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Bring the Gym to Your Home: Create a Functional Home Fitness Space
American's spend an average of $58 per month on fitness and gym membership, not including travel costs and extras like lockers. That comes to almost $700 a year.
Home gyms are great if you enjoy your privacy. There's no one around to catch a whiff of your hard-earned sweat. But if you enjoy the comradery of group fitness, don't worry home fitness works for you as well.
Determine Your Fitness Goals
Everyone has their own exercise style and goals. Much like you would with a personal trainer at a gym, sit down and make a plan. Make a list of your fitness goals and determine the types of exercise required to achieve them.
Look at online platforms and fitness communities to find one that caters to your unique fitness style. Once you've figured out your plan and found a support group, you can move on to your fitness space.
Designate a Workout Space
Having a dedicated workout area will help you remain consistent and achieve your fitness goals.
For exercises like yoga or weightlifting, you'll only need a space large enough to fit a mat. Whereas, if you're planning on doing aerobic dance routines and Zumba, you'll want the room to move.
An empty basement might seem like a great place to workout, but if it's cold and uninviting, you won't want to exercise. Add personal touches, a heater perhaps, or consider renovating to create a more welcoming exercise environment.
Use What You Already Have
It's alright if you're not ready or able to spend wads of cash on a bunch of workout equipment. Look around at common household items you can repurpose.
Use canned goods or jugs of water in place of weights and kettlebells. Spare tires and sandbags are great to build strength during HIIT workouts. If you don't have objects of equal size you might have to do unilateral exercises, or one side at a time exercises to avoid becoming unbalanced.
Choose Equipment You'll Use
Working out at home requires motivation, so be sure to invest in equipment that encourages you to exercise. If you're not a runner, you've never been a runner, and the very thought of running makes you cringe, don't buy a treadmill. The chances that you'll suddenly be inspired to run simply because you have a treadmill are slim to none.
Instead, invest your money in equipment you know you'll use. Or if you're just starting your home fitness journey, get some of the basics.
- Free weights
- Resistance Bands
- Yoga Mat and Blocks
- Ab Wheel
- Stability Ball or Bosu
- Kettlebells
- Medicine Ball
Step up Your Home Fitness Game
As your fitness level changes, so will your workouts. At some point, you might be ready to invest in larger equipment or redesign your exercise space.