For my wife and I life has become dictated by one question first and foremost: who's going to watch Graham? (Graham is our son if you haven't guessed). For those without children, children demand a lot of time and attention. A LOT OF TIME AND ATTENTION! For the record I love all the time I get to spend with my son and I wouldn't change it for the world. That being said, some things had to change. One of the biggest changes was my workouts. Life B.G. (before Graham) I could finish up with clients, dick around a while and then put myself through a nice leisurely workout. Now most days I have to finish up with clients and head home pick up Graham. This means my workouts are usually shorter and take place at home the majority of the time. So I thought it would be cool to list some of the essentials you'll need to create an effective at home workout space. Here goes:
- SPACE: but not as much as you think. In life B.G., I had a whole room to workout in. Life after Graham, has relegated my workout space to the area between our coffee table our wall unit. I live in a 900 sq ft apartment in Brooklyn so we're not talking about a lot of space. When I'm feeling really crazy, I push the coffee table against the couch and I get a whole extra 5 FEET!!! Seriously though it doesn't take a lot of space to get a good workout. Stand up, reach your hands out to the side, if you didn't hit anything on either side you've got enough space. Check out this video to see what I'm talking about.
- A BODY: specifically your body (it'd be weird if I was talking about somebody else's right?). I just typed the phrase 'body weight workouts' into Google and there were almost 9 million results. So having no equipment is no excuse for not being able to get a good workout at home. Squats, lunges, push ups and dips (to name a few) can be done anywhere. Try this: lie down on the floor and stand back up as fast as possible. Repeat 10 times. Then rest for a minute. Do this whole cycle a total of ten times (by the end you will have gotten down & up 100x).
- TIME: again not as much as you think. Everyone knows that time is a commodity but people with infants and toddlers really know this. If your (I'm talking about you, the person reading this) average gym workout is an hour long, I'm almost willing to guarantee that same workout will only take about 40 minutes at home (assuming you had the same equipment available). You wouldn't have to wait for equipment and you wouldn't spend time talking to that lady you met that one time at some friend's party. Then once we take out the fluff (those stretches you only do because you saw the good looking guy/gal doing them at the gym) you can get a great workout in 30 minutes or less. Don't believe me? Comment and I'll send you the same workouts I gave to my wife when she asked for 30 minute workouts.
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TRX: or any suspension trainer. A TRX is a great way to make bodyweight exercises easier or harder when needed. A TRX also gives you access to exercises that normally you need weights or other equipment such as
bicep curls. Another great thing about suspension trainers is that they are portable, so now it doesn't matter if the hotel gym smells like a person died in it during the first Bush administration.
KETTLEBELLS: an equal sized pair. [DISCLAIMER: if you've never used kettlebells, either get taught how to use them by a certified professional or don't read the rest of this section.] I'm a firm believer that eventually everyone needs to add some weight to their workouts because....well because science. Kettlebells don't take up much space (relatively) and they are great for both strength exercises (squat, presses, deadlifts) and power exercises (swings, cleans, snatches; again get proper instruction). Kettlebells are also relatively cheap once you consider the fact that you'll never have to replace a kettlebell. I suggest 16kg (~35lbs) for women and 24kg (~53lbs) for men. Once you can do all of the above exercises with the suggested bells then you can think about going heavier (for the last time, GET PROPER INSTRUCTION).
This is a list of 5, three of which everyone on the planet has. The other two are worth the investment many times over. The gym may have all the doodads and gadgets that we want for a workout but most of what we need is already at home. If you need home workout ideas let me know in the comments and I'll be glad to help out.
