Adults need to get about 150 minutes of exercise per week in order to stay healthy. According to the CDC, that’s a minimum requirement. Many adults choose to exercise more than that to maximize how good they can feel and look.
If you like doing activities like yoga, Pilates or mediation, building a space designed specifically for those activities is something you should consider.
It might sound expensive, but chances are you can design your own exercise space effectively without breaking the bank.
Pick a Dedicated Space… If You Can
Having your own exercise room will make you more motivated and keep you focused while you’re exercising.
It will also make setting up and breaking down exercise equipment like yoga mats and resistance bands a lot easier.
Having your own exercise room is also considerably safer than using another part of an existing room.
While you might be able to work out in your living room, that coffee table can be dangerous if you happen to trip.
If you can, build yourself a dedicated exercise room or modify a room that doesn’t get a lot of use.
Choosing Flooring
A room built for exercise needs a floor that is firm and stable to keep you from hurting yourself. A floor that’s also fairly easy to clean and won’t cause you to hurt yourself if you fall is also ideal.
That’s why most people choose hardwood flooring for exercise rooms. You’ll be able to do yoga, Pilates and take time for meditation in your room.
Look for hardwood flooring or artificial hardwood flooring with a closed grain that’s easy to clean.
Decorating Your Exercise Room
You don’t want too many decorative objects in your exercise room, but you will need to make a few design choices. The most important design decision you’ll make for an exercise room is what to do with your walls.
Many people choose to paint the walls of their exercise room in calm, soothing colors however, some experts advise against painting walls in an exercise room at all since you could be breathing toxic chemicals.
Leaving your walls as natural wood is one option if you can afford to do so. You can also use VOC-free paints that don’t contain toxic chemicals and are safe to be around – even when you’re huffing and puffing for air.
Storage Options
Having ample storage in your exercise room is essential. While you don’t need anything elaborate, storage options that won’t take up a lot of wall space, but will keep your exercise tools out of the way are ideal.
Consider having built-in shelves with doors that close and lock installed in your exercise room. That way you can pick materials and colors that fit the style of your home.
Wood cabinets are an excellent option when it comes to storage, and the cabinets will last for a long period of time. If wood is too expensive, choose a laminate material that doesn’t contain toxic chemicals that you might end up breathing while you’re working out.
If you absolutely can’t put built-in cabinets in your exercise room, use standalone shelves or cabinets that can be securely fastened to the wall. Make sure the shelves or cabinets are fully fastened to avoid injury.
If you’re doing activities like hot yoga, you’ll also need to find a place to keep space heaters since you’re not going to want to crank your heater to over 100-degrees Fahrenheit in the whole house every single time you want to exercise.
Installing a Television
Many people use instructional DVD’s and guides when learning about yoga and Pilates; even for meditation a CD or DVD can be played through a blu-ray or DVD player.
If that’s you, you’re going to need to install a TV and DVD player.
When installing your TV, it’s important to get it up off ground. A wall-mount is ideal for saving space in your room for exercise and making sure that the TV won’t fall on you or hit the ground if the floor shakes or a wall is bumped during exercise.
Designing a safe space for you to exercise is in is extremely important if you’re going to add any technology.
Author Bio:
Marcela De Vivo is a freelance writer in the Los Angeles area as well as a yoga enthusiast. She practices Bikram regularly and her home is currently undergoing a renovation in which she has a designated space for practicing yoga.