Thanks to our perennially sedentary lifestyle, more and more of us are out of shape than at any time in history. Unfortunately, this trend does not seem to be ending anytime soon. This is why it is absolutely imperative that we take steps to get back in shape. The alternative consists of the evils of obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure leading to heart attacks and strokes to quote but a few drawbacks of being out of shape. However, it does not have to be this way at all. Not if we make exercise an important part of our day-to-day regimen.
The best and easiest way of doing so is to build our very own gym, right in the comfort of our own home. Here, many people have unfinished basements that they plan on turning into dens or home cinemas, or even game rooms. You might consider turning your unfinished basement into a home gym so that everyone in the family can use it to exercise and thereby regain their fitness. Here is how you can go about doing that:
Declutter your basement
Unfinished basements have a habit of gathering clutter that doesn’t seem to belong anywhere else. Broken furniture, baseball, bats, and all the other assorted flotsam and jetsam end up in the basement. Decluttering it and getting rid of years of accumulated junk will help you to actually see what you are supposed to do and how you can go about doing it.
Paint the walls
Walls can provide that extra bit of inspiration for your workouts. You can paint the world "GYM" in big bold letters and throw in lots of inspirational quotes that will help you to keep going long after you are tired. Finally, bold and light colors also help to create the right ambiance to get you into the mood. In a nutshell, your walls should be painted in such a way that once you enter the gym you would not want to leave, till you are done with a grueling workout.
Ceiling and floor
Many people don’t give proper attention to the ceiling. But considering the time you will spend pumping iron while lying flat on your back, it is a good idea to treat the ceiling in much the same way you would treat your walls. Similarly, it won’t do to exercise on a hard and cold concrete floor. If you accidentally drop any weights, it might damage the floor or any flooring you might have installed. It is a good idea to use thick rugs and old carpets or even a wall-to-wall carpeting solution. This way, you will be able to exercise on the floor in all kinds of weather. Moreover, dropping weights will not be an issue nor would it be very noisy. However, it is advisable to find out if your basement is leak and damp-proof lest the floor coverings are ruined every time it rains.
Lighting fixtures
Lighting is of paramount importance in any home basement gym. If you can’t see what you are doing you might be liable to injure yourself. At the same time, gloomy lights can demotivate you and you might not feel like working out at all. Instead of fluorescent lighting or bare bulbs hanging all over the place, consider your basement every bit as important as every other room in your house. Moreover, you have to take into consideration what kind of light inspires you the most. If you work best in white light go for that. Alternately, if warm lights are your thing, then make sure that your basement gym has a lot of those. You can also use string lights to attract you to certain calorie-burning machines.
Equipment list
Make a list of the essential equipment to include in the basement gym. For example, you will need weight plates, running machines, exercise bikes, elliptical machines, and so on and so forth.
Conclusion
Your unfinished home basement does not need to remain that way for long. You can paint it over, get fresh flooring and adequate lights, and fill it up with gym equipment to create your very own home gym. Good Luck!
