Fit for life – My new Home Gym!

Well here it is. My new haven.

Since I started weightlifting/training 7 years ago, the one thing I always wanted was space in my own home to train.

I’ve always been fit. I played sports from an early age; gymnastics and softball growing up, tennis and running as an adult. But I hit that age were things started to jiggle, so after much research I found out one of the best ways to tone up is through weightlifting.

I started with the infamous P90X. It was an excellent place to begin and really kicked up my metabolism. That in turn, made me drop quite a bit of weight, but the tonality wasn’t there. So I researched again and found a trainer. I stuck with that for a few years, but it didn’t pan out. In fact, I competed in a couple of bodybuilding competitions, but discovered that the stage wasn’t for me, but the lifestyle was. I loved going to the gym, I loved the discipline and totally embraced the diet changes.

Fast forward, and I was still showing up at the gym 4 – 5 times a week. But with some promotions/career advancement, my new duties were next level. Long hours and the stress of rising to the demands of my new job began to take its toll. Subsequently, slogging to the gym 5 times week became a chore and I lost my mojo.

Then the pandemic hit.

I’d never gone 6 months without setting foot in a gym, so my solution was to create a mini area for me to do some basic home workouts. Previously, I couldn’t envision a gym in my home, but the new normal taught me one thing, why the hell not. If you so dearly desired this, then make it happen!

So I did. Let’s take a walk through. 🙂

My main purchase was the Power Cage. The red bar across the top is for pull-up/chin ups using various grips. There are two racks to be repositioned just about anywhere. I sometimes attach them to the front to set up for deadlifts allowing me to easily lift and place the loaded bar to the ground. There is also an attached to do landmine exercises. Another feature is the dip bars.

Finding proper weights was a struggle. So I put myself on wait-lists and email notifications until after a 3 month wait, a 300 lb Olympic plate set came available through Dick’s Sporting Goods. That includes all of the plates (2lbs – 45 lbs) and the bar. The weight rack to hold them was a sale purchase from Dick’s as well.

The whole system sits on extra thick interlocking floor mats…also from Dick’s…also on sale. The previous Christmas, my ever astute husband saw my determination to stay fit and bought me a bench, a weight rack and a few mats.

Along the wall we installed a coat rack from Amazon for the various resistance bands and my new jumprope, a Christmas present from my son.

Here you can see a few of my favorite items; the yoga mat and block, the jump rope, the foam roller and a great water bottle I keep in the area.

Miscellaneous items are kept in a plastic woven basket purchased from Homesense. And of course, the standard Bosu ball and the exercise ball.

Uhmm so one of the things that go with having a gym is…yea you guessed it…odors. Luckily there is a window that I can open to air it out, but the real MVP is this wall plug from Bath and Body Works. And yes, like a gym, I periodically come through and wipe things down to keep the equipment and the area clean/fresh.

But the final piece, the homerun Is. My. Treadmill!!!

With the pandemic, unfortunately some local gyms just couldn’t survive and held liquidation sales. I spent months hunting on Facebook Marketplace for equipment until I lucked into this buy which was a supreme bargain. Now mind you, this purchase WOULD NOT have been possible if it weren’t for the fact that I have three 6 foot tall, well built sons. Why? Because the treadmill was on the 2nd floor of the closing gym and it took 5 of us to carry that beast down a flight of stairs around a landing and down another flight of stairs and into the church van. When we unloaded it at home, my husband disassembled it so we could take it down another flight of stairs into our basement.

It was THOROUGHLY cleaned, reassembled and now is in good working order. Yep, this is the ubiquitous Life Fitness treadmill you see at most gyms. I don’t mind that she’s seen a few years because she works just fine.

The final touch is my custom wall decal found on Etsy.

This has been one of the best investments ever. Periodt. With the safer-at-home orders here in Maryland, 3 of my 5 kids have moved back home and one is on an extensive visit. Their significant others come to visit, safely, as well….and everyone uses this gym. I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to see my family enjoying and getting benefit out of this space.

What started 7 years ago has landed me here and I’m so blessed to have it. I’ve worked my buns off. I’ve grinded the hours at work. I’ve been disciplined and focused and it has all paid off. Home gym goal achieved. I did the dang thing!