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This past spring my little town was deluged by a spring thunderstorm that brought a historic rain fall to our community. 11 inches of rain fell within a few short hours. Flash flooding occurred. The storm drains on the street in front of our home could not keep up and the rush of water down our driveway brought several inches of water into our basement.
We decided to turn a stressful situation into something positive by giving away our pool table and turn that space into a home gym. The result is a 10’x15’ home workout space:
Here are a few items that can get you started even if you don’t have a dedicated space to carve out.
Each picture has hyperlinks to take you directly to the Amazon affiliate links (no cost to you, but should you choose to purchase via the link I receive a small credit).
These Powerblock weights start at 3 pounds and increase in 3 pound increments to 24 pounds. They come in a set of two are are currently priced at Amazon (link above) about $30 cheaper than when I ordered them! They take up SO little space.
Foam rollers are like having an in-house massage therapist for your fascia. Want a quick how-to on foam rolling? Check out this video by Girls Gone Strong. Here are two links to the 2 rollers I keep on hand. You only need one and if you are only going to buy one I’d recommend the Grid (click here). It’s hollow (yet incredibly strong) and is fantastic for taking on the road. When I was a Flight Attendant I used to take it in my suitcase and stuff it with clothes. The black one pictured above can be found by clicking here.
As mentioned in the foam rolling tutorial video link above, you can find the Tiger Tail massage stick as well as a softer foam roller on Amazon.
Yoga strap for mobility
This Gaiam strap is fantastic for helping you open the shoulders, facilitate hamstring stretches, hip openers, etc. Check here for a short video of a few exercises to try.
Even if you can’t do pull ups - this bar allows you to train the pulling pattern from overhead. Add a few super-bands and you can do a variety of exercises. I am a Girls Gone Strong (GGS) Certified Pre/Post Natal coach. I’ve linked to a few exercises. Click on each of these individual exercises to be taken to a short tutorial by GGS for assisted pull-ups, banded pulldowns, and band assisted pushups.
These little guys are an awesome tool for helping you gain incremental strength. At 1.25 pounds each, you can add increments of 1.25 or 2.5 pounds to your weights. I add these to my stackable weights as well as my kettle bells.
I work with busy women who are juggling work and home. Often that means blurring the lines between their professional lives and their home lives: Kids, housekeeping, meal planning & prepping, laundry, carpooling, sporting/school events, guests, etc. Add in the need to schedule gym time and somewhere along the way their own exercise gets lost in the shuffle.
Carving out a small space in your home to add a few key pieces of equipment can open up a world of possibilities. Think outside the box. Limited on space? Store things under your bed or in a toy box. Perhaps you have a little closet space to store a few things and you workout in your bedroom, living room, dining room, or even kitchen.
If you have some extra space stay tuned - I’ll be posting another article with a few more items that have helped me create a space I LOVE being in. Stay tuned!
Coach g