Your new fitness regime can start at home. Follow these simple tips to convert and un-used space in your home to your perfect workout station.
Find Your Level of Entertainment
If you’re the type that needs complete focus to workout, don’t rush to decorate your area with pictures, sound systems or TVs. But if you’re the opposite, then use entertainment to help keep you distracted from your hard work. Position a TV on a shelf that is a comfortable eye level from your workout station. Or, invest in a sound system that will work efficiently over the sounds of your machines. If you prefer headphones, invest in high-impact, noise buffering headphones that are wireless, or clip onto your workout gear. Keep these headphones in your workout station with anti-bacterial wipes to use after every session—that way, bacteria won’t build up and cause acne.
Maximize Your Motivation
Understand what helps to keep you motivated. For some, having mirrors in their workout station help to keep them on track. For others, a motivational poster, quote, or written goal does the trick.
Keep It Cool
Make sure that your workout area can be properly cooled. Install shades on windows that let in a lot of sun, and make sure that an air circulation unit is installed in good proximity. If air conditioning isn’t available, install fans large enough to make a difference mid-workout.
Ensure Everything You Need is in one Place
You don’t want to have to leave your room to grab anything mid-workout. Invest in a personal water station (this could be a tap, or a water dispensing machine), and keep a basket of folded towels nearby.
Choose Your Space Wisely
The size and area that you choose will have an affect on your attitudes towards using it. Avoid the urge to create a workout zone in an unfinished area of your home (like the basement). Doing this will almost guarantee that you won’t use it. But you don’t need to assign a large and important space in your home to fitness, either. Instead, choose a small room to set up your at-home gym. Narrow rooms help to keep you focused on your activity. Try converting a deep closet into a treadmill area: position the treadmill or elliptical in the closet itself, and place a TV on the wall directly across from it. That space becomes its own every time you use it, but can be hidden easily.
Use Colours to Your Advantage
Paint your room a colour that is scientifically proven to boost your stamina. Colours like orange, light green and yellow are proven to boost motivation and elicit an energized feeling. Stay away from blue or purple—that makes you feel relaxed.
