It was a real shock to go from a 7-day-a-week gym routine to working out in our garage, as I suppose it was for most people. And of course, by the time I figured out that we were going to need more than a foam roller and a couple of infrequently used yoga mats in order to keep up our routines, many items were sold out all over the internet. Apparently everyone else was building their stay-at-home gyms too!
I’ve managed to piece together enough equipment to get in a decent workout. Although a lot of things are still sold out at Amazon, Target, and sporting goods stores, I’ve found that if you order 3-4 different varieties of the same item (e.g. 3 different 15 lb kettlebells from Amazon), eventually one will become available and it will be on its way to your house. Just don’t forget to cancel the orders for the other 2 kettlebells! There’s not much you can do with three kettlebells at one time 🙂
What we’ve stocked in our stay at home gym (so far)
- Kettlebells We’ve just got one- a 30 pounder. I don’t go much higher than that without starting to risk some back issues
- Yoga blocks We tried using stacks of books. Nope, didn’t work
- Water bottle Hydration is so important, y’all 🙂
- Hand weights We bought 5, 8, 12 lb weights and my husband unearthed a single 20lb dumbbell at his office (?). Seems to be enough when including the weight set below
- Weight set Enough options to work for both my husband and me
- Weighted ropeless jump rope I know, I know. Ropeless?? But hear me out- tripping on the rope repeatedly is very frustrating and makes jumping rope for 30 minutes absolutely unbearable. It may not be as hard as the traditional version, but it will definitely get your heart pumping
- Items we already had: two yoga mats, a strap and a foam roller
What hasn’t been successful in our stay at home gym
So what hasn’t worked out so well? I bought a very sad little step bench that hasn’t gotten much use (how many times do I have to remind myself to use a measuring tape?) If step classes are your thing, make sure to get one that is big enough and sturdy enough. Or it will be a waste of money. And crazily enough, the price for the one I bought has doubled since March… there’s definitely some price gouging going on in exercise equipment.
In a future post, I’ll share my biggest and most exciting COVID-19 fitness purchase- a Peloton bike! It comes next week and I’ll share my initial thoughts once it’s gotten a bit of use.
This post contains affiliate links that may generate commission for the author.
