Transform your garage into an at-home gym on a budget

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- With school starting in a few weeks, that means you're back to making lunches, carpooling, and lots of homework. So now, maybe you're wondering when you'll fit in gym-time with all those chores?

Well, there's a popular fitness trend that will make it easier to get everything done. You've probably scrolled past post after post of garage gyms on Pinterest, Instagram or YouTube. In fact, local Instagram fitness sensation @MyTrainerCarmen decided to do just that.

Carmen Morgan is a personal trainer in-person and virtually to nearly 700,000 followers on her Instagram page and app. She knows exercise needs to be convenient to be successful even for her, so she transformed her garage.

"I wanted it to be as close to me as possible so that I'd be way more likely to use it, and I wanted it to be a clean, bright, and organized space," explains Morgan. "I painted the walls, cleaned up the floor and refinished the concrete, a lot of hooks so that things can be off the ground and ready for me to grab," she explains.

Once the space is clean and bright, you might want to add some fans or even air conditioning. Then, Morgan says work on equipment, and it doesn't need to break the bank.

"I love a kettle bell. You can use it for so many different exercises, and they also vary in weights, so the weights can come pretty heavy and the weight distribution is good for just about anybody to use," says Morgan.

Kettle bells usually run around $33.

"If you're shying away from heavy weights, resistance bands are the way to go. They also take up no space,and you can take them with you when you go," she adds.

The best part? A starter kit of three bands will cost about $12.99.

"Dumbbells can be used for everything - upper body, lower body, everything. If you can only get one thing, dumbbells are the one thing to get," Morgan says.

Morgan adds you can find a pair of 10 pounders for $15 at Academy.

"A jump rope is good because of cardio. I'm not huge into cardio, but it's very necessary and good for you, and a jump rope doesn't take up any room," says Morgan.

A jump rope on Amazon will run you around $5. Morgan also found an aerobic step on Amazon for $28.

"I love aerobic steps because they're a great way to add just a little bit of difficulty into a lunge or squat or step up," she continues.

Morgan says you can work your whole body with these few pieces of equipment, but starting with just one can be enough to get you on the right track.

"Don't forget to check out sales and picking up what you can in a slow about of time...You can build up your arsenal as you go," Morgan says.

Morgan has hundreds of exercise routines to choose from on her app. Just go to the app store and search My Trainer Carmen.

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