Four things I’m doing while the gym is closed:

@sawsar Thanks for this! I actually went on to Walmart and bought this bar + bench set up for $90. I figured for the extra $35, it was worth it to get the bench too. Not being able to lift is, by far, my biggest fear when the gyms close.

I may not be able to do everything as heavy or everything in my program, but at least I can continue working out and I will just do some outdoor running or walking for cardio. Exercise keeps me sane. Plus I need to burn off that extra energy every day. :)

I am in a comfortable financial position, so I also purchased:

Adjustable dumbbells

Resistance Bands

Ab Roller

Resistance Bands w/handles

I am all in for +/- $200 but I have a pretty good home gym set up now (in my garage). Maybe I will need to use it, maybe not. But I certainly feel better knowing that I have it. And if I don't use it, then I will just return it. EDIT: I want to be clear that I would only return unopened, unused items. I am not taking anything out of the box unless it comes to it.
 
@walknlight Would you mind letting us know what you think of the barbell when you do get it? I'm thinking about it but a little hesitant since we'd be stretching our space quite significantly to own it.
 
@walknlight Ahhh ok a commenter below raised the point that returning items in the middle of a pandemic puts a lot of people at risk, so maybe consider getting rid of it by other means! I guess the commenter’s point was that returns involve a lot more people than person-to-person reselling or something. I feel bad about making the comment about returning in retrospect, so I just thought I’d mention this to you

But lol I’m planning on using a table as my “bench” for now 😂 Yeah it’s not as much weight as normal but minimum effective volume is fortunately a much smaller percentage of your 1 rep max than you think!
 
@sawsar I meant that I would only return them if I don't open them / use them. If I set it all up and use them, then I will keep them. I apologize if I wasn't clear on that point, but I would not return used items.
 
@sawsar LOL, it's fine. I am sure I will end up using it as I do think it is inevitable that all the gyms will shut down. Plus, it is not a bad thing to have a mini home gym :) not just for this crisis but for anytime.
 
@sawsar Also wanted to throw Christine Salus out there for minimal equipment, apartment friendly exercise videos and Cat Meffan for yoga (a bit more fast-paced and challenging than Yoga with Adrienne, imo). Both on YouTube. Pretty sure Christine has some stuff that's specifically labeled no jumping, or whatever the appropriate term is for "apartment friendly".
 
@sawsar Your ideas are so awesome! When I used to live in an apartment and had a lot less money, I would do bodyweight workouts as well. To change it up, I did a lot of static holds during times I couldn't jump when I knew my downstairs neighbor was home. Those were killer but it was neat to be able to do wall sits or plank for 5 minutes.
 
@sawsar My workouts for the past 2 years have been power yoga and running and I ran outside. My yoga studio closed now for a month but they gave me free subscription to their online classes (they have over 200 classes online with instructors I know and love). So I'v been doing that. I also still go for a run early in the morning.

So fitness-wise for me things have not changed. I still do 4 one hour sessions of power yoga and 3 5-10k running sessions per week.
 
@sawsar My gym will be posting a free minimum equipment daily workout to their Instagram. It will most likely be low impact / apartment friendly as well (the first workout is going up some time today but based on their actual workouts it should be ok)

Bodiesbyphil613 if anyone is interested!
 
@sawsar This is so kind of you. THANK YOU. I've been pretty panicked and anxious about my gym closing, but your post made me feel better and gave me some hope that I don't need to turn into an unmotivated, lazy slob just because I can't go to the gym. Thank you again for your resourcefulness, positive outlook, and altruistic attitude in this time of craziness.
 
@lcmanic2591 Tbh I really freaked out at first too because I have a PL meet in May and the gym keeps me sane/is super important for my mental health. But then I started feeling bad when I saw how much coronavirus was affecting other people in much scarier ways :( I am fortunate to be able to WFH and have cabin fever hahaha. Set that alarm to wake up as usual and try to keep your schedule as much as possible! We all gon make it 💪🏾
 
Back
Top