Home Fitness: The Secret to a Fuller, Longer Life

When you define fitness, it has such a broad meaning. Everyone has their own unique goals, strength, abilities, and methods to stay fit and active. In general, fitness has become an increasingly important part of many people’s lives. Staying fit doesn’t just mean being in shape; it’s a way of dealing with stress, relaxing, and staying present.

This article looks at the main reasons why so many people have adopted a more active lifestyle, the key benefits of regular fitness, and how to start your own fitness journey. We also share the thoughts of our Gym Flooring community, touching on how fitness is an individual concept that means something different to everyone.

A significant body of evidence tells us that regular physical activity is associated with a reduced risk of early death. Being physically active and moving your body each day has numerous benefits. It can boost your mood and feel-good hormones and helps to manage your weight. In addition, exercise can help you to create balance in your routine, socialise with friends, and increase your self-confidence.

Another reason for the recent upsurge in fitness is the COVID-19 pandemic. Naturally, the coronavirus crisis impacted many areas of our lives. Although it was a challenging time, it prompted many people to improve their general health and exercise more frequently, pulling a focus on mental health.

It’s no secret that regular exercise is closely linked to mental wellbeing. Being active and moving your body can improve your general perspective on life and sense of self. This is especially important in today's world where busy lifestyles and technology are all encompassing.

It’s often easy to think about how fitness can benefit your physical health, but its benefits go beyond your body. It can have a considerable impact on your mind, how you feel, and how you interact with others.

When you push your body regularly and get your heart pumping, it can have several physical benefits. Frequent fitness not only affects your body now but can help to keep you living a healthier life for longer. Proven physical benefits of exercise include:

• Reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke
• Weight Management
• Lowers the risk of types 2 diabetes and some cancers
• Improves bone and joint strength
• Increases flexibility and mobility
• Lowers blood cholesterol level
• Tones muscles and builds muscle mass

Exercise can do wonders for your mental wellbeing as well. Regular physical activity can improve your mental wellbeing by:

• Reducing anxiety and depression
• Improving self-esteem
• Improving cognitive function and sleep
• Relieving stress
• Enhancing mood

As well as fitness being good for mental wellbeing, regular physical exercise can impact your lifestyle and social life. When you participate in regular exercise or train in a group, there are several benefits, such as:

• Developing better social skills
• Making new friends
• Creating a new social outlet
• Developing a routine
• Improving the balance of your daily life
• Spending time with friends and family

Fitness can mean something different to us all. For some, it’s how they carve out some time for themselves. For others, it could be how they maintain a healthy weight. Our gym flooring customers reveal just what fitness means to them (personal names and details have been left out for privacy purposes).

"Getting back into the gym has been a game-changer. I'm motivated, fitter and a better person and mum. Even though I still have to build myself up to work out, I always feel better after and never regret it! I find doing some exercise first thing in the morning really sets me up for the day! Since we are new parents travelling to a gym isn't practical anymore, so we converted our old garage into a gym and it's perfect since we can use it in-between naptimes and can maximise our time working out without having to travel"

"Fitness has always been a key part of my life, but as I am now over 60 (both hips replaced due to arthritis), I realised how even more important it is as we get older. Older people must keep physically active, and it's no use using excuses that we aren't feeling as well, don't have as much energy, have lost mobility, and all other excuses you hear from older people. Most symptoms are because people don't do enough exercise and then start eating too much for their energy output"

"Fitness has helped me lose weight and achieve more than I ever imagined. Travelling to new places both UK and world wide I now complete crazy challenges charity and have some amazing experiences whilst doing it. This year is Namibia for racetothewreck. This is a 5 day adventure in the desert covering nearly 200 miles on bike on foot all for ChildrenwithCancer"

"Keeping fit is core to how I feel. I can start the day cycling; lifting weights; HIIT, or yoga. All of it makes me feel alive and in touch with my body. I also like how my children get inspired to also exercise and keep fit. Feeling fit makes me feel good about myself; relaxed, and with high energy levels. Over lockdown, I’m pleased to say that I invested in building a purpose-built room, but before that, I was training in the garage and garden. So make the most of what you have"

"Here is my workout space. We have built it down the end of our garden, and with lockdown encouraging people to go online; it seemed like the perfect time to build a designated area for this. I was previously based in our attic, so for me, this space is a dream. The new gym flooring has been so worth it and gives that elite touch that my PT clients love" 

Having a dedicated space for exercise such as a home gym can be the stepping stone to a more consistent fitness routine. As many of our customers have realised, you don’t need a massive amount of space to start your fitness journey. Investing in a personal space to exercise is about investing in your health and overall wellbeing. By creating an area where you can show up for yourself, work out, and feel good helps you to stay true to your goals.

Here's different ways of making home fitness a regular part of your routine:

A home gym can be a spare bedroom, a nook in the living room corner, or a couple of gym mats with some dumbbells in your kitchen. You can begin to introduce a set routine into your day to start enjoying regular fitness. Depending on the space you have, here are a few essentials for setting up your home gym:

• Rubber flooring - invest in some quality rubber home gym flooring to create a strong foundation for fitness. Gym flooring helps to absorb shock and provide a non-slip surface.
• Free weights - equipment like barbells, dumbbells, and weight plates are a great place to start when setting up your gym.
• Resistance bands - these are affordable and space-saving pieces of equipment that create resistance in the body and work with a variety of exercises.
• Multi Functional Equipment - opt for equipment that allows for full body workouts and different exercises to get the most out of your space. We recommend a gym rack and workout bench which allows for various training styles.

See some of our Video Reviews for Home Gym Inspiration

You can turn your garage into the ultimate home gym in a few key steps. Start by decluttering your garage so you can see what space you have available. Next, you can invest in equipment like free weights, a stationary exercise bike, a treadmill, and a weights bench. It's important that you install some heavy duty garage gym flooring as any hard surface can be tough on bones and joints during exercise.

Here's some tips on building a garage gym to keep things budget-friendly:

If you’re short on space, you can benefit from outdoor fitness. You can create a purpose built garden gym, an outdoor gym with a temporary cover, or just a collection of a few pieces of fitness equipment. Plus, you can make the most out of the outdoors by trying activities like walking, jogging, hiking, and cycling. Many people join a regular online group class that they can follow from their garden or outdoor fitness area. Outdoor Gym Equipment to consider:

• Outdoor Gym Flooring
• Pull-up bar
• Free weights
• Skipping rope
• Agility Equipment

Get some top tips on how to build a garden gym to get the best outdoor fitness experience.

Thinking of your own home fitness space?  Browse our fitness flooring to begin your own home workout journey.

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