Incorporating a Home Gym

Have you heard the buzz phrase “Sitting is the new Smoking”?

Research shows that you can reduce your chances of cancer, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and back pain by making one small adjustment to your lifestyle - reduce the amount of time you spend sitting.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, we all face spending a significant amount of our time in our home. While we know our home-bound restrictions are temporary, it might have a longer term impact on where we feel safe exercising in the future.

Even before the pandemic hit, most,if not all, of our home projects in the past few years have incorporated some form of exercise equipment. Now, more than ever, it is worthwhile to explore how to be healthy at home. And take comfort in the fact that these changes will not only help provide very needed life balance to our current predicament, but the benefits will extend long beyond when the crisis ends. It is likely our future will hold even more home offices and home gyms.

Our video this week will walk you through how I solved the “sitting is the new smoking” situation in my own home long before the outbreak of the coronavirus.

Now is a great time to start planning your future home updates. Our series will send you a daily email with design tips on how to start designing your future dream home within your current space.

I’ve always been an exerciser. Just something I’ve not minded doing and made a part of my life. That said, I’m on the constant quest to lose 20 lbs. but my blockers lie more in wine and desserts than in consistent exercise. I digress. What prompted my in-home gym conversion was twofold.

My youngest daughter and her husband purchased a home about 10 minutes from us (exciting on so many levels!) which suddenly freed up a guest bedroom as overnight stays were unlikely when you are so close to home. And… the polar vortex of 2019. Last January the weeks of unbearable cold here in Chicago caboshed my attendance to the 5 am bootcamp class I had been diligently attending. I just was really done with getting up at 4:30 am and heading out in the cold to go to the gym.

Enter my Peloton project.

Through the years our family has always had a gym membership and we’ve used it regularly. Our empty nest now opened the opportunity for a different approach to exercise and because I’ve not allowed myself to ever stop exercising multiple times a week– I knew what I needed to stay consistent.

First step in any design project is to define the scope. My requirements included:

Flexibility – I’m not one to do the same thing everyday
An instructor – I need someone to take me through the workout. I find it way too boring to just walk or bike.

Pulling on our prior design projects involving home gyms, my wish list included a treadmill and a bike with the access to instructors and additional options like yoga and strength training. My implementation plan included the 2 pieces of equipment, some hand weights and a mat, and something to stabilize the floor without removing the carpet.

I approached my husband to “sell the deal” of converting our extra bedroom to a home gym. He was agreeable provided two things, it didn’t impact his mancave basement and would involve a new television purchase (he loves a good tech project).

I can’t emphasize enough how much we love our home gym. It’s in a space where there is natural light and a window that can open for fresh air. I have access to thousands of workouts on demand and multiple instructors.

Check out the video to see how the room transformed. Here it is before:

Sitting is the new smoking is a powerful statement. Think about how you can sit less.

If you want your home to support you - We can help.

Email us at info@newperspectivedesign.com for more info on our virtual planning services. We can help get this up and going quickly to ease the stress of the stay at home orders with access to our vendors who are still operating, have inventory and installation and delivery services even during this trying time.

In challenging times, your home can be a great source of support.

Stay safe and Healthy!

Angie

P.S. DIY’ers…do you need a paint color for this weekend’s rainy-day paint project? We are on deck to do a FREE 20-minute facetime call to take the guesswork out of picking the perfect color for your room. Email info@newperspectivedesign.com to schedule a time.