Your New Home Pilates Studio
Why not let us help you design and 'build' your own home pilates studio. Choosing the right pilates equipment and knowing how to prep the room is enough to see you working out from home. From a mat, to the reformer, ladder barrel or Wanda chair.
Better Space Equals Stronger Commitment
It is important to make conditions that promote sticking to a home workout program. Having a nice spot, large or small, that you enjoy will go a long way toward ensuring the success of home workout plans.
The first step is to see yourself working out at home, think about what qualities do you think the space needs to have and how often you will use it. As you visualize this home workout space, if you find yourself gravitating to a certain area in your home this may be the best place to base your workout area, it may be different from what you first imagined but the tips below should help to refine and prioritise.
Planning Your Space
It depends on your height but in general a lot of space is not needed for Pilates mat workouts, for a medium-size woman 8' x 8' can be sufficient. If you are going to add equipment to your workout, Pilates rings and exercise bands use very little space and are excellent choices for adding both a challenge and providing variety to the home workout. However, it should be noted that an exercise ball will need a place to be stored somewhere out of the way when you are not using it.
In regards to larger pieces of Pilates equipment it is important to be realistic in your planning when you are investing in the larger and therefore more expensive pieces of Pilates equipment, as they take up a lot of space. Even buying a reformer or Pilates chair that is made to be "portable," you may not want to move it as much as the manufacturer implies you will.
If you are buying a big piece make sure you can set it up and still have enough room to do your mat work, or at least move around the equipment relatively easily; the H1 Pilates home reformer measures 247cm long by 70cm wide - but can be stored upright. The majority of other equipment will be les sthan this and so easy to plan for.
Equipment to Buy
Setting Up for Motivation
The priority when setting up a home workout space is focusing on ensuring that you do actually workout; a pleasant space makes a big difference in most people's motivation levels. Many well-intentioned workout spaces have been set up in basements and garages, only to sit there unused as they tend to be too cold or too hot and strangely lit, decreasing motivation to workout due to the space association.
"Too cold" is one of the most common excuses for not using a workout space at home, to combat this you can put a space heater in a cold room, but consider whether you would be willing to workout if you have to wait half an hour for it to heat up.
If you can make a not-so-ideal space comfortable consistently, it might be worth the investment but if the answer is uncertain, think about when you are most likely to workout and choose a place that will truly be available to you at that time. The family room might seem like the obvious location but ask yourself if you would be better off creating a spot in your bedroom that is private and comfortable for you.
Our Thoughts
Exercising at home, whether a gym, mat or Pilates workout, sounds easier than it often is. However, if you schedule in workouts using a calendar or diary and ensure everyone in the house knows when you'll be busy, then this is a good statr to encouraging you to keep to a workout regime. Training with someone else is also a great way to motivate yourself - especially if it's a personal trainer or Pilates teacher - as you're paying them to help you workout!
Whichever way you manage to find to motivate yourself, working out at home can be a great way to free up time and help you workout.
