Build your own home gym on the cheap

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Exercise is important at any age, but particularly as we get older having a regular routine can have a positive impact on our health and wellbeing.

If you’re not interested in joining the gym – whether because you don’t have access to one nearby or don’t feel comfortable in that environment – there are still plenty of things you can do at home to stay in shape.

Building a home gym doesn’t have to mean spending thousands on fancy equipment. These days there are affordable options that make it easy to get exercise at home without taking up too much of your time, space, and money.

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Choose a dedicated space

Before you build your home gym you need to decide where you want to put it. Choose an area that has room for you to spread out and is ideally in view of a television. If you can dedicate a space exclusively for exercise – perhaps in the attic or a spare bedroom – all the better, but if not, at the very least choose a dedicated shelf or cupboard where you can store your equipment easily when it’s not in use.

Get some free advice

You don’t need to be an expert – or hire an expert – to create a fitness routine that’s challenging, keeps you in shape and fits around your schedule.  The Internet is a great place to go for free advice and sites like YouTube are brimming with excellent instructors who will show you everything from yoga to Pilates. You can find workout routines and also demonstrations to teach you proper form. 

The essentials

This list of essentials can help make your home workouts varied, challenging, rewarding and fun – with these tools you can mix and match routines nearly endlessly, so your small investment can have big results in the long run. You’ll need:

A yoga mat – Even if you don’t intend to do yoga, a rubber exercise mat is an affordable piece of equipment with many uses. They provide padding when you’re sitting, kneeling or lying down, and also offer extra grip below your feet.

A resistance band – Resistance bands are inexpensive, versatile and very easily stored. You can use them for a variety of exercises and even adjust the intensity over time to adapt to your fitness level. They can replace the weights you use in familiar exercises like bicep curls, and can be used to engage almost every muscle group in the body.

A kettlebell – The kettlebell is a cannonball-shaped weight with a handle used for strength training. This is a great tool to add to your routine because it’s very versatile and can help you achieve results quickly. Fitness experts like the kettlebell for many reasons, one of which is that it will help you strengthen the muscles you use everyday – so activities like picking up an active toddler or carrying heavy groceries up to a top floor flat are noticeably more manageable.

Free weights – You might find free weights aren’t an absolute necessity if you are using a heavy kettlebell and resistance bands as part of your regular routine. However, having a set of hand weights between 1-3 kg can be very useful and are often recommended in home workout videos.

A stability ball – There are lots of great uses for a stability ball – sometimes called a gym ball or fitness ball – and having one on hand can make core exercises a lot easier. If don’t like to, or aren’t able to get up and down easily during a workout, a stability ball offers a comfortable position for you to do simple exercises that can build up your core strength. Many people even use them while watching television to help with posture and promote strong back muscles.

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Yoga For Healing And What It Provides

Yoga has risen in popularity because of its ability to create long, lean muscles and increase flexibility. But what the current culture is overlooking is the thousands of years yoga has been used to heal various ailments. Yoga for healing is a very real practice that has been proven to provide various physical and mental healing powers.
What Yoga Does for the Body
A large study was performed on breast cancer survivors to gauge the biological effects of asana on the body. Half of the group didn't practice, while the second half took classes twice a week. Of course, participants who regularly practiced reported less stress and fatigue after their chemo treatments. But the study didn't stop with the psychological effects. Ohio State University, who was in charge of the study, used the virology, immunology, and medical genetics department to measure participants' cytokines, a blood protein that serves as a marker for inflammation. At the end of the twelve week study, the group who attended classes regularly saw a 10 to 15% decrease in inflammation.

While there's no concrete evidence as to why yoga has such profound anti-inflammatory effects, the research team has a theory. It's no secret that cancer treatment and the ensuing recovery can be incredibly stressful. Patients undergoing cancer treatments report that the stress and worry often lead to sleepless nights, further increasing their stress. Stress has long been shown to increase the body's inflammatory response, possibly explaining the decrease in inflammation with yoga because of its ability to help people relax, unwind, and sleep better.
Healing from Trauma
Unfortunately, the human brain absorbs traumatic and negative experiences like a thirsty sponge, while deflecting positive events like a Teflon pan. It isn't any wonder that trauma can be so incredibly destructive to the human psyche. Whether it was a violent event, a particularly difficult loss, or even the constant worry that something bad is going to happen, the mind can soak these in and internalize them as trauma. A three year Natural Institute of Health (NIH) study focused on yoga and its healing powers for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Women who were diagnosed with PTSD regularly practiced yoga and at the end of the 10 week study, several women no longer met the diagnostic criteria for PTSD. Other participants had a 30% decrease in intrusive thoughts.

Oftentimes, trauma victims fear the physical sensations in their body. For people who experienced abuse or neglect as children, they often don't know what it's like to have a healthy relationship or perception of their body. In yoga based therapy sessions, practitioners guide their patients through a combination of talk and asana therapy. The yoga helps them differentiate between the sensations that go on inside the body versus what's stimulating them on the outside. It teaches them that negative sensations are only temporary, meaning any negativity that comes up from trauma can be controlled and eliminated with some careful work. Finding a feeling of safety in the body allows them to realize that their body can be a safe place again for them, and this can be gradually achieved through yoga for healing.
Yoga is so much more than exercise. It's a pathway to allow people with varying ailments to find a way to work with their bodies again and learn to heal themselves both physically and mentally.

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Choosing The Right Yoga Mat - 6 Helpful Tips

Your yoga session will go a lot easier if you have a good yoga mat to exercise on. There are quite a few brands to choose from and so selection can be quite confusing. There are quite a few things to be considered when choosing a yoga mat so that you can get the most from your exercise sessions. While you do need to keep your budget in mind when making a purchase, it is important to consider the following factors as well:
• Thickness of the mat: A thin mat is easy to roll up and carry around and it doesn't take up a lot of space. However, it can be quite uncomfortable to exercise on such a mat because it provides very little cushioning. A think mat is the best option if one want to exercise painlessly.
• Gripping ability: Always choose a mat that has a surface with high traction that can prevent sliding. Keep in mind that you can get quite sweaty during exercise. Also, some mats have a tendency of sliding on the floor.
• Size: If you are on the larger size then you definitely need a mat that is a couple of inches wider and longer than other mats so that you can exercise comfortably on it.

• Durability: Mats made of PVC tend to last for very long without tearing or disintegrating even if you use them often. Cork and natural rubber mats, while being of natural substances, tend to not last for very long.
• Non-allergenic: If you are prone to allergies then you should try out a latex mat before actually purchasing it since you might be allergic to the material. On the other hand, PVC and cork mats rarely result in allergic reactions.
• Sustainability: If you are very particular about using products made from natural materials then natural rubber or cork mats will be your options. However, you do have to be aware of the fact that they do not last very long and that natural rubber has a very strong smell that rarely goes away.
As you can see, you have to take a combination of factors into account when choosing a yoga mat to exercise on. While some factors are personal preferences, others offer you value for money and long term usability. However, you do have to remember that you will only be able to practice yoga properly if you have the right mat to stretch out on.
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