With recent concerns about coronavirus (COVID-19), you might be thinking about skipping the gym. The World Health Organization’s current advice includes regularly washing your hands and avoiding close contact with other people. Going to the gym and touching public barbells certainly won’t help, so it makes sense to skip.
But there’s no reason to skip health and fitness. You might wonder what to do when you can’t go to the gym, but as long as you have the right fitness equipment, you can get the same workout at home as you would at the gym.
How to Work Out at Home
You might be concerned that you can’t get an effective workout at home—that you absolutely must go to the gym in order to stay fit. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Fitness equipment isn't what it used to be. Through advances in technology, you can get a gym-quality workout right at home. Check out this new Echelon bike. It's just one example of the how technology can bring the gym experience into your home. It's got trainers, an interactive app, live classes demand and more... all from the comfort and safety of your own home. And, you can order online and have it delivered right to your home.
There are many ways to exercise while avoiding the gym.
Bodyweight Exercises
The classics never fail. Done properly, bodyweight exercises provide an excellent way to stay in shape.
- Push ups train your chest, triceps, and shoulders. High repetition develops stamina and endurance, while variations such as clap push ups and diamond push ups improve your power and target specific muscles. Push ups also force you to use your core and back to stabilize your body, indirectly strengthening your abs and back muscles.
- Squats train your thighs and glutes. Be sure to keep your back straight, tighten your core, and not let your knees go past your feet. Consider variations such as the jump squat if you want to add extra challenge to this workout.
- Planks hit your core, and they hit it hard. Don’t believe us? Try to hold a plank for 60 seconds. If you find that too easy, consider variations such as the side plank or single arm plank. These stabilization exercises are excellent strength builders.
- Lunges target your legs and help with hamstring and hip flexibility. This exercise targets the hard-to-reach inner thigh muscles and helps you build endurance.
- Jumping jacks keep your heart pumping and help with stamina if you can’t access a treadmill or elliptical.
Home Gym Equipment
By themselves, bodyweight exercises do not hit your body as hard as exercises with gym equipment do. Although they are a perfectly fine way to stay fit, to get a more intense and challenging workout, compliment your bodyweight exercises with convenient and affordable equipment:
- Dumbbells are classic, affordable weights. You have many options with dumbbells, including bicep curls, tricep extensions, shoulder flies, chest presses, and so forth. You also get to add weight to your squats and lunges to really strengthen your legs.
- Resistance bands are invaluable pieces of home gym equipment. Use them to compliment exercises such as lunges and strengthen parts of your body that body-weight exercises alone struggle to hit, such as your back.
- Pullup bars help strengthen your biceps and back by allowing you to do chin-ups and pullups, two core exercises. When properly fit, pullup bars also let you perform dips, which strengthen your chest, shoulders, and triceps. Why should you do pullups every day?
- Treadmills It’s tough to picture a gym without them. Today’s treadmills are more advanced than ever, offering a range of features to keep you focused on getting the best workout possible. Nail your at-home cardio by choosing the right treadmill with just the right incline options or that HD screen you’ve always wanted.
- Ellipticals, like treadmills, get your heart pumping and your lungs working. However, they’re easier on the joints and lower-impact than treadmills—helpful for people with arthritis or joint pain. Pushing and pulling the handles also gives a broader workout while providing stability, reducing the risk of injury. 6 Ways to Maximize Your Elliptical Workout
- Rowing machines give you a full-body workout in one contraption. They target every major muscle—your arms, legs, chest, and back provide power while your core stabilizes your body as you move—and are great for cardio—helping you build your endurance and burn calories. Like ellipticals, rowing machines are also low-impact and less intense on the joints than weights or the treadmill. 10 Reasons to Try Indoor Rowing
If you’re looking for a bit of everything and have the space for it, there’s nothing stopping you from purchasing a full home gym. An all-in-one setup lets you customize your workout with every piece of fitness equipment you need at your disposal. However, the pieces of equipment we’ve recommended are great for a simple, effective, and affordable home workout.
A Healthy Home: Cleaning Your Fitness Equipment
You should clean your fitness equipment on a regular basis—not just to protect yourself from COVID-19.
Bacteria, sweat, and dust will build up on your home gym equipment over time, even if you're the only one using them. Left unattended, the sensors on your equipment will also get dirty or smudged and start to provide inaccurate readings. You might even void the warranty of some pieces of fitness equipment if you don’t keep them in shape.
How to Clean Your Fitness Equipment
If you have questions about cleaning your fitness equipment, feel free to contact a G&G showroom. We are always here to help!
There's no such thing as cleaning too thoroughly, but you want to avoid cleaning too harshly. Stay away from bleach, peroxide, and other harsh chemicals that can damage your machines—these chemicals can even rub off of the equipment and onto your skin.
Look for special cleaning products designed for your treadmill, rower, or other home gym equipment. Also, antibacterial wipes let you quickly clean equipment after usage and make it easier to reach cracks and crevices.
How often you need to clean your equipment depends on how often you use your equipment, as well as environmental factors such as humidity.
- Equipment that gets lots of use will need more frequent cleanings.
- High humidity makes for stricter maintenance requirements.
As a rule of thumb, do not go longer than two weeks without cleaning your home fitness equipment.
Staying Fit While Avoiding the Gym
There's nothing wrong with skipping the gym until the COVID-19 issue dies down, as long as you commit to staying fit at home. We’re here to help.
G&G Fitness specializes in treadmills, ellipticals, rowers, and all-in-one home gyms. We’re dedicated to providing the best fitness advice and equipment for all of your home gym needs. Contact us to learn more, or browse through our selection of home gym equipment to get started today.
Looking for an all-in-one home workout machine?
There are many options to get a full-body workout with just one piece of fitness equipment. Here is a selection of products we recommend. Contact a G&G representative for a free consultation and personalized recommendations.
3 comments
Found this really interesting, thanks for sharing!
Amazing post! You share such great info about a portable home gym. I am impressed! Looking for ahome gym?
really helpful and nice post
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