Making the jump to mainly working out at home? Advice needed!

[LizN]

Hello again girls,

Here I am asking another question - would love to hear some experiences from you.

I am a real gym rat who has been working out for 15 years in the gym. I also teach classes. Late last year, I moved house, got glandular fever and have moved to an area where the gym is over half an hour away. Having been so sick with glandular fever, the whole driving there, unloading children from the car, limited childcare and the like is starting to drive me crazy. I'm exhausted. I have decided to take a year off teaching classes until I'm feeling fit and well again, so I have no obligations there.

I have been seriously considering working out exclusively at home and was looking for some shared experiences. My main issues are space (our living room is little!) and the thought of DH watching me doesn't appeal. Also, I'm wondering if the other instructors here noticed a drop off in fitness if they are exclusively working out at home.

The tapes I have are most of the Intensity Series, The Bodyblasts and I have preordered the Hardcore Series. I have a STep (no high step though), ball, mat, TV, DVD.VCR, dumbbells. Would a barbell be useful as well? Could I make a decent rotation out of these tapes and supplement them with spinning/swimming/running outside
What about a rubber mat on the carpet to absorb impact/prevent slipping? How do you store everything - any suggestions to make sure the living area doesn't look like a gym?(DH would kill me1)


Anyway, I would love to hear what other's experiences have been and any advice you can give me would be terrific. I'm a bit frightened to leave my comfort zone of the gym, any reassurance would be appreciated!

Thanks,
Liz N

 

[DebbieH]

RE: Making the jump to mainly working out at home? Advi...

Hi Liz! I'm sorry to hear that you have had such a rough year. I absolutely believe that you will NOT see a drop off in your fitness level if you workout to Cathe. The swimming/jogging/spinning will complement her workouts nicely too. Just between you & me, (& about a few thousand others here) I have been tempted at times to quit teaching just so I could do Cathe exclusively. I LOVE to teach but there are days I think, whew, it's a lot of work. (Meaning the paperwork, the choreo, the business part of it.) Then, I go teach a class and say, "This is why I do it!" :7 Sometimes I wish I could do full rotations on a regular basis, but can't due to classes. I don't think I am helping you much but truly feel if anyone can keep you in tip-top shape, it's Cathe. I think a barbell is sooo usefull and will definitely hit your muscles differently then dumbbells. Also, the High Step is a great piece and so versatile too. (Maybe you can save some $'s by not having to drive an hour back & forth to the gym???) I'm not sure about the mat over carpet? Are you on concrete?? Do you have a basement underneath? Also, if you do have a bsaement, would that be an option to make yourself a workout room? Just an idea! Good Luck and give it a try for awhile. You can always go back to the gym. Hopefully, someone else can pop in and help with a rotation. I hope you are on your way to feeling well. Take care!

Your-Friend-In-Fitness, DebbieH http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/wavey.gif[/img] If You Get The Choice To Sit It Out Or Dance...I Hope You DANCE!!!

 

[LizN]

RE: Making the jump to mainly working out at home? Advi...

Thanks Debbie,

Unfortunately I don't have a basement and we have carpet over concrete - I'm wondering if those "puzzle mats" are what is needed etc etc. I think I will look into saving for the High Step, the cost to ship it to Australia though I think is huge!

If anyone can suggest a rotation, I would be grateful!
Thanks for your reply - it is nice to get another instructors feedback.

cheers
Liz N

 

[Aquajock]

Hi, Liz N! Another instructor weighing in here . . .

Although I would really never want to contemplate not instructing my 2 aqua classes per week, I must say that I absolutely adore my home-based workouts, and I do both cardio AND all of my strength training at home, never at the gym. Thus IMHO the gym is never the be all and end all of a fitness program.

A few comments:

A barbell would indeed be useful. The question arises often as to whether you can effectively substitute a dumbbell for barbell exercises; IMHO the answer is sometimes yes, sometimes no especially for leg work, where the legs, back and shoulders can take an awful lot more weight than the hands can handle.

You can make a myriad different rotations with the tapes you already have, based on what your goals are, and you can also insert a gym day for spin or swimming (great low-impact variations to the impact-oriented cardio) as your schedule permits.

I think your instincts are sound to give yourself a year off from instructing so that you can reinvent your own program; you'll come back to instructing fresher physically and mentally.

A-Jock

 

[lorihart]

HI Liz,
I agree with Debbie, of course Not that I have ever taught classes OR went to a gym for that matter but I know that I am in better shape then the people I know that go to gyms.As long as you have the weights that cathe uses is her videos, you should be o.k.
1.Trust me your hubby won't sit and watch.I use to workout in our basement apt,in the kitchen,b/c the living room was to small.My hubby (boyfriend at the time) use to leave the house and do whatever he had to do.
2.You won't need a rubber mat unless you don't have rubber on the bottom of your step.My step is a little older and it as little slip resist things on the bottom.(not sure what they are called)
3.If you don't have a basement or your equipment can't slip in under the bed or couch,arrange your living room furniture so that you have a little corner to put everything.And it can be neatly stored.
You can make a good rotation with those videos but I would suggest getting some more workouts.Why don't you ask for the CTX series for christmas? You could probably do one workout in the morning before anyone is up and go for a little run outside later in the day.
You could also check out some interval runs as well.That will keep your endurance up.
Good Luck! I would be nervous to if I were making the transition for house to gym!
Lori

 

[Stacy]

When I used my living room as my workout area, I had a cool looking trunk that I used as a coffee table, and of course stored in the trunk was all my workout gear. My barbell rolled neatly under the couch and my step I just kept in the coat closet. I dont think you'd need any special mats either unless your step slips. I workout on carpet that is over concrete and dont have a problem. However I do have a step platform that doesnt have any slip-resistant stuff on the bottom of it. I just went to the hardware store and bought some weather stripping which comes with a sticky side so I just applied it to the bottom edges of my step all around and it works great! Plus weather stripping is cheap and no storage required!

 

[Pellmel]

I'm not a teacher, but I have been working out at home successfully for 10 years. My number one rules is:

Once a tape/DVD starts it does not come out until it is over. If I am rotating, I write it down and stick to the plan. No switching because "I'm not all there today". About 2 years ago I started fading/getting bored and that was my biggest problem - switching tapes and pausing to make a quick phone call or do a quick task. Coincidence - that is when I started Cathe and she was killing me!

Goog luck and hope this helps!
Melissa

 

[LizN]

Thank you very much for the input - I hadn't thought of a chest/coffee table that doubles as workout storage space - thank you! And your post about being in better shape Lori was really inspiring. And I will check out the ctx series sometime.

A-Jock- I've rather been enjoying my year off - I have been teaching for 18 years so a holiday was long overdue!

Thanks
Liz N