Building Your Home Gym

This past Saturday I woke up, looked at the rain clouds gathering, and immediately decided I didn’t feel like working out. I’d gone to bed way later than I wanted to the night before after putting our son to bed (which was pretty tearful, he was exhausted and had a cold coming on) – but even though I didn’t feel like getting a workout in, I didn’t have an excuse to not move my body at all. So I got up, brushed my teeth, changed clothes and went upstairs to my little workout corner to at least get some stretching and mobility work done. After ten minutes of that I did some half-hearted squats, lunges and a few push-ups before I called it quits. It wasn’t my best workout by any measure, but it was definitely better than nothing – and thanks to the few minutes I did, I started my morning feeling more energized than I had when I’d first woken up.

The little workout corner I’ve established (located in the room that also currently serves as my home office) has given me a place to do stretching, strength training and light cardio, even when I don’t have a ton of time - or motivation, for that matter. Since I’m not working with a ton of square footage, I found a handful of items to make the most of a small space, giving myself options for different kinds of workouts without creating too much clutter. Here’s a quick list of the items that have made the biggest difference in the space I’ve created.

Equipment
Kettlebell: I use this for a pretty wide variety of strength workouts – and it’s great to have handy when I only have a few minutes to work out.  

Weighted Bangles: These are a more affordable alternative to Bala bangles – and they’re great for Pilates and light strength reps.

Non-Slip Yoga Mat: This yoga mat is the perfect size for a small workout area, and outside of yoga I use it for warm-up and cool-down stretching.

Resistance Bands: These may look simple but you can get a pretty effective workout in with them – even in a small space.

Adjustable Dumbbells: Adjustable weights have been a big space-saver for me in a small workout area. You can definitely get weights that are heavier than these, but I’ve found this weight range to work well for light and mid-range strength training at home.

Yoga Blocks: After having my son I had a lot of work to do to address the tightness in my hips and lower body (which I’m still working on) – so I picked a good time to get these yoga blocks. I still use them at least once a week.

Storage
Yoga Mat Holder Wall Mount with Shelf: This storage unit has been great for keeping my yoga mat clean when I’m not using it, hanging my workout bands, and storing my foam roller and yoga blocks. 

Floating Shelves: I’ve used these floating shelves to store a little basket that holds my workout hand towels, my hypochlorous spray for post-workout, a container of hair ties, a couple of my light weights, and my muscle massage gun. These shelves help keep these smaller items in a designated space without making it feel cluttered!

Storage Bins: I use one of these for extra weights that are too heavy to put on my floating shelves or hanging rack – it helps keep them out of the way and keep my space neater.

Accessories / Nice to Haves

Hypochlorous Spray: I like having a couple of these minis on hand after a workout to help prevent post-workout breakouts!

Microfiber Gym Towels: I keep a few of these in a small basket in my gym area (and in my gym bag when I take a class out of home) – they’re microfiber so they’re gentle on your skin and easy to throw in the wash.

Hair Bands: I keep a plastic container of these hair ties on one of my floating shelves so I always have some on hand.

Massage Roller: I’ve had this muscle roller for years and it’s fantastic, especially to use after running or strength training.

Massage Gun: My husband got me this massage gun for Christmas last year and it’s been one of my favorite additions to my home gym – it makes my cool downs 10 times better!