I spent $32,000 turning my basement into a home gym. It took longer than I thought, but it's been worth it.

Courtesy of Antonio Perez

This is an as-told-to essay based on a conversation with software engineer Antonio Perez, 47, who lives in Bath Township, Ohio, about 30 minutes south of Cleveland. Over the past year, he turned his house's woodworking shop into a basement gym. The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity.