Keeping Myself Sane by Building a Home Gym

Up until the shelter in place started, I was a regular gym-goer, 4-5 times a week almost religiously. It helps me deal with anxiety and to shake the sillies out. I was focused on getting stronger and faster. I was enjoying the process and the group of friends I knew I was going to find at class time to catch up with the latest events.

Change of plans

Then Rona hit and gyms closed. Not only could we not go to many places, but also the stress levels were through the roof. My workout was very necessary to not lose (too much) my temper while locked at home with my wonderful family.

A few years back, I had bought a used treadmill that, thank goodness, never became a clothes hanger. Even though its use wasn’t all that frequent, I would jump on it when I couldn’t go to the gym while kids were on some school break or weekends that I felt like jogging. My husband used it for a while, and even my kids enjoy walking on it with the doll stroller or some toy truck.

Cheaper than diamonds

The month we went into seclusion happened to be the month of my wedding anniversary, so I decided to trade my most likely piece of jewelry for a stationary bike. A nice one with the app with the classes and all. My knee had been hurting, so the bike came very handily for cardio.

It took a minute to get motivated without the schedule and my friends at the gym, but slowly I started building more confidence and getting used to working out at home. It became a little more convenient to work out at 3 p.m. if work was slow or just jump out of it and be sitting at my desk within 3 minutes if an important thing came up.

Toilet paper, Clorox, Tylenol, and dumbbells

Now, finding dumbbells became the new toilet paper crusade. There are not dumbbells ANYWHERE, and if you find any, they try to charge you an arm and a leg for it … ridiculous. But we managed until around Mother’s Day I found in one of the neighborhood apps that someone was selling some so there… my gift.

Slowly but surely, I have been building up my home gym, always a little hesitant that if things open up, I will probably go back to my gym, although, my app has all kinds of classes, which is very nice to change it up a bit or to do yoga the days I don’t want to push it. I like the variety and flexibility. Don’t get me wrong, I miss my mates and coaches, but right now is not an option.

I am proud that I managed to keep working out. I also think that it became another “home project” to keep me busy and researching while not able to go out. You know making it homey and welcoming, ha….

What do you do to keep you sane?

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