Home fitness equipment during Covid (and after)

[jimbee]

My home exercise equipment includes the following:

- A selection of 1.5" diameter galvanized threaded pipe, elbows and flanges to make a bar for pull-ups/chin-ups.
- An old hardware dining room chair for dips.
- The floor for pushups, situps, and squats.
- For additional resistance exercise I use a couple of steel wedges and a splitting maul to clean up hardwood, since I live on a wooded lot. An hour or two of swinging a maul can be tiring.
- During the winter I use yaktrax for my daily walks, since the roads and shoulders get slippery.

That's about it.

 

[Music Lover]

I had perfect timing and a month or so before Covid I bought a bunch of rubber coated weight plates to replace the basic steel weights....not required but I wanted them. Then when Covid hit and the gyms closed I seized the opportunity to purge and sold the old steel weights, excess dumbbells, a dumbbell rack, a Weider cable machine, and other assorted gym equipment at a premium and netted around $2000. All the excess is gone and I now have exactly what I need to complete a full workout:

- a power cage with chin-up handles and safety bars
- an 7' Olympic bar with 400 pounds of rubber coated weights
- a trap bar for deadlifts
- a pair of Spinlock dumbbells with 200 pounds of assorted weights
- a weight belt with a chain for weighted chin-ups
- a treadmill

I'm still looking for some resistance bands to be used if we ever travel again.

 

[ls99]

My fitness equipment is my body and movement.
Accessories are the floor and a rug for movents requiring horizontal body position. Typically alternated between 1 to 2 hours on different days.

 

[Katsmeow]

Pre Covid I went to the gym mostly for strength training. I tried that at home and it wasn't ideal. So what I have at home:

Elliptical (This is a high end near professional grade model)
Treadmill (I am a walker not a runner)
Recumbent bike

I also sometimes do exercise videos from You Tube.

 

[2017ish]

...:

- a power cage with chin-up handles and safety bars
- an 7' Olympic bar with 400 pounds of rubber coated weights
....

Sounds like us, although we have a couple more bars and additional weight--all bought long ago to avoid having to join a gym. Bumper plates for deadlifts are also nice, especially if you are just using a concrete floor.

In addition, a rowing machine, versa climber, and stationary bike for use on the winter days when walking or running outside doesn't sound like much fun due to weather. (We have the bike and rowing in the theatre room, which is icing on the cake.)

 

[Music Lover]

Sounds like us, although we have a couple more bars and additional weight--all bought long ago to avoid having to join a gym. Bumper plates for deadlifts are also nice, especially if you are just using a concrete floor.

I workout in the basement on a concrete floor. There's a scrap of carpet under the power cage and I do deadlifts with a trap bar that rests on a couple fake rubber sidewalk blocks a couple inches thick.

I used to have 1/2" thick rubber mats under everything but I prefer to workout in bare feet and never liked the mats, plus I kept stubbing my toes on the edge.

 

[G8tr]

Didn't expect this thread to get as many responses as it has. Seems like the folks here run the spectrum. I enjoyed the gym for the quality equipment, but I can see how spending the equivalent of an annual membership ($600) could build up a nice home gym after a few years (at least it could pre-pandemic).

 

[Livefree]

I have a Total Gym and Bodylastic Bands I use. I also bike/walk 3 times a week. My wife uses a Treadmill

 

[LXEX55]

I do pushups inbetween wooden milk crates, crunches, leg raises, and I run outdoors. I also do pull ups and dips at the park. I also run about three miles at the same park, except in the summer when it is like an oven here in Florida.

 

[gerntz]

I have a recumbent bike. I also have my legs, arms, and waist that I move in various directions for varying lengths of time. And do all while watching TV. Time passes fine.

 

[iloveyoga]

I have a spot in my bedroom where I do Zoom yoga classes and also some strength classes. I have the basic yoga equipment and one set of 5 lb dumbbells. It works for me so far, but I am really missing my in person classes the last few days.

 

[caninelover]

Following knee surgery in June, my outdoor running career ended. I purchased a Peloton (yup, I know), and use it almost daily. The nice thing with it is the app. Through the app I also have started yoga. There are many other options including strength training, meditation, etc.

I might be the least flexible person alive. As a runner, I did the bare minimum stretching necessary for me to continue running. Having started yoga, I’ve decided I really like it. Really feel a difference it’s making. But I could never take an in person yoga class. In home is the way to go for me. I’m certain every pose I do is not done exactly right. I lose my balance often. I grunt and squirm trying to get in a lot of poses. I even pass gas occasionally as they move me into various poses. Yeah, nobody would want on a mat adjacent to me in a class doing yoga. My favorite pose is shivasana. I’m a yoga master at that one.

You are my yoga soul mate.

Also own a Peloton and love it. Either SO and/or I use it daily.

 

[caninelover]

We have a loft upstairs that we had set up as a small home gym pre-COVID. It consist of a Peloton, a Concept 2 rower, some dumbbells, and a TV.

Like MuirWannabe I use the Peloton app to take other classes like Yoga.

 

[ITTN]

I recently finished my rowing machine made from a bicycle wheel and 2 x 4s, the seat rolls on garage door rollers. The are many DIY plans on You Tube.

 

[G8tr]

I recently finished my rowing machine made from a bicycle wheel and 2 x 4s, the seat rolls on garage door rollers. The are many DIY plans on You Tube.

Indeed. I've seen some creative DIY exercise equipment during the Great Dumbbell Shortage of 2020-2021

 

[Nemo2]

I recently finished my rowing machine made from a bicycle wheel and 2 x 4s, the seat rolls on garage door rollers.

We need a pic!

 

[Sunset]

We bought a treadmill in early June and put a 4K TV on the wall right in front of it. Thanks to the magic of YouTube, I have been able to take a daily walk pretty much anywhere in the world. Lots of channels on YT of people just filming walks in exotic locations. So I get exercise and feel like I’ve “traveled”, too.

That is a neat idea.
I find the treadmill so boring it's hard to even get on it. Maybe this would help.

 

[Jerry1]

Used to go to the gym, but that’s out now and probably for some time to come. I have some dumbbells but they really serve just to add resistance to my video workouts. They are basic but they get me sweating and feeling pretty good. If I had room, I would get a TRX system. Before the gym closed, I was using this and found it to be a great workout.

https://www.trxtraining.com/why-trx

It’s a suspension system where you use your body weight for a very good workout. It can be as intense as you want to make it. It doesn’t take much room, but since we downsize, the only place I have to work out is my family room and mounting this is just not going to work. I’m thinking about remodeling my garage and maybe even heating it. If I do that, I’ll seriously consider making a workout station using this system. It’s also portable so I may even set up a station outside for when the weather is reasonable.

 

[Music Lover]

That is a neat idea.
I find the treadmill so boring it's hard to even get on it. Maybe this would help.

I have a TV in front of my treadmill too...it's still boring but better than nothing. One of my friends is an ultra runner and once told me that he ran on his treadmill for 3.5 hours straight

 

[Zona]

That is a neat idea.
I find the treadmill so boring it's hard to even get on it. Maybe this would help.

One "lesson learned" is to leave enough distance between the treadmill and the screen. At first we had the treadmill right up to the wall where the TV was because we thought with a 4k TV that closer would be better & more "immersive". But some of the YouTubers are not cinematographers and shaky camerawork can affect your balance when you are walking or running. Ask me how I know.

 

[G8tr]

One suggestion. I have some generic TRX bands that I hang from a door frame chin up bar. Some band sets come with door anchors (foam ball with a strap and carabineer for attaching the straps). You put the anchor at the top of the door, close the door, and voiala, you have a hook without putting a hole in your ceiling.

Used to go to the gym, but that’s out now and probably for some time to come. I have some dumbbells but they really serve just to add resistance to my video workouts. They are basic but they get me sweating and feeling pretty good. If I had room, I would get a TRX system. Before the gym closed, I was using this and found it to be a great workout.

https://www.trxtraining.com/why-trx

It’s a suspension system where you use your body weight for a very good workout. It can be as intense as you want to make it. It doesn’t take much room, but since we downsize, the only place I have to work out is my family room and mounting this is just not going to work. I’m thinking about remodeling my garage and maybe even heating it. If I do that, I’ll seriously consider making a workout station using this system. It’s also portable so I may even set up a station outside for when the weather is reasonable.

 

[WhenIsItTime]

Bow flex adj dumbbells (admittedly paid Covid prices $600), basic bench, elastic bands and hooks on wall at 3 heights, Norsitrack s221 w/iFit. Can get a great workout at home.

 

[bookman51]

I have accumulated quite a bit of equipment over almost forty years. In November 2019 I purchased a used Bowflex treadmill. I really like it, but it does have a problem with the heart monitor. I set it up so I can watch television while walking. I never missed a workout session in 2020 and lost between 25 and 30 pounds. I pulled out my rowing machine I purchased 30 years ago and the stair climber of the same vintage. I use them daily also. I easily put in 1,000 miles per the treadmill in 2020. I do crunches, pushups and pull ups with some weight training. I have it all in the basement of my house. In my shop I have a cheap used cable set up but do not use it much. My pull up bar is in my shop too. I think being able to watch athletic events while walking has been the key to my regular exercising. Whenever I look at getting more barbells, I get scared by the price.

 

[bookman51]

I have a TV in front of my treadmill too...it's still boring but better than nothing. One of my friends is an ultra runner and once told me that he ran on his treadmill for 3.5 hours straight

I usually do an hour on the treadmill but during athletic events I occasionally do 100 minutes. That is when the treadmill shuts down Yes, I could start over but that is enough. I do not find it boring to be on the treadmill when I am watching television. I increase the speed one increment every 10 minutes. I could set it on programs to change the angle and speed, but I do not. So far so good.

 

[FIREarly]

My home gym includes a Peloton. That's it.
Happy wife. Happy life.

We do not have a basement (townhouse) and DW clearly does not want a garage gym.

Edit: we have a few light DBs bought at 5 Below. Also, a few resistance bands (DW uses these)