I wanted to get the home gym going as soon as possible, but it is currently a mountain of cardboard. I want to keep the paper moving on it though otherwise I could see it being in a 5% state for forever.
It took me a bit of time to draw a plan and figure out that 6 4’x6’ horse stall mats can be a 12×12 square. Yes, it probably shouldn’t have taken me like 20 minutes of sketching to figure that out.
Anyway, then I’ll just need 4 sheets of 4’x8’ plywood to set the plywood up properly and there will still be an un-wooded corner. I can live with that, at least in the short term.
I’m hoping all the posts from this week will provide a nice “before” set of things as I write about this garage gym build and eventually make a series of overwhelmingly popular videos.
In the meantime, I’ve been working out with kettlebells either outside or in the garage. My portable courage corner.
I’ve been enjoying the AM outdoor workouts more than I expected. I put the stall mats out on our patio to air out the rubber tire shop smell, but now I’m considering keeping a couple out there all the time to keep outdoor workouts in the regular routine.
I’m trying to emphasize getting the workouts in even when the conditions aren’t perfect. And now I’m starting to see that I definitely don’t need a garage gym with a power rack and other equipment. It’ll be nice and I’m still planning on doing it.
But these workouts have been great and are reminding me of why I was so interested in kettlebells a few years ago. I just feel better when I’m working with kettlebells regularly.
From “Simple & Sinister”:
Another vital reason to keep the rep count low, per set and per training session, is to leave enough energy for other things—practicing sport skills, being ready to fulfill your duty on the battlefield or just enjoying your day and not dragging your tail through it.
Get the reps in. After years of using (or, not using) pull-up bars that hang on door hinges, I’ve finally ordered one that requires an actual drill to install. My days of searching Amazon with “no drill required” are over.
Once I mount that thing in the office, I’ll have a pretty good grease-the-groove setup: pull-ups on the bar, walking on the treadmill, and enough open space in the office to do some bodyweight or kettlebell work.
When I want to go heavy, I’ll have to walk over through the kitchen into the garage.
Can’t wait.