How to Turn your Portable Warehouse into a Home Gym

In the days of overscheduling, stressful jobs and kids with a million summer activities, it’s difficult for anyone to make time for the gym or a favorite workout class. Add in that exercise and eating well remain critical to a long and healthy life and it’s a big concern!

What if the gym or a space to do aerobics, yoga or meditate was just a few steps from your front door?

With a couple easy tweaks, your Cook Portable Warehouse, can be transformed into a personal space for all of your family’s workout activities. Not to mention, the added perks of no membership fees, no commute time and the peace and quiet of your own home.

Learn how to bring the workout into your shed!

Supplies

First, grab any workout equipment taking up space in your house or attic including a treadmill, rowing machine, stationary bike, weight lifting station and more. With playrooms, home offices and growing families, space inside your house is always at a premium.

Enlist some help to move these items out to your shed. The arrangement depends on the space you have available but leave enough room to move around comfortably.

Heavy duty machines aren’t essential to have a good workout, though. Other exercise items such as free weights, kettle bells, resistance bands, stability ball, foam roller and jump ropes are also handy to have around. Create a couple shelves for your weights from scrap wood or repurpose an item not being used inside your home. Make a free step up plank with unused cinder blocks or bricks.

If you don’t have any machines, you could build your collection of equipment gradually, by adding a piece every couple of months or when it’s doable in your family’s budget.

Decorations

Waterproof vinyl or rubber interlocking tiles can be purchased at any home improvement store and installed easily for a gym style surface. To save money, just use mats to cover the areas that will be used for yoga and aerobics.

Chalk or dry erase boards are easy to hang and provide a way to keep up with a weekly workout schedule and plan. Adding hanging mirrors will also give you the feel of being in a real gym.

Paint

Think about painting the interior or just one accent wall to energize the space. Bright orange or electric green will add some pizzazz and make it easier to complete any strenuous activity.

Any shade of blue cools down the space and extends your workout. Light yellow adds light and sunshine into darker rooms.

You could stencil an uplifting word or phrase on the wall to keep yourself motivated through those long workouts. Anything that gives you that extra boost of confidence can be incorporated into your décor.

Other Touches

If painting the entire inside is too much, print off some inspiration quotes, frame with scrapbook paper and hang in assorted frames.

Repurpose bins or crates for towels, clothes, books and other workout supplies. Label each one for a member of your family to avoid confusion.

Don’t forget a cooler for water and other sports beverages and a fan to keep cool in the summer. Also ample lighting is important so have several lamps on hand especially if you plan to exercise at night. Bring your laptop to play free exercise videos on YouTube or your favorite workout tunes!

Start setting up your home gym today! A Cook shed provides a blank canvas of space that can fit most any need.