Advanced Home Gym Setup
1. Why is it so important to set yourself up with the right home workout gear? How can it help you get and stay in shape?
Having a sufficient supply of proper home workout gear can be pivotal to one's success rate of working out on a regular basis. We all want the benefits that consistent training brings - fat loss, strength gain, increased energy - but so many of us lead busy lives that make it difficult to find the time to go to a brick and mortar gym. Having training equipment at your house could be the step you take that helps you establish a more consistent routine and send your workouts to the next level. No more traveling in traffic to the gym, waiting to use equipment, or having to watch Johnny Joe flex in the mirror after every set. You could have everything at your disposal in your home! Time crunch? No problem, you can still hit a great 15 minute workout if you have the right equipment and proper guidance.
2. Now that we're all home more (working from home a lot, etc) are more of us slipping in workouts from where we live?
There are so many of us that are falling into the training-from-home category as many of us are working from home. Like I mentioned before, the typical American leads a busy lifestyle and most of us want to maximize our time and resources as much as possible which has resulted in a dramatic increase in people training from their homes. But to be successful in at-home fitness training, you need to figure out what you are going to do on a daily basis and commit to a schedule. HIIT workouts, strength training, a hybrid approach? What do the days look like? How will you progress with the workouts? Are you doing the exercises correctly? This seems to be where most people fall off of their regimen. They start to lose motivation due to lack of knowledge in training, stale workouts, and little progress. This is where I would recommend enlisting a coach to manage your ongoing training. This doesn’t mean hiring someone to train with in-person, which can get expensive and be difficult to schedule. Consider virtual training options like Future, where you can get paired with a world-class coach who creates your weekly workout plans based on your goals and the equipment you have access to, who is on call to answer any questions you may have or adjust your schedule in real-time, and tracks your progress - all remotely through your phone.
Having an expert to manage all aspects of your workouts will ensure that you don’t get bored, that you are doing the right mix of workouts to reach your goals, and will keep you accountable everyday. Investing in a coach and home equipment is investing in your health, which is one of the best investments in the world.
3. What are 3-5 absolutely essential items for your home gym and why are they key?
For your home gym setup, you should consider investing in equipment that 1) doesn’t take up a lot of space 2) has multiple functions/uses and 3) is cost effective.
The first essential item I would recommend is a kettlebell. Depending on your training age will depend on the weight but this is something you can do squats, rows, deadlifts, carries, etc with - it’s a highly versatile piece of equipment. The second piece of equipment I would recommend are resistance bands. Bands are a convenient, low-cost workout tool that can be used for strength-training, improving flexibility and for other components of your training. They add resistance to any exercise, offering the benefit of performing just about any movement you would do with a barbell without the heavy, expensive equipment - you can do different types of rows, squats, split squats, presses, really anything! The third piece of equipment I would recommend for your home set up is something you can do conditioning on; like a bike, rowing machine, or treadmill. Whatever your preference is between those three, I would recommend it! These machines are important to help you keep your aerobic capacity. If you enjoy running, I would recommend buying a treadmill so that when it rains or it is cold, you have no excuses to not train. These are great because you can change the environment easily by adding an incline. Having a bike in your house is also great because it can really help train the strength endurance aspect of your legs. Very similar, the rowing machine will help build capacity in the entire body. Full body conditioning while strengthening your legs and back.
If you were to purchase what I recommended, you would have 1 kettlebell, a pack of resistance bands, and a piece of cardio equipment. With just those 3 things, you can do so many different styles of workouts taking up minimal space.
4. What is one favorite item for strength and a fave for cardio? What's a good way to use them?
My personal favorite item for strength training is a kettlebell. I absolutely love kettlebells due to their versatility. They are fun to use within pure strength exercises, power exercises, and assistance exercises. Strength exercises being: squats, deadlifts, presses, power exercises: snatches, cleans, swings and assistance exercises being: carries, get ups, and arm bars. The usefulness of kettlebells is endless! If there was one piece of equipment I could recommend, it would be a kettlebell.
When it comes to cardio equipment my favorite machines are those that incorporate the entire body, like my personal favorite The Assault Bike. This fan style bike is a machine in which you use your arms and legs to make the fan move and as it may sound easy, I assure you, it is far from that. I love this machine because you can get a great workout in a short amount of time. For me, I enjoy doing interval based training on the assault bike. For example, I will do intervals of :30sec Max Effort followed by :30sec rest for anywhere between 5-12 sets. I enjoy this type of training due to the spike in heart rate that you are able to get when you push to maximal effort and have sufficient rest.
5. What should you consider when you start to think about your home workout space? Any questions to ask yourself before you start shopping?
Some things to consider when thinking about transforming a space dedicated to training is 1) the space! How much space do you have? A question to ask yourself, “What kind of training do I enjoy and how can I maximize this space?” 2) What kind of training are we going to be doing? If you like HIIT workouts but are in an apartment on the 3rd floor that is going to be tough when you are doing squat jumps with a kettlebell in your hand… your neighbor below you will no longer be your bestie. Maybe you just like doing cardio and you are deciding which pieces of equipment will fit into your space. Whatever you enjoy, consider the equipment it requires and the space you will need. 3) Consider quality over quantity. Instead of having more equipment early on that is cheap, go for the quality equipment that lasts a lifetime. Always consider the quality and choose some reputable brands to purchase from. Just because it is less expensive, doesn’t mean it is going to be worth your money.
6. Finally, what's the biggest mistake people make or myth about creating a home gym setup?
A big mistake I tend to see within creating a home gym is the purchase of single function equipment. If the first piece of equipment you purchase is a treadmill, running is the only thing that you can do (which you could have done outside anyway). Look for versatile equipment items like kettlebells, dumbbells, barbells, and bands. This will give you many more options to do different styles of exercises and workouts. Another off-the-wall poor choice is a super lightweight dumbbell. Even if you are new to training, if your first purchase is a 5lb dumbbell, this isn’t going to do anybody any good. You aren’t getting any stimulus by squatting or rowing a 5lb dumbbell. Ask experts (or your coach) for guidance on what’s right for you and your body, and buy something that you can get a stimulus from and make progress with.