I live more than an hour from the closest organized gym.
I don’t have enough time in my day to make that drive.
Between my job, taking care of household tasks and my kids, it can be difficult to find an opportunity to workout. I often need to manage my exercise session at odd times of day or night. Because of this, I have set up a home gym in the basement. There is plenty of space to accommodate a nice selection of equipment. I’ve invested into a set of free weights, kettlebells, medicine balls and battle ropes for strength training. I have an incline bench that is great for doing different types of abdominal crunches. I use a folding mat for doing squats, lunges, jumping jacks and a variety of aerobic-type exercises. I recently saved up enough money to purchase a larger piece of equipment. Since the bigger machines are expensive and require quite a bit of space, I wanted to be sure I made a smart decision. I researched different types of treadmills, stationary bikes, rowing machines, steppers and ellipticals. I figured that I can always go for a run or ride my actual bike outside. If I want to row, I can kayak and I’m not a fan of climbing stairs. I ended up choosing an elliptical. It is one of the few machines that works both arms and legs. Since the feet never lift off the pedals, there is no hard impact on the feet, ankles, knees or hips. The motion is wonderfully smooth and the operation is especially quiet. The machine features a touchscreen that makes it easy to increase resistance and track how much time I spend and how many calories I burn.