What to Have at Home That Can Help You With Sports

Sports at Home: Your Guide to Working Out in a Sports-Themed Home

Are you a sports fanatic? Do you really enjoy watching your favorite teams play? If so, then you might be wondering how best to incorporate sports into your home environment, not just as a training regime for yourself but also for ambience and decor. If you want your home to be your ultimate sports-themed sanctuary, complete with memorabilia from your favorite teams and a home workout gym, then read on.

Your Home Gym

Why spend hundreds of dollars a year on a gym membership? Except for specialized training, most people can exercise at home. With a few adjustments to your schedule, you can make working out at home easy. Some studies suggest that most people may find gym memberships to be a waste of money, as the majority of those who sign up for new gym memberships only use them for the first month or two before discontinuing their visits. This is primarily due to busy lifestyles and the inconvenience of having to drive to a separate location to work out. But at home, with a few pieces of inexpensive equipment, you can work out just as well.

Cardio

Cardio training typically does not require specialized equipment aside from good workout shoes. You can watch a variety of free workout channels on YouTube in your living room, many of which cater to beginners.

Yoga and stretching

Again, several YouTube channels will guide you through stretching and yoga routines, but you may want to buy some good gear. A high-quality yoga mat can help you avoid brush burns from the carpet, while some stretching bands and elastic can help you execute certain stretching routines.

Strength

You don’t need the variety of heavy weights at the gym for conditioning and strengthening exercises. Use a backpack filled with cans or other weights for resistance, and simply elevate your point of contact to add more resistance to your regular workout. If not, you can easily purchase a cheap set of simple weights from Walmart or Academy Sports.

Conditioning

You might miss the gym's bikes and elliptical machines, but you can still perform many conditioning exercises without them. Wall sits, planks, burpees, and jogging around your neighborhood are all acceptable conditioning routines that require minimal equipment, if any. The best part about conditioning training is that it can really be done almost anywhere and you know what they say practice makes perfect.

Sports-Themed Ambience 

What better way to get into the mood for working out than to decorate your workout room, or even your whole house, with a sports theme? Check out Pinterest and other sites for ideas on how to decorate your home with a sports motif. Frame your favorite players' jerseys and hang them on the wall, along with any sports pennants or banners from your favorite teams. In your workout room, paint the walls in your team's favorite colors and throw a football field rug on the floor.

Many professional sports teams and college teams offer online merchandise, including workout equipment such as water bottles, towels, and other exercise gear. You might also find other home items, such as bedspreads, throw pillows, kitchen accessories, and bathroom towels. If this is not available, you might consider making your own from a generic set of items and painting them with your favorite logo.

Be creative with what you have or can buy at the craft store for a generic look. Find fabric prints of team-themed logos and make some curtains, or look for some inexpensive wall art featuring your favorite team. Make useful items out of recycled sports gear, such as a baseball bat coat holder or door hanger. Recycle some lockers for bedroom storage, or find some used furniture at a garage sale and paint it in your team’s colors.

Summary 

Doctors are always saying that we, as a society, need to work out more. There are numerous ways to maintain our health and fitness while working out at home, especially when our favorite sports team decorates our walls. If you want to incorporate more sports into your home life, encourage your family to jump on board with their own workout and decoration ideas to make your home truly a sports sanctuary. Take a Saturday to surf the local garage sales for sports-themed items, or anything that might be easily repurposed. Creativity knows no bounds and, when properly applied, creates a truly unique environment that encourages staying in shape while also cheering for your favorite teams.

Written by Taylor McKnight, Author for Quantum Performance