space in the ceiling first!
Best Super Bright Lighting: Linear High Bay Lights
If you have a high home gym or need to light a large gym space, Hyperlite linear high bay lights are an excellent choice. It has two installation methods, surface installation or hanging chain installation, suitable for a variety of needs.
Best Multi-Directional Lighting: 3 panel Garage light
This 3-panel garage light meets all your garage gym lighting tweaking needs. This kit features three removable light panels that screw into any common light socket. Three light panels can adjust the light angle according to your needs.
This light is very bright as there are a set of 144 LED bulbs that produce a total of 5,500 lumens of light. This should undoubtedly brighten up a workshop or garage, but it can also easily illuminate your barbells and adjustable dumbbells. With so much power and brightness, this light remains energy efficient, emitting as much light as 20 standard incandescent light bulbs. This light bulb is very convenient, has a variety of light angles, and the light it emits is particularly bright and popular. It is a great economical solution for lighting the garage or basement gym. And some people use it with hexagonal garage lights.
Best Overall Lighting: LED Vapor Tight Light
Led strip lights are the choice of most people, not only because of their energy-saving characteristics, they can also be connected in a daisy chain, and 40w can connect up to 15 lights together. They’re also designed to be plug-and-play, meaning you just connect the bulb and plug in to get started. Hyperlite LED vapor tight light is definitely designed for convenience. And it’s easy to install. If you’re worried about other problems, these lights come with a 36-month warranty.
Benefits Of Lighting For Garage Gyms
Okay, lighting in your garage gym isn’t necessarily going to help your squat like the best weightlifting shoes might, but it just might help you feel better about being out in your own space. Here’s a few reasons lighting can help your garage gym experience.
A More Inviting Space
For one, a brightly lit gym space will be more inviting for you and your lifting partners to workout and stay energized. A dimly lit basement gym is going to feel more like a dungeon than a workout space, and might make you feel a little less excited about entering your gym down the road.
Safety First
This is the second point, but it’s probably the more important one. Having enough light is an important factor that allows you to stay safe while exercising.A properly lit gym can minimize your risk of injury or damage to other pieces of equipment, simply by being able to see. When the lights aren’t too bright, it’s very easy to drop a weight or bar the wrong way, falling on your power rack the wrong way—or worse, your foot. Racking dumbbells onto a dumbbell rack can pinch your fingers if you are not aware. A well-lit home gym can help minimize the chances of these small mistakes from happening.
Form Checks
Lighting can also help you see your technique better in multiple ways. Whether from looking in a mirror, having a friend spot you, or recording video for your coach, good lighting will help you see the nuances of a technical lift. Dim lighting just won’t provide that level of clarity to criticize the technique of proper squat form, for example.
What To Look For In Lighting For Garage Gyms
Ceiling Height
The ceiling height might limit the types of lighting you can use. A low ceiling might require recessed lighting to save ceiling height. Also, a higher ceiling will require brighter lights with more lumens.
LED Lights
For the most part, LED Garage lights have become the standard for lights, in housing and gyms alike. First, they are generally brighter and consume much less energy than incandescent or fluorescent lights. And in recent years, LED lighting has become a far more affordable option.
Color Temperature
The color temperature of the bulbs will impact the warmth or coolness of the lighting and your space. Temperatures are usually given in Kelvin (K) and a lower temperature is warmer and more yellow, while a higher temperature is bluer and cooler. Sunlight is about 5,000K, so a temperature between 5,000K to 6,500K will feel like daytime and be more energizing.
Meanwhile, warmer temperatures between 2,200K and 3,500K tend to be a more relaxing tone of light, which would be ideal for stretching or a cool-down. Ultimately, the light tone or temperature you go with is up to your preference though.
What Color Lights Are Best For Home Gyms?
The warmth of lighting will change the color of the lights; typically, most ideal garage lighting will fall at a color temperature between 2200K and 6500K (Kelvin). Which temperature works best for you will depend on what you want in your gym.
A higher temperature will be a cooler, brighter white or blue which will feel more like daylight—5000K—and feel more energizing. Lower temperatures will be a warmer yellow, which might be good during stretching and cooling down.
