There are many reasons why some people may be uncomfortable going to the gym to work out. First of all, people who are out of shape may be too self-conscious about this, which means that they’ll be reluctant to work out in front of others.
Aside from this, going to the gym and working out at home isn’t the same in terms of nutrition, either. For instance, a gym may be located an hour away, and having a meal within the first hour after training is one of the most important things for your fitness.
Lastly, commuting to a gym is an additional expense, same as the gym membership and gym clothes. Let’s face it, your home-workout gear and your gym-workout gear wouldn’t exactly be within the same price range.
With this latter in mind, it becomes more than obvious that working out at home might save you a substantial amount of money.
Now, instead of spending this money on something else, why not reinvest it into your fitness and overall well-being. By this, we mean creating a small gym and a yoga room within your own home. If you’re resourceful enough, this can be done with quite modest means.
With that in mind and without further ado, here are some home gym hacks that you should know about.
Table Of Contents
2. Why you need a yoga studio?
3. The necessary gear for your yoga studio
1. A minimalist gym
The first thing you need to understand is the fact that even for an outstanding traditional gym, you don’t actually have to spend a fortune.
It all depends on your budget, ambitions and overall approach to this situation. Namely, most of the traditional gym machine exercises have some callisthenic alternatives.
For instance, you can do push-ups instead of bench press, pull-ups instead of wide-grip lat pull-down, one-legged squats instead of weighted squats and so on. This means that even if you were into the muscle building, all that you would have to do in your home gym is install a pull-up bar and get a floor mat.
As for the cardio, once again, you have a high-end and a minimalist approach. As for the high-end, you can get a treadmill, while for the minimalist method you can purchase a $2 jump rope.
Of course, during the warmer part of the year, you could run around the neighborhood but the point of this is to show you that you can have a full gym training without having to leave the warmth of your home.
2. Why you need a yoga studio?
As for the yoga studio, you need to understand that setting up the room might be even more frugal than doing so for the above-mentioned gym.
This means that the investments are low and the returns are incredibly high, due to the fact that yoga boosts your flexibility, perfects your posture, builds muscle strength and even betters your bone health.
Some of these advantages may be somewhat disputed, yet, it’s scientifically proven that yoga reduces stress and anxiety levels, as well as boosts one’s sleep quality. Seeing as how the last is vital in your overall workout recovery, the household yoga studio is probably a great idea even to those who are regulars at the gym.
3. The necessary gear for your yoga studio
First of all, in order to practice yoga, you need several items, some of which you may already have within your household. What you most likely don’t have is a yoga mat, however, if you’ve already made a gym in this room, quality gym mats can fill this role, as well.
The smartest course of action, however, is to go with tiled gym flooring, seeing as how it will give you the flexibility of working out wherever you want, prevent weights from damaging your floor and providing you with a floor layer. The latter is especially important for those who aim to use jump rope frequently.
Aside from a yoga mat, you also need a yoga towel. First of all, yoga is not nearly as simple as it may appear from the outside. In fact, depending on the type of yoga that you use and the complexity of positions that you’re trying to master you could end your session drenched in sweat. This is why having a towel and comfortable breathable yoga clothing is a must. Outside of this, you should also have a water bottle somewhere nearby.
4. Exercise ball and foam roller
As for the non-essential items that could potentially make a difference, it’s important that we mention both exercise ball and the foam roller. The first one may enable some exercises (especially stretching) exercises that you would have no way of emulating.
When taken into consideration that this is a relatively cheap item, there’s really no reason for you not to go for it. As for the foam roller, it’s an item that can help massage your body parts after the workout. In other words, it’s a tool for self-myofascial release. The way in which this simple item provides a deep tissue massage is simply staggering and, therefore, something to be further explored.
5. Additional equipment
Keep in mind that outfitting your home gym/yoga studio with some additional equipment may further facilitate and improve your fitness efforts. Nonetheless, seeing as how these devices are usually a tad more expensive, it all comes down to your budget and your priorities. For instance, music can immensely help in your training efforts. During the workout, you could benefit from the motivation songs like Eye Of The Tiger, You’re The Best Around and Welcome To The Jungle. As for yoga, a lot of people are feeling passionate about Chandelier and This is What It Feels Like.
Needless to say, installing a stereo system is a much better choice yet, it’s more frugal to get a portable speaker and play the music from your smartphone. Another great tech-savvy idea would be to install a smart TV inside of the gym. This will allow you to watch fitness videos and instructions while working out, which gives you a particular boost in efficiency. In fact, if you were to master yoga on your own, such a thing would be highly advised.
In conclusion
Keep in mind that investing some time and resources into this project may provide you with the motivation you need to persevere in your fitness efforts. You see, just designing the place, ordering items online, waiting for them to arrive and unboxing them may cause you to be much more emotionally involved within this process. Naturally, inviting your friends to workout at your place is always an option, which is why you might want to leave the room for some more equipment, later on.
