If you workout at home a few days a week, then, one of the most important factors is your home workout space.
If it is inviting and well thought out, you will be more likely to use it. But if the area is unattractive and uncomfortable to use, you may find yourself avoiding it and therefore avoiding your workouts.
Use the following tips to create and organize a workout area that is user-friendly and encourages fitness:
- Space. Be sure that the area where you choose to workout is spacious enough for you to perform your exercises. If you use a cramped area in which you have to rearrange items every time you switch to a different exercise, you will probably become frustrated.
- Lighting. Bright lights help us to feel energized while dim lights can bring about feelings of drowsiness. While you are working out, you need all the energy-producing light you can manage. Open the curtains wide if there are windows in your workout room. If there are no windows, consider installing a full-spectrum light. These lights mimic the spectrum of the light of the sun and will help energize you.
- Music. Anyone who has exercised with music knows how just the right songs can help increase and maintain more intensity in the workout than without music. Make sure that your fitness area has a way for you to play music as you exercise. You can even purchase a little speaker to hook into your iPod or MP3 player. It does not have to be an elaborate system; just something that will play music loudly enough for you to hear it while you work out.
- Cleanliness. Is your workout space damp and smelly? Is it full of clutter and unwanted items from the rest of the house? It is a mistake to let your fitness area be the catch-all room for the whole family.
If your room is in a musty corner of the basement or if it doubles as a storage closet, you will not enjoy the time you spend there, and therefore you will be less likely to be consistent with your workouts. Either clean the room up or pick a different area.
Your fitness and health are important and need to be treated as such. Making your workout space a top priority will go a long way toward helping you reach your fitness goals, because you will be more likely to use it if you find it inviting and a pleasure to use.
