Crafting the Perfect At-Home Gym
Anyone who has spent any time between Sammy Sweats-a-Lot and Jimmy Jabbers at the gym knows that getting the fit body you want isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be. It’s a good thing you don’t have to be a slave to the athletic club. If you prefer to sweat within your own confines, you’re in luck. Crafting the perfect at-home gym isn’t as hard as you might think. And, in this day and age of DVDs by Jillian Michaels, Beachbody DVDs, and even DVDs on how to stay motivated, gyms aren’t a necessarily evil in order to get fit. Humble abode fitness is possible and, even better, effective.
You’ve Got All the Right Stuff (Or You Will)
Of course, if you want to have a home gym, you need equipment. How far you go with said equipment is totally up to you. Some of you might be fine with a few sets of weights, a fitness step, and some exercise bands. Others might to take it a bit further with home gym equipment and boost their cardio with a treadmill, exercise bike, and rowing machine. If you consider yourself to be very 2017, you’ll find modern products here. With items like the Skatecycle, the Push-up Trainer, and the chrome Smart Rope, your gym will look as cool as you feel once you’ve finished your workout. If you’re a one-and-done type person who is into lifting weights, the Bowflex Revolution (an all-in-one weight machine) might be the way to go.
Because women aren’t typically heavy weightlifters (of course, we know there are exceptions!), it’s a bit more low maintenance to set up a home gym for them. A simply yoga mat, kettle bell, exercise ball, medicine ball, hand weights, a step, and exercise bands will do. You don’t even need all those things, especially when you consider all that you can do for resistance training with your own body weight alone. From plyometrics and push-ups to bear crawls and mountain climbers, weights aren’t necessary to get a great workout. This is particularly helpful to know if you’re a road (or airplane!) warrior, as you can do those exercises anywhere.
Music is a Must
Of course, you can be just like everyone else at the gym and pipe loud music directly into your headphones (which is bad for you, BTW), or you can take advantage of having a home gym and blow it out. Well, hopefully not literally. Consider a home audio system that you can get to play in any room. Imagine blaring your motivational workout tunes at (just about) any level that you want. This is your sweat session on blast, people. If you do go the headphone route, think about going with something like these Skull Candy headphones that will leave you hands-free for all your moving and grooving in the home gym.
If you have the money to spend, a wall-mounted TV can also be a great addition to an at-home gym. Catch up on your latest shows, news, or soap operas as you enjoy your sweat session. Just trust us when we tell you to be careful when running on a treadmill while watching TV.
Check Craigslist (Or the Like)
There are stores in which you can buy your at-home gym equipment but if you’re watching your pennies like so many of us are, Craigslist is a great place to start. We all know those people who had the best of intentions when they bought that treadmill that they’ve since used three times. You can get lightly used equipment for half the price, which is a huge bonus. If you don’t trust the photo, make sure to arrange a time to come and see the equipment for yourself. Better yet, ask if you can actually try it out. Chances are, you can fill your whole at-home gym with used or lightly used equipment. Getting fit and saving money doesn’t have to be mutually exclusive.
Save the money on overpriced monthly fees and fancy smoothies by crafting the perfect at-home gym. Follow these tips for doing so and then all you have to do is follow through on your workouts!
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