Thursday, May 28, 2009

I love my Home Gym

One of the great things about home training is the convenience of having it there when you don't feel the urge to hit the road to the commercial gym I go to. I work out at my work gym because I don't like running late for work plus there is some convenience with the hexagon db's they have there. I've said this before - I really enjoy home workouts over commercial gym workouts. I've always loved home workouts because #1: it's right there for you to use. #2 I could do any workout I please in boxers that early in the morning and no one would know but me. Hahaha! j/k.

Again, I'm not a big commercial gym guy as much any more but I always have my best workouts at home or at work for some reason.

We can all say we all go to the gym to workout. But the privacy and the ability to use a complete home gym at my disposal nowadays is of huge importance to me. I don't like crowds and I don't like distractions (I'll admit - I can get "very distracted" with the gym I go to... Hey man, the eye candy can be reallllly nice - let's be honest here).

Although most routines I do only require minimal space anyways - why do I still go to a commercial gym when I got everything I can do all at home? I think the only time I workout at a commercial gym is on Tuesdays when I'm pretty much out of the house all day and just want a change of scenery once a week and to hit the steam.

Yup, I'm selfish like that!! Hahaha!!! :p

But kiddingness aside: home training rules in my book.

So I get home a little later than usual on a short day. Still felt pretty energetic so I hopped on my treadmill and did a 3 mile run under 52 minutes. Nothing hard, just continuous jogging/running at a comfortable pace for 52 minutes. No rhyme or reason for doing it - I just felt like running as I haven't done distance for some time except for that 3.3 mile walk trail we did over the weekend.

Foam rolling afterward.

Many may ask me: "So what exactly did you do with $500.00 that you won at Craig Ballantyne's 4th TT contest?". Here's a list of things I got with a $500.00 budget which I used all on gym equipment. Please note, I felt like a kid at a candy store the minute that check was received in the mail last month (many thanks again to Craig Ballantyne). Here's my list:

- a 300 lb Olympic Bar Set
- A decent squat rack
- A bench (my old Walmart one rocks and is very unstable)
- some floor paddings for some BW work (damn, doing some BW exercises on cold garage pavement sucks)
- KB's - 70, 54 lbs from Craigslist (I already have a 10, 35 and a 45 lb KB)
- a pair of gloves (my old ones are all torn up)

On top of that, I already have:
- 3 pairs of adjustable old school DB handles that can hold 80 lbs on a pair of db handles (I was contemplating on some power blocks or a bowflex - but I figured I got a decent amount of weight plates for my db's and I can do improve on some exercises with an Olympic barbell now. Even better.)
- a stab ball
- a power station for dips, pull ups, knee raises and push ups
- a treadmill
- a weighted jump rope
- a dvd player for some yoga, capoeira
- a heavy bag
- 3 med balls (a 5lb, 8 lb and a 12 lb)
- ankle weights
- elastic bands
- Blast straps
- a recumbant bike
- a gymboss timer and a regular timer
- my old vinyl plate barbell
- and an elliptical machine to hang my sweaty shirts on.
- pulling/lifting hooks
- a 20 lb weighted vest
- a pair of Nike Frees

---- and last but not the least the most important gym equipment of all - MY OWN BODYWEIGHT.

So I think I have all the essentials here. This took some time to invest in. Was very fortunate to have won in a contest like Craig's contest recently to even think about getting those new toys I mentioned - but definitely well worth the investment in my book!!


I will be posting pics here soon...just haven't got to it just yet! So sorry...:)

Andy

4 comments:

Roundballnz said...

only one pair of Nike free's - you sure about that Andy ???

But seriously , this is why I need to move so I can set-up a home gym .. now there is some motivation

Andy said...

Hi Alex...yeah man. Definitely see if you can work on getting a home gym if you can find decent enough space for one.

Ok...2 pairs of Nike Frees. :)

I also forgot to mention an ab wheel in there as well as a door gym and a foam roller!!! Oops.

Anna said...

Hey Andy, nice set-up you got there! My home gym is nothing compared to yours if you can even call it that...haha.

Good point on the bw exercises. I love them even thougn they can be so tough sometimes!

Andy said...

Thanks Anna...

Yep...just gotta love them bw exercises!!! ;)