How to move gym equipment safely

If you’ve ever experienced a big move, you’ll know that packing and hauling stuff can be a stressful activity. It gets a little more complicated when the move involves heavy gym gear! After all, your weights, treadmill, or stationary bike aren’t exactly what most people consider as common household items. 

So do you still need to hire a removal service when you’re just moving home gym equipment? What if you’re on a tight budget? 

With some planning and careful execution, you can successfully move your equipment without spending on professional movers. In this guide, we’ll walk you through tips on safely moving gym equipment—both from your home or a commercial gym.  

Wrapping supplies and tools you’ll need

• Gloves - to protect your hands while handling heavy equipment 

• Paddings - such as cushions, blankets, towels, and bubble wrap  

• Thick boxes, plastic bins, or crates - to store weights and disassembled pieces of equipment 

• Screwdriver - for dismantling large gym equipment 

• Masking tape and marker - for labelling boxes and parts 

• A moving dolly - to move heavier equipment that won’t fit in boxes 

Moving preparation tips for gym equipment

• Since you don’t plan on hiring professional packers, recruit at least two friends or family members to help you. No matter how strong and capable you are, it’s best to have a reliable “team” with you during moving day. 

• It’s essential to clean your fitness equipment before packing them. Sanitise your gym mats, weights, and punching bags. Dust machines and wipe handrails as needed. 

• Be organised! Identify which pieces of equipment need to be disassembled and separate them from those that could be easily packed in boxes.  

• Choose sturdy packing containers. Standard boxes won’t cut it when moving weights, so you may want to resort to heavy-duty packing boxes, plastic bins, and crates instead.  

How to wrap and move small exercise equipment

Let’s say you’ve already separated the large gym equipment from the smaller—and much lighter—ones. Aside from the standard gym mats, your “light” pile will likely consist of small weights like dumbbells, kettlebells, and medicine balls.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to pack weights for moving: 

1. Once the weights have been sanitised, cover them in bubble wrap, towels, or newspaper.

2. Test your boxes or bins to ensure they are sturdy enough to handle the weight. 

3. Line the boxes with blankets and towels to ensure the weights won’t move too much during transit. 

4. Place the weights inside and secure the boxes with tape. Remember: don’t overpack the box! Make sure it’s light enough for you—or your designated moving helpers and lifters—to carry. 

5. Lastly, when figuring out how to pack dumbbells and other weights for moving, don’t forget to label all your boxes so that your helpers will know it’s filled with fitness gear. 

How to move heavy gym equipment by yourself 

Of course, you can’t just place large equipment such as ellipticals, rowing machines, and stationary bikes in boxes. Moving a treadmill, for example, will require disassembly and special care.

So, how do you disassemble home and commercial gym equipment? Below are some tips for moving heavy fitness gear:  

1. Study the instruction manuals that came with the equipment you have, as instructions can vary. If you don’t have the physical manuals on hand, you can easily look them up online or contact the manufacturer. 

2. Before disassembling, check to see if all your equipment is unplugged! This is even more crucial for commercial gyms, where there are a lot of machines to move. 

3. Label the disassembled pieces properly using masking tape and a marker. You don’t want to lose any nuts and bolts or get them mixed up with an elliptical’s! It’s also a good idea to take photos of the equipment and its pieces to make it easier to reassemble them later. 

If you’re confident that machines can fit through doorways and don’t need to be disassembled, there are two easy ways to move gym equipment. You can either carry it with a friend or use a dolly to bring it to a waiting moving truck. A dolly is one tool that’s tried and tested by professional appliance removal services.
 

☞ Also read: How to move heavy appliances

You’re ready for the big move! 

Now that you’ve gone through the essential tips and tricks for moving gym equipment, you should be ready to dive in and start your moving preparations. It’s going to be a tough but fulfilling task. The move itself could be a new kind of workout! 

However, if your mates back out unexpectedly and you need extra hands moving your exercise bike, treadmill, or other heavy gym equipment, Airtasker can help. Easily hire moving Taskers by filling out a short form and posting your task. You’ll soon get free quotes from local movers in just a few minutes! We also recommend checking removalist costs to see if it fits your budget.