Gym at home – who thought there would come the days when your promise to hit the gym is no longer an issue and your only choice is to work out at home? This pandemic challenges everyone. And that can be a good thing – it all depends on your mindset.
Stuck at home means not only home office work hours but also keeping a healthy schedule that promotes well-being. Health is prioritized by default yet we now need to do more than wear the mask and keep clean.
Movement, dietary choices, and psychological health cannot be ignored, since we need our immune system, body and mind to work even better now.
Working out at home dominates now that gyms might not be a safe option and/or are closed. So what are the essential fitness devices that help you keep a strong body and mind?
There are three categories of fitness devices for your home office:
– fitness devices for home workouts,
– fitness devices you can use while you work,
– hybrid fitness devices for both types of workouts above.
Essential equipment for home workouts
Creating a home workout schedule is the easy part. You can choose to work with a personal trainer online or create your own home gym routine. Either way, there are a few essential fitness devices to spice up your workouts and results.
Elastic Bands
There are numerous exercises you can do using elastic bands. These easy to use resistance bands are versatile and don’t occupy much space. You can even do full body exercises using elastic resistance bands while sitting at your desk.
Weighted arm bands/leg bands
Adding weights to your arms and legs upgrades your fitness level while you work out. Each exercise you choose can become a bit more difficult with these resistance weights you can wear on your arms and legs. This helps you progress from simple exercises to deeper resistance.
Free Weights/Dumbbells
Small, medium, heavy free weights – pick your challenge. These are perfect for a full body workout and also for workout schedules that split the muscles into upper body and lower body. Using dumbbells to maintain your musculature strong and even make gains is one of the most satisfying workouts you can do at home.
Kettlebells
Using a kettlebell as your only home workout equipment could be enough to work your full body. According to Tim Ferris’ “The four hour body” book, the kettlebell can be used just twice a week for around 15 to 20 minutes in order to see results not only in overall fitness, but also weightloss. Kettlebells are both a functional training tool and a cardio-focused helper.
Sliders
This home workout gear is focused on improving your stability while you do your home exercises. Some sliders have double sides to glide across both hardwood and carpets. Make sure you know where you will be using them so that you buy the kind of sliders suited for your needs.
(Weighted) Jump ropes
Going beyond good cardio workouts, jump ropes remind us of childhood. This makes working from home not only much more fun, but it can easily become a family activity. Cardio-vascular exercise is important for overall fitness and 10 minutes of jumping rope is the equivalent of 30 minutes of jogging. Your brain can benefit even more from jumping rope if you learn new, fun movements using this family-friendly fitness equipment.
Medicine ball
The medicine ball can be lifted, thrown and slammed to increase your overall fitness level. Between us, slamming a medicine ball can help you work on that feisty side of yours that sometimes needs to smash something in order to calm down.
Equipment to keep you moving while working
Full workouts at home might still be off your list right now due to lack of time (or excuses). But there are options to keep you moving while you work so that excuses are off the list too.
Under Desk Bicycle
Sit down and exercise everyday. An under desk bicycle helps you keep moving while staying in place. Erasing excuses for not working out is easy when you sit down at your desk and your feet touch the pedals. All you have to do is use them.
Treadmill Desks
If you want to go one step further than using a standing desk and have enough space, you can use a treadmill desk while working. Yet another excuse-free fitness device, the walking desk will make you go one step further from a standing desk and keep you moving while working.
Hybrid Training Equipment
Once you’re convinced that you need to keep moving, get some hybrid fitness devices that can be used for both at home workouts and moving while you work from home.
Stability cushion
Your home office chair becomes a hybrid tool for work and movement if you choose the stability cushion. This funny-looking gadget helps you prevent back and neck pain while working long hours.
Fitness Ball Chair
Not a chair per se, the fitness ball chair is a mix between the stability cushion and the full-fledged fitness ball. It gives you an opportunity to forget sitting in one place and work on your physical condition while responding to emails and getting your work done.
Fitness Ball
Core strenght is key for long home office hours at your desk. A fitness ball helps you train your core and back muscles and also enhances your balance. Easy to store away by deflating it after use, these bouncy fitness aids can tone and sculpt your body even while you work.
Get maximum results with minimum investment
Fitness is like medicine in the way that using the minimum effective dose can get you fast-tracked results. Finding that sweet spot where exercises are most effective and get you the most results with minimum effort depends on your workout schedule.
So make sure you know your starting point and use progressive overload. We can also compare working out at home with the minimum viable product idea used in business – just plan your workouts and execute on your goals daily.