The Ultimate Guide to Working Out at Home

LoveKOPPizza null
Jul 24, 2023
9 min read

Ever use ChatGPT? I'm apparently old according to my girlfriend's 12 year old and my preferred 7pm bedtime. So, I'm late to the game. Thanks ChatGPT for writing this "catchy blog post title for working out in a home gym". Just trying to be cool over here. But since I think a Costco membership is wonderful and practical engagement gift I might not be. I'll try to keep young and cool by talking home gyms and working out at home instead.

Moving my body literally changes my mood for the better. I know when I consistently make it happen, I feel better, make better choices for myself, and have more bandwidth for the day. So why do I let it slide? Tell me you feel this in your bones too? Things you know are good for you, you let slide. And things that arent really good for you, you let creep in. Recently I have found myself in a place where I've lost momentum and motivation and let other priorities take its place. No excuses. It's been my decision. We all are "busy". But what you respect and care about most, you'll make time for. So it is a funny dichotomy: there are NO other activities that make me feel the way moving my body intentionally does AND I'm not doing it. So once again I'm here writing because Richard Bach is always right:

“We teach best what we most need to learn.” - Richard Bach, Illusions: The Adventures of the Reluctant Messiah So lets talk home gyms! It's going to help me get inspired and hopefully get you in the mood to move too!

I have an epic home gym! But this was not always the case. Not even close. This happened over the course of THREE years of working out at home. I've been working out at home since COVID hit back in March of 2020. I had ZERO equipment when I started. But over the course of 3 years I have slowly acquired a really nice space. So hopefully sharing the progression of how I set up my home space will help you inspired to do the same.... AND (more so) get my butt into my beautiful gym more often too!

First item of business: get a program to follow! Fitness is personal. You need something you LIKE doing. You like Yoga- amazing! You like cycling- amazing. You like heavy weights- amazing! Walking? Me too! Step aerobics? Oh hell I miss that fun. Point- If you hate running, don't force yourself into a running program. For me, I love variety! CrossFit definitely keeps things different for me, but I pull from a bunch of places. All of these places below are amazing resources. I use them all to some degree... Check them out. I write my own workouts too. But if you don't have any ideas and need some structure, try here:

CrossFit Workouts

Street Parking Workouts

Peloton Workouts

PaleOMG Workouts

All of these have options and ideas for a full gym with weights, all the way down to zero equipment and solely body weight movements. Easy to match what you have time, equipment and space for currently. When I started I had nothing. So lots of body weight movements like push-ups, lunges, stair climbs, sit ups, supermans, handstands, planks... there are a lot of options! Also, if you're anything like me, you'll get creative to keep it interesting. At one point I was deadlifting my laundry basket with 2 bags of dog food. But we dont know what we dont know.... and when you've lose momentum its easy to get it back by relying on someone else to tell me what to do. So pick something you get excited to do. It's the key to consistency and success.

Now let's talk equipment. Like I mentioned above, I had ZERO equipment to start. I had been a coach at a local Crossfit gym with a key to the place. So why would I need a home gym? I had full access to one anytime! And I lived 5 mins away. But when life changed, so did my fitness routine. So the first item of purchase for me was a pair of dumbbells. I got something moderately heavy. Something good for squats and deadlifts, but also something that could be used for heavy chest presses from the floor and triceps extensions. And I worked out in my kitchen and living room during the colder months of 2020 with only a set of dumbbells.

Amazon Dumbbells

While having a set of dumbbells was nice, once I started using equipment, I wanted more. You can do a lot with body weight movements and light weights, but I need variety like I mentioned. So I made a promise to myself (thanks to some advice from a friend): Buy ONE thing every month. Every month I would invest in myself. Or at least try to buy one thing every month. I often wanted to skip it and save the money. But again- having a friend keep you accountable is KEY! Once I made it a rule, it needed to be just something I budgeted. After some time it did become easier to do. Sometimes it was something cheap like a yoga mat. Sometimes it was a little more expensive like a workout bench. I'd like to say it averaged to be about $100 a month. Hell, I was spending WAY more than that a month at gyms, so this was SAVING me money.

My next purchase, and one of my favorites still to date, a weighted vest:

Amazon Weighted Vest

I LOVE this thing. I use it on walks with my dogs, for adding weight to a squat, heck even for stair climbs. It's a great way to make a movement a little harder. It also feels like practical training for carrying my small child around. Once I take off my 20lbs vest I'm "putting on" my 25lbs child. This is 1000% training for that. I currently have two vests. A lighter (12lbs) and heavier (20lbs) option, depending on my mood. Might even buy a heavier one.... since the baby boy is growing!

Next up... a kettlebell. If you know me, you know I HATE kettlebell anything. But in the kettlebell's defense, it's a great item for gaining strength and pushing some cardio. Swings, single arm rows, front squats, overhead carries. So that was next.

Amazon Kettlebell

The next few months were toss ups. Sometimes an additional set of dumbbells: maybe lighter ones for arm movements, maybe heavier ones for deadlifts. Sometimes it was a cheap set of bands or mats. But the next favorite item was this bench:

Amazon Adjustable Fitness Bench

Me and my girl Karla would often FaceTime and "workout" together. There might have been more chatting than working out. But there was working out happening too. And it was nice to have a workout buddy during the pandemic.... OK ALL the time really. But this bench is kickass for us and perfect for doing back extensions. IYKYK. Back extensions are life savers for me! Especially now that I spend a LOT of time bent over with a little kid. Building a strong back keeps me pain free. The bench folds easily, configures to a variety of positions, and is relativity sturdy for the price. I can do back extensions, sit ups, chest presses, bent over rows, lunges and more.... again versatility is key for me.

We ultimately decided to buy a Peloton bike too. Yep, that is definitely over the $100 budget for the month. But it's been worth it. We really enjoy the bike and even more so the subscription to all the Peloton classes. Currently, I utilize the bike, strength, stretching, and meditation classes too. In my current space we ended up buying a 50'' TV and casting the classes. Super helpful. Although before having the perk of a massive gym space, I often used my iPhone or Ipad and Ipad stand to watch a class while on the floor following along. But honesty the TV from Costco is CHEAPER than an Ipad. But either one works!

Peloton Bike

Costco 50'' TV

Costco TV Mount

Amazon Referbished Ipad

Amazon Ipad Stand

So slowly everything grows and grows. At this point I had a lot of great options. I even got a rower for my 40th birthday! But...... when you don't have a designated space as a gym, your space ends up looking like this:

This made me cringe and not want to workout. Hell it makes me cringe NOW just seeing this old picture. During the time of this "gym" looking like this, I ended up back to square one. No motivation and halted momentum to do ANYTHING! Well.... wait. I did have motivation to sleep in more, eat more, and move less. Not a combo that works for me and my mental health. Luckily, during times like this I pulled out a few tricks.

First, I'd just jump on the Peloton. Low hanging fruit. Easy to ride and I didn't have to move kid stuff or even create a plan. The actual action plan for a Peloton day: put on shoes, move legs. Sweating and cardio always follow. Simple is best. Especially when you aren't feeling it.

Another great incentive to traverse this crazy gym or even a fancy gym when you're not feeling it: social media. Yeah yeah, we all have a love-hate relationship with it. But for me, this kept me going. If I film a workout, I have the option to post it. It isn't to brag I am working out... quite the opposite. Many times I thought my workouts look unimpressive. The reason to post them: for ME to get through the workout. Filming works as a motivator for me. And I know if I post them now, when I click on "Archive" later, I'll have documentation of the work I did. It was just my own trick to keeping myself going.

Lastly, an accountability partner is SO incredibly helpful. I have a few. They are nice but pushy.... and that's the key. That really sweet friend you have probably isn't going to light the fire under your booty to get you into the gym. You need the friend who loves you but also calls you out. We all need people like that! So I lean into them when motivation dwindles.

So I've been leaning on these three things a lot lately. And while I'm not getting the win everyday, I'm getting wins..... which is creating excitement and ultimately getting me more consistent. So this is how I win. Not to mention, don't we all feel so much better after a workout? We just need to get to the other side of it to remember that.

Another big help for my excitement around working out was when we moved, I was THRILLED to have my own space for a gym. Bye bye formal dining room. Hello new workout space. No more baby toys?? Heck yeahhhhh!!!! But it was going to take some work to get it ready.... because it was EVEN messier than my baby toy hell space. So let the transformation begin:

So we started with this mess.... First to help was my dear friend Paula. She was able to sell some cool old stuff! Then lots of trips to consignment, GoodWill, and the dump. But once we got some momentum.... we got stuff going.

Next- our 1st workout in the "gym": moving a 300lbs+ glass table. Holy hell. This thing was HEAVY. Jeff and I almost killed each other- literally and figuratively. It looked deceivingly light.

Fast forward and we have new floors, new electrical and new beautiful windows.

Next let's put down some mats to keep these beautiful new floors safe. You can definitely buy gym mats, buttttttt why do that when Tractor Supply sells horse stall mats just as durable, for less:

Tractor Supply Stall Mats

Next we put down some builder construction paper to provide the floors an extra layer of protection.... and time to assemble.

I love this is my gym and I'm over here taking pictures like the paparazzi. Thanks Dad and Jeff.

Next let's assemble everything acquired over the last three years:

What hard working guys.

From nothing to gym doesn't happen overnight. I guess it feels like to anyone just checking in now. But that is never the case with anyone "winning" at something right? What a life lesson too- little by little, it all comes together. In a world designed for instant gratification: Amazon packages, text communication, UberEats meals.... I get why we want things fast. But enjoying that this is a work in progress feels fun. Because I'm still creating and acquiring stuff to make this space better. So the clique quote: "Enjoy the journey" is truly accurate. Because let's be honest, it never is fully DONE? I always want more equipment, better equipment, new something. And that's life too. And I am working on appreciating that parallel. So treat yourself, appreciate where you're at, and have some fun.