Home Gym

Pictures of a Home Gym 2010-12-29 10:00:06
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A Reader Takes Us on a Tour of Her Home Gym

Here's a post from the OnSugar blog The Adventure Chronicles:   While searching for an apartment, space for a home gym was on the top of our checklist.
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Miscellaneous

Here's a post from the OnSugar blog The Adventure Chronicles:

 

While searching for an apartment, space for a home gym was on the top of our checklist. We found an apartment that we fell in love with, but it didn't have that ideal space for a gym. Instead, we utilized the detached dining room as a gym, office, library, and second living room. It's not only a great place to work out, but it's also a great place for playing video games, hanging out, and working. Feel free to look through some of the ways we made it work in our space. I'm curious to know how you fit your fitness equipment into your overall home — especially if you're living in a small urban space like me!

 

Want to see more? Start following The Adventure Chronicles or create your own OnSugar blog! Maybe your posts will be featured here, too!

Bookcase With TV and Xbox DVD Collection Couch in FRONT of the Exercise Machines Hand Weights View From the Treadmill Miscellaneous
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Healthy Holiday Day Gifts For the Home Gym
Shopping

Gifting For the Home Gym

Clockwise from top left: Perfect for challenging both the core and the sense of balance, the BOSU ($100) takes any exercise up a notch.
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Giving the gift of fitness is definitely a gift that keeps on giving. If someone on your holiday gift list works out at home, here are some pieces of equipment to help them burn it up in the comfort of their own home.

Clockwise from top left: Perfect for challenging both the core and the sense of balance, the BOSU ($100) takes any exercise up a notch. The Jungle Gym XT ($100) brings suspension workouts into the home — the system works with a door or a pull-up bar. Bring a little mind-body exercise into your fitness freak's home gym with a Pilates Spring Board ($445); it's a wall unit version of the classic Cadillac. If you feel like giving big, it's hard to go wrong with an elliptical by Precor ($3,400) — a joint-friendly cardio machine. A set of adustable dumbbells ($143) means more options that take up less space; perfect for strength training in a small space.

Having a Home Gym
Fitness

Do You Have a Home Gym?

Since all of her kids have up and gone, my mom is converting one of her unused bedrooms into a home gym.
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Since all of her kids have up and gone, my mom is converting one of her unused bedrooms into a home gym. Since she works out almost every day, it's a smart move. She'll save on gas, membership fees, and won't have to deal with any more treadmill hogs. The downside is that she won't be getting out as much. For her, hitting the gym is as much about socializing as it is about working out. Over the years, she's met a lot of ladies at her fitness center: they work out together, chat it up in the sauna, and often go to lunch after working out.

While the idea of having a home gym is nice, I like getting out of my house, especially since being around other fitness folks motivates me to work harder and longer. And, to be honest, I am nowhere near being able to afford my own home gym — though I do devote a small corner of my home to fitness gear.

How about you?

Keeping Workout Gear Out in the Open Motivates You to Stay Fit
Strength Training

Fit Tip: Don't Put Workout Gear Away

Whenever I finished strength training at home, I used to stash my dumbbells in the closet.
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Whenever I finished strength training at home, I used to stash my dumbbells in the closet. But I realized that if they were visible, I'd be more likely to pick them up and use them later. Same goes with my yoga mat. Instead of keeping it under my bed, I keep it out on a shelf. Seeing it there when I wake up reminds me to start every morning with a set of stretches. A friend of mine keeps a portable StairMaster under her couch to use whenever she watches TV, and I keep dumbbells in my kitchen to use on baking breaks. I also keep my running shoes by the front door so I can throw them on whenever I'm heading out. Morale of the story? When it comes to workout gear, don't clean up.

But if the idea of dumbbells sitting out on your coffee table is unsettling, meet this idea somewhere in the middle. Find an area of your house that you can designate as your "home gym," and keep your gear stored neatly there. Having a fitness corner in your house is still a good visual cue to keep moving!

Speak Up: What Gear Would Make the Perfect Home Gym?
fitness gear

Speak Up: What Gear Would Make the Perfect Home Gym?

Now that colder weather is moving in, exercising outdoors may not be that appealing.
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Now that colder weather is moving in, exercising outdoors may not be that appealing. Working out at the gym is great, but all those people sharing equipment means germ central. Plus, wouldn't it be nice to have your own home gym you could use whenever you wanted, and not have to drive to?

If there was no limit on the amount of money you could spend, what equipment would you buy to make your ideal home gym?

How to Strength Train With a Balance Board
Strength Training

How to Strength Train With a Balance Board

If you belong to a gym, you may have seen this weird UFO-looking piece of equipment lying around.
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If you belong to a gym, you may have seen this weird UFO-looking piece of equipment lying around. It's known as a balance board. When used for strength training exercises, it's a great tool for runners, skiers, tennis players, and yogis because it helps improve coordination and balancing abilities. It can also help target weak areas such as wrists and ankles that are often overlooked. There's no way around it — a balance board will work your core as well.

Also called wobble boards, they can be circular in shape, like the one shown, or rectangular. Since the platform is a lot larger than the base that touches the ground, once you place any body part on the board, the rest of your body is forced to engage in order to hold yourself up. That means you end up using multiple muscle groups at once.

To learn some basic exercises you can do that utilize the balance board keep reading.

Start a Home Gym With These 6 Things
Fitness

Start a Home Gym With These 6 Things

With today's economy, we're looking for ways to save money.
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Start a Home Gym With These 6 Things

With today's economy, we're looking for ways to save money. While you shouldn't compromise on your health, paying for a $50 or higher monthly gym membership may not be doable. You can get a workout at home that's just as effective, so here are some products you'll need to start your own home gym.


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Cardio Equipment A Few Sets of Dumbbells Resistance Gear An Array of Fitness DVDs Fitness Ball Exercise Mat Which kind of equipment do you need to add to your home gym?
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How Often Do You Exercise at Home?
Fitness

How Often Do You Exercise at Home?

There are many benefits to working out at home.
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There are many benefits to working out at home. With your own home gym, you never have to wait in line to use your equipment, it's conveniently open 24 hours a day, you don't have to waste time in the car getting to it, you don't have to worry about strangers' germs, and you're in charge of the TV. So when it comes to working out . . .

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Smart Ways to Pump Up Your Home Gym: Part II
Exercise Equipment

Smart Ways to Pump Up Your Home Gym: Part II

Buying fitness equipment is not always the easiest task.
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Buying fitness equipment is not always the easiest task. Finding the right piece for your home gym often means heading into unchartered territory. Everyday Health offers some great tips on making smart fitness buys. (In case you missed it, here's part I.) Here are highlights:

  • Look for well-built equipment. A sturdy frame, smooth running parts, sufficient horsepower (if motorized), and a comfortable feel are all key elements. Also, ask the dealer about warranties, return policies, repair records, and service costs.
  • Make sure you understand the full cost of the equipment. Read the fine print to see if items such as shipping and handling, sales tax, and set-up fees are included.
  • Look for features that you'll really use. Fancy add-ons such as computer-programmed displays are nice to have, but they can inflate the bottom line. However, you may feel some extras are worthwhile — for instance, if knowing how many calories you're burning will act as a motivator or if features such as a reading rack, water bottle holder, or seat and tension adjusters will make your workout more appealing.

There's more great tips so read more

Smart Ways to Pump up Your Home Gym: Part I
Home Gym

Smart Ways to Pump up Your Home Gym: Part I

Buying fitness equipment is not always the easiest task.
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Buying fitness equipment is not always the easiest task. Finding the right piece for your home gym often means heading into unchartered territory. Everyday Health offers some great tips on making smart fitness buys. Here are highlights:

  • Keep what you like to do in mind. If you hate taking the stairs, a stair-stepper isn't going to change your habits. A treadmill might be a better option.
  • Because many types of equipment require a sizable outlay of money, look for the one that offers the most complete workout. If you're setting up a home gym, a good strategy is to devote the bulk of your budget to a good quality cardiovascular machine. Supplement that with less expensive strength training pieces, such as dumbbells and resistance bands.
  • Measure the space where you plan to install the machine and carry the dimensions with you when you shop. Stair steppers, for example, are quite tall.

There are more tips so read more