Tune in to the Pain-Free Athlete Podcast for a treasure trove of insights on maximizing your workouts with minimal equipment. I'll share the ups and downs of creating a personal fitness oasis, ensuring you're equipped with the know-how to craft a space that molds seamlessly into your life and goals. From selecting the perfect yoga mat to achieving peak motivation within your own four walls, I'll guide you through every step, ensuring your transition to home workouts is as smooth as a well-oiled treadmill. So, whether you're a home workout novice or a seasoned pro, join me for an episode that promises to leave you informed, inspired, and ready to conquer your fitness goals from the comfort of home.
The Pain-Free Podcast is presented solely for general information, education, and entertainment purposes. Any information presented in this podcast is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, psychotherapist, or other qualified professional diagnosis. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast or website is at the user’s own risk. As always, users should not disregard or delay obtaining medical advice for any medical or mental health condition that they may have and should seek the assistance of their healthcare professionals for any such conditions.
Tune in to the Pain-Free Athlete Podcast for a treasure trove of insights on maximizing your workouts with minimal equipment. I'll share the ups and downs of creating a personal fitness oasis, ensuring you're equipped with the know-how to craft a space that molds seamlessly into your life and goals. From selecting the perfect yoga mat to achieving peak motivation within your own four walls, I'll guide you through every step, ensuring your transition to home workouts is as smooth as a well-oiled treadmill. So, whether you're a home workout novice or a seasoned pro, join me for an episode that promises to leave you informed, inspired, and ready to conquer your fitness goals from the comfort of home.
The Pain-Free Podcast is presented solely for general information, education, and entertainment purposes. Any information presented in this podcast is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, psychotherapist, or other qualified professional diagnosis. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast or website is at the user’s own risk. As always, users should not disregard or delay obtaining medical advice for any medical or mental health condition that they may have and should seek the assistance of their healthcare professionals for any such conditions.
Welcome to the Pain-Free Athlete Podcast. I'm your host, dana Jones. I am a certified personal trainer and I'm here to help you achieve your fitness goals without pain. In each episode, I'll share tips and strategies that will help you stay safe and pain-free while you're working out. I'll also interview experts in the field of fitness and pain management. So if you're ready to learn how to stay active and pain-free, then subscribe to the Pain-Free Athlete Podcast today. Hi everyone and welcome to the Pain-Free Athlete Podcast. I'm your host, dana Jones.
Speaker 1:
Today's topic is I kind of feel like I'm spinning a wheel, like okay, what am I going to do? Like I have this big wheel in my office and just spin it and be like what's it going to be? Anyway, sorry, I get a gym membership. What are the benefits of one or the other? And so I you know I can't tell you what the benefit is of having. Well, I can tell you what the benefit of having a gym membership is, depending on what you choose, but it's really based off of you, right? I mean, if you're someone who has a lot of cash, you want to get the nicest gym membership you can, right, it's you know place that has all your needs met right, whether it's a pool or sauna or hot tub or whatever the things that you want to do. Um, if you have less cash, then you may want something that um has a. You know the weight machines that you can't use because you're in a apartment complex and you don't have a lot of space, or, you know, or your house is small and you don't have a lot of space for these big machines, especially if you're somebody who's into more heavier lifting, like the Olympic kind of stuff or whatever.
Speaker 1:
What I wanted to do was talk about the home gym, because it's making a comeback and I love it because I know the home gym got a real big boost during COVID because everybody was like, oh no, I'm not going to be able to go to the gym. So they were buying a ton of equipment and but it's sticking on. You know, like people are kind of getting it and they're realizing like one. You know, when you're paying a gym, you're paying monthly and you're not always going and it may be just a waste of cash. And now the way it's set up is that that money just comes out of your bank account automatically, so you don't even know. You're just missing that money. And the other thing is, too is just about time, and people don't always want to be away from their home and they'd rather go home and do it like, go home and do it. Now, the opposite is that it sucks if it's in your house, because sometimes you're like you walk out and you look at it and or it becomes, you know, a laundry hanger or those kinds of things. But we're not going there, we're going to stay positive, we're going to have a good attitude about this, and I'm going to answer a couple of questions about what you need in terms of setting up a home gym and why I like what I've done, and I think that it's not a bad idea to have some equipment in your house, just in case.
Speaker 1:
So what are the benefits of having a home gym? One is that you're saving gas. Right, I live in California and gas right now is about $5.50 a gallon, which is insane. So you know you don't have to go anywhere. You can just walk into the other room or you can walk into your garage or whatever space you have. So that's the joy of having a home gym. The other piece is that there's some privacy.
Speaker 1:
Some people, especially if you're on a fitness journey and you're not where you want to be in terms of physically, mentally, emotionally, whatever it may be. Starting to work out on your own um or in your own private space may allow you to kind of work through the funky part of you know, trying to figure out equipment, what exercise, what exercises do I like, or that kind of stuff. And you can do it without um, without people gawking at you and all the things that go along with being at a gym. And then you know cost effectiveness is that you're purchasing equipment and that equipment is a one-shot deal. If you don't want any more, you can sell it, but it's not an ongoing cost where a gym membership may be, but it's not an ongoing cost where a gym membership may be.
Speaker 1:
Now, if you make the decision to go to a home gym, you get to decide. When I did this, when I decided to move my studio to my gym because I wanted to save myself rent, because I was renting a studio space and of course I wasn't allowed to have it at the time that I wanted to have my class, all the things right. So it's like, why can't I just have it at my house? And so I started looking at what I was going to do, and the biggest, you know, priority was setting up, making sure I had the right equipment, and so, obviously, the first thing that everybody should have, or, you know, I think. So this is all my opinion, so you're just gonna have to go with the flow. Anyway, I think you should have a yoga mat. That is the basic thing.
Speaker 1:
If you have animals, if you have children who walk through, all kinds of things, sometimes having a yoga mat is a nice little barrier between you and the carpet or even keeps you from falling on your face if you have hardwood. So having that yoga mat is a nice thing. There are different types. There's the yoga mats, which are a certain I don't remember the, the um, thickness, um. You can get into the Pilates mats, which are a little bit thicker and a little bit more cushy, especially if you have hardwood floors. You want a little bit more in between you, um, you know, um, especially if you're doing dynamic exercises like uh, I don't know, uh, wow, totally lost my mind there, I don't know sit ups or something like that, where there's a constant movement and you know you don't want to be rubbing your tailbone into the ground, that kind of stuff. So yoga mats. So finding the one that you like, um, you may know somebody who has a yoga mat that you like and that's always the easiest way. You can always go, and Amazon is convenient. I know that not everybody likes Amazon, but it is convenient and you can go, purchase a mat and then if you don't like it you can send it back. So that's kind of. The joy of Amazon is that you can kind of run through stuff and do the little test phase without it.
Speaker 1:
My suggestion is that don't go cheap on a mat. I've had mats before and they literally disintegrate under my athletes as they're moving and they're not doing anything crazy. It's just after a while, especially with me, because we're disinfecting the mats a combination of that, even though I'm using gentle disinfectant and running shoes or whatever, the mats start to fall apart if they're cheap. If they're a little bit more expensive, then you get a decent. They'll hold on for a year or so. If you're doing constant use, I go with a little bit of a thicker mat, just because of the fact that I want my people to be comfortable. So all right equipment.
Speaker 1:
Number two dumbbells that you can go cheapish on. It's really up to you. I'm not a big fan of the like target pretty dumbbells that are like pink or blue or whatever the hell they are and they're filled with sand, because sand is not iron and you really just don't like the way it changes Sometimes. Sometimes they get a little hole and they start to leak. Kettlebells, dumbbells, anything that's sand or whatever. It's just weird. It's just better to go with a regular metal iron dumbbell than it is with anything else and you start with whatever weight you think you can handle and then you know you get a little bit lower and then you get a little bit heavier. So you only need like three pairs of dumbbells to start off with and then, as you start building up your exercises or whatever, you can go to getting a whole set or getting a big one. I know if you go to Costco you can pay like 350 bucks or something and you can get the big ass sorry, the big set that has, you know 25 down all the way down to tens or fives or something, and that's fine.
Speaker 1:
I have a little A-frame weight holder. That's like a little tree that seems to work for me, although sometimes you can pinch yourself in there. So it's really up to you. If you're handy, you can make one out of wood. That's pretty cool. But I like dumbbells. Sometimes if you've never done anything and you're not you don't think you're very strong. It's always good to like. Three, fives and eights is a nice um weight to start off with. The three pounds are fantastic. You may think, oh, that's stupid, they're so light. But you know, any weight that um is held in your hand for a period of time at a certain angle will be torturous. So it doesn't really matter. You don't need to be thrown around 50 pound weights to feel like, oh, I'm doing something. So dumbbells are a big one for me.
Speaker 1:
The next one I have purchased as I went into the kettlebell realm because I like them. They're versatile, you know, you can swing them, you can do things with them and then they have a handle. So that's always nice and the same thing. I got a set on Amazon and I believe I got I think it was a 5-pound, an 8-pound and a 12-pound and it's a good set. I've had it for I don't even know now 21, or not, 21, 11 years, 21 or not 21, 11 years and um. So I like to have the kettlebell because it gives me a different option and a different weight um distribution to kind of hold on to Um. So it's, you know, I just enjoy the kettlebell.
Speaker 1:
Uh, if you do not have the space for all the storage, then resistance bands are the way to go. Uh, there are bands that are loop bands and those are the ones that you wrap around your body and you'll like put them around your legs or around your ankles and you'll walk or you'll shuffle or do those things. Even if you're on hands and knees and you're doing like a bird dog, you can kind of push out and it's good. They have fabric ones, they have the rubber ones. I would avoid the rubber ones, um, because if you're not wearing yoga pants or if you're not wearing long enough shorts, that kind of stuff, they will grab skin, grab hair and then you'll get these weird little bumps you know bumps or bruises from them. So if you're especially wanting to do like a thigh workout and have, you know the fabric ones are nice and you can read the reviews again and find the one that you feel like fits you.
Speaker 1:
Bands do come in levels of resistance, so you can get something that is like a five pound resistance, which would be like light, and then you have a medium and then it goes to a strong and then uh, or heavy, and then extra heavy, and you go that way. There's also resistance bands that have handles and those are kind of cool. Um, again, you can get them in all the varying um types. Watch the lengths. Um, I accidentally bought a pair that were kind of short and I'm only five foot six on average size, so I can't even imagine if I was like 5'8 or 5'9 trying to use these, because you have to literally bend over to grab the handles to be able to do it and you want to do something. You know you want to. If you're paying for it, you want it to fit you appropriately. So I believe there's a guide that should. If they're depending on where they're made, because some of the cheaper ones will not have any kind of sizing guide and you don't know. There are some that have carabiner clips at the end so you can exchange the handles or you can double the bands up, so that way you could buy one set but then end up adding more bands to it, to the one handle, so that it gives you more resistance.
Speaker 1:
I like the little handle bands. They're great, especially when you're starting off at home. They have a I can't it's like a fabric piece that has like a little block in it and you can and a loop so that you can run your band through it and you can put it on top of your door or on the side of your door or whatever, close the door and then you have an anchor point and so you don't have to do something permanent like screw something into a wall or whatever to use for an anchor point for the resistance bands. You know, and that's basically everything that you kind of need to just get started. There is I don't even know, like when you 40, 50,000 different choices of all the things that you can get. But just starting off with the basics, that is a good deal.
Speaker 1:
Right, you get yourself a set of dumbbells, maybe you get a kettlebell or two, you get resistant bands. That is enough to give you a very good workout without you having to go crazy. Is enough to give you a very good workout without you having to go crazy. If you want, you go on Amazon and fall down the tube of all kinds of craziness. Right, there's. You know, my dad uses his vibrating you know plate, which looks like a short I can't even think like a step. He uses that thing and he swears by it. He loves to like do planks on it and do whatever. God bless him. That is not. I've been on those and it's just weird, cause you know it's you have to hold yourself still, and it's great for tightening muscles, but it's just not something I like to do.
Speaker 1:
There are wobble boards that you can use if you have ankle strength issues. I use them also to work my lower legs to keep me from tripping, because one of the things is that you know, when you start noticing like you're tripping or whatever, it's probably because everything's lazy and not working and so having a wobble board is a nice thing to do. There are slant boards if you have tight ankles. You know again, there is a very deep rabbit hole that you can drop down for all the equipment. If you have the space, you can go into the higher end equipment. You can get yourself a bench you can, you know, and there's a million different benches that you can get, based off of what you need. There are squat racks. There are um, you know, uh recumbent bikes, right, so bike where you're sitting and pedaling. If you're somebody who has back problems or knee problems, sometimes it's a nice position to be in because it takes a lot of the pressure off the joint. Um, there are regular um bikes.
Speaker 1:
There are treadmills that I mean and you can run down the treadmills forever there, you know you can go and get yourself a Peloton thing and spend $9 million on something. Or you can go get like. I had one lady who used to have the old Schwinn bike with the movable arms, so as you pedal kind of stuff, and she's like you know the thing is 50 years old and it's fine, you know, and it worked for her and that helped her rehab after she had her knee replaced. So you can't really argue with anybody's equipment. It's whatever works for you.
Speaker 1:
My thing is that if you find that you're using the equipment often or that you're, you know you are a treadmill person or you are a stationary bike person, then you know sometimes it doesn't hurt to get like a cheapo and see how committed you are. Are you constantly riding it, if you're doing whatever, and then you can commit to, you know, doing the money or the subscription or all that kind of stuff. A lot of subscriptions you can get on your phone. You know that have cycling routes or running routes or whatever, but you can also do them on the treadmills. It's really up to you whether or not you're going to use it. Otherwise, you're just buying yourself a $1,200. You know, whatever $6,000 laundry holder and that is not something you want to do. But if you are somebody who does that or you're somebody who wants to buy that, it's always lovely to go on Facebook Marketplace and purchase all kinds of equipment that people are getting or drive around your neighborhood.
Speaker 1:
I'm sure you can find a treadmill or you can find a bike or something like that that somebody's trying to get rid of. So you know again, it's really you have to be mindful of your space, you have to be mindful of the time. You know you also need to consider what type of workout are you looking for? Are you looking for something that is going to build muscular strength? Fingers crossed, I hope you're all doing that, because that's what we should be doing, you know. Are you looking for something that's cardio endurance as well, which is not a bad way to start a workout? A lot of times I'll set up my bicycle on a trainer and ride for 10, 15 minutes just to get myself warm and then I will work out or I'll walk backwards and drag a 45 pound plate just to make sure that I get that resistance as I'm walking backwards to help build up my legs. So it really is up to you. There's a lot of things but bare bones, yoga mat, dumbbells, a kettlebell and resistance bands and you can get rid of the kettlebell if you don't want it and just do dumbbells and resistance bands, and that will get you. That will get you going.
Speaker 1:
Um, and you know, there's a couple of other things I want to talk about. It's like so you have 9 million different programs that you could choose from um to decide what your workout's going to be. It could be something that you do every week. It could be a program that you download, um, and you can enter in your goals. Um, I use heavy, which is H E V Y, which is a good app app. If you're more of a weightlifting type person, you can use Map my Fitness and that allows you to do things and that also, like, I haven't even talked about the fact that you know, if you set all this stuff up in front of a TV, what is there? There's Nike Run Club that has workouts there's. You can get workouts all kinds of free workouts on YouTube, and then, of course, your phone. You have access to all the different apps to, you know, do a Pilates workout or a yoga workout or whatever it may be.
Speaker 1:
So it's really about your budget, it's about how much space you have and, of course, it gives you the opportunity to maintain some kind of motivation, because I know a lot of times that going to the gym can be a little um, you know, off-putting, and um, if you go home and you're like, well, I'm just going to spend I don't know, say, five minutes, I'm just going to yoga, you know, do a little yoga routine for five to eight minutes, you'll find that you'll do the routine and you're like, oh, I want to do more. And then that builds up that consistency which I hope that you kind of hold on to. And it also gives you the chance to play, like I'm doing like a little walking workout with this guy and I can't get all the steps. And if I was in a class I may feel silly doing it, but I get to do it at home and then I get to work on it and then I get the steps and then I'm like, yay, go me, because I figured out the steps. So those are things for you to consider.
Speaker 1:
I don't have any specific recommendations because there's so much stuff that's coming out and that's kind of where it is. Is that we, as the fitness industry, is like I don't know, that's that's kind of where it is. Is that we, as the fitness industry, is like, I don't know, the number two industry like we grow every year? Right, people are growing, we have trends, but, you know, none of it drops off. Everything continues to grow. So, which is great, right, Cause people should be moving their bodies. Right, cause moving is a good thing. Right, because moving is a good thing.
Speaker 1:
Anyway, if you have any questions or you have any suggestions or you whatever, feel free to reach out at me, reach out to me. Also, yeah, you can get me on all the social kind of stuff. Don't forget it's race season, so I am opening up registration next week for our triathlon. So if you're in California, if you're in Northern Bay area, you know, come and have some fun on beautiful gold to set for yourself. I love this race. I'm so happy that I'm still doing it. I love that it's the 10th anniversary, so come out and have some fun. Anyway, that's all I got for you. Have a lovely day, don't forget to rate and review, and I will talk to you later.