The Dumbbell: How to make a sports corner

You don't need a large space to have a home gym

Nov 01, 2023

Hello and welcome to this week’s edition of The Bell!

While the past fourteen days feel like they were exactly fourteen minutes long, I’ve missed you and also feel like it’s been forever since we’ve talked! My husband and I are in France undertaking a major family project that needed our full energy and attention for a while. We’ve been thinking about and planning this for over a year and we are so relieved to be (mostly) done and thrilled to get a major portion of our mental space back. Sorry to not be more specific; my role was to assist/support in this situation and the details aren’t really mine to share.

So what have I missed? I hope you had a great Halloween! It’s not really a thing in France culturally, so aside from the supermarket trying its best to sell pumpkins and candy, there weren’t many signs of the holiday. But then, on an evening walk Halloween night, I did see one dad with two tiny girls trick-or-treating—they were the only ones out—and no one was coming to the door at any of the houses. I felt so bad for them! Our house in France is in a tiny, tiny rural hamlet (literally, calling it a village would be an exaggeration) and I assumed there wouldn’t be any trick-or-treaters, so I didn’t buy any candy or I would have given them my address and rushed home to prepare! In future, maybe I will contact the neighbors about organizing some trick-or-treating because those little girls must have been so disappointed.

How can I segue into today’s topic? Candy… gives you a sugar rush… which might make you want to burn off that energy working out?

There you go. Seamless.

So, as the weather gets cold in many places and the motivation to leave the house after sunset dwindles, I wanted to share how I manage to have a home gym in Boston, even in an 800 sq ft apartment. Because I absolutely depend on it to get me through the coming months.

Please don’t mind the Instagram story caption but this is the only existing photo of my sports corner.

Choose your corner.
My sports corner is part of our home office that we lovingly call “the study” to feel more intellectual. I say “my” because my husband more frequently goes to the gym near his actual office. I chose the corner by the (only) window because natural light and fresh air are important for doing sports. A corner of the bedroom, dining room, or living room would also work well. Or, obviously, the basement—classic home of home gyms.
Put the biggest thing in first.
I’m a Peloton bike gal (and this link will give the first 6 people $100 off accessories when you buy any Peloton equipment). But if you have room for one compact machine—be it bike, treadmill, or rower—get that in place. If you’re not a cardio machine person, maybe you want a full rack of dumbbells or a set of medicine balls or a short ballet barre or something of that kind. I put my bike facing the window so I can look out over the screen and feel solidarity with the gentleman in the window across the street and one floor down who tends to do his Peloton workouts around 4 or 5 pm, the same time I do. The things you learn when you live in a very dense neighborhood!
Accessorize for well-rounded fitness.
As any sporty person knows, you can’t just exercise the same few muscles over and over. You have to change it up! So get some small, easy-to-stash equipment like a few sizes of dumbbells (I have these in 2, 5, 10, 15, and 20 lb), a yoga mat, yoga blocks, stretching strap, resistance bands, meditation cushion, foam roller, etc. so your corner has something for every day in your weekly routine. When I unroll my yoga mat, it obviously crosses the border of the sports corner out into the rest of the room, but that’s not really the point. The idea of the corner is just a way of storing everything in one place and, more importantly, giving yourself a physical place to go at home that’s dedicated to your wellbeing and fitness.
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Get some storage.
I’ve commandeered part of the bookshelf that takes up one whole wall of the study for my Peloton shoes, a stack of workout towels, and the other small sporty equipment listed above. There’s a gap between the end of the bookshelf and the perpendicular wall just wide enough for my tennis bag, stocked with stuff I use for outdoor sports.
Set the scene.
Atmosphere is everything, especially on days when you don’t want to work out! Think of all the senses: headphones or speakers for great music, candles and matches (I love to work out by candlelight), art or posters that inspire you to get moving, an essential oil diffuser for an energizing scent, and maybe a mirror to check your form and reflect the light. Perhaps even a TV if you like to watch something while you work out.
Put on your stretchy pants and go!
The hardest part. ;) But less so in an environment you love!

Let me know what’s in your sports corner or home gym… and what motivates you to work out at home when there are so many other things you could be doing. My laundry mysteriously always feels reeeally urgent as soon as it’s time to work out.

The Bell

The Dumbbell: How to make a sports corner

You don't need a large space to have a home gym

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