When you decided to downsize in a big way and move into a tiny house, did you plan for a workout space? Regular exercise is critical to living a happy, healthy life. Carving out a workout space within your tiny home is a priority often missed by owners. Don’t worry — it doesn’t have to be complicated or involve any big changes.
Some people build tiny houses to save money. Perhaps you chose to spend some on a gym membership. But if your tiny home moves around and you don’t stay in one place, that option may not make sense for you. Plus, depending on how well-maintained and managed a gym is, you may be at risk of injuring yourself. If you live in the Northeast, where winters can be harsh, outdoor exercise can be challenging as well.
These are some great reasons why you should make sure your tiny house has space for regular exercise and healthy workouts.
Workouts in the Comfort of Your Own Tiny Home
Workouts are not one-size-fits-all. You don’t have to kill yourself on the treadmill or exercise with weights every day to stay healthy. In fact, experts suggest introducing variety into your workouts for an overall positive health benefit.
The reason that variety is critical is that too much cardio without any muscle building can lead to muscle loss. Too much resistance and strength training without the cardio doesn’t help your cardiovascular system. You need a balanced approach to workouts to feel your best. A blended workout of cardio with weight lifting is a solid approach. Breaking that up with stretching is the trifecta of perfect balance.
A tiny house affords you the luxury of variety. You can have designated spaces but also use the exterior structure for resistance and rope workouts. There are so many options for exercise inside your tiny house. Some tiny house owners even design a climbing wall into their home for a combination of adventure and activity.
You can store small weights easily inside seats of chairs. Interior and exterior ladders on a tiny house also provide a great way to get cardio and strength training exercise. At the very least, you should have room to perform some basic calisthenics to stretch your muscles. You can also do ab workouts wherever there is enough room to sit on the floor. Resistance bands can be looped through nearly anything to provide a bit of tension for a great workout also.
Repurpose Your Space for a Variety of Workouts
Minimalism is an ongoing lifestyle choice. Downsizing to a tiny home is a great start, but have you taken time recently to declutter your life? Reassess the value you find in each of your possessions in order to make more room for exercise in your home. Once you’ve taken the time to ensure you’ve removed clutter from your life, you’ll may want to find ways to repurpose space in your home for additional room.
Think outside the box and find ways to repurpose areas that are only designed for a single use. For instance, consider your sleeping area. Along with regular exercise, you need a good night’s sleep to stay fit and healthy. Instead of designing your bedroom just for rest, however, consider a Murphy or sofa bed, which provides a perfect workout space when hidden. This allows you to use this space to its full potential.
You don’t need much space to practice high-intensity interval training with jumping jacks or running in place. You can also fit a yoga mat just about anywhere for a zen workout. Using ladders or installed grab bars, you can do squats and lunges to get a great lower-body workout.
If all else fails and you cannot figure out how to workout inside your tiny house, you can always clean. Cleaning works up quite a sweat and burns a good number of calories. Plus your space will be sparkling and new when you are done!
Tiny House Life = Community Exercise
With the tiny house trend becoming very popular, tiny house communities are cropping up all over. When you live close to others, you get to know them pretty well. Tiny house communities tend to be close-knit and friendly.
Consider forming a running group or mountain climbing hike. You can even start a sports regimen where you all get together on a specific day to play baseball or volleyball. Group sports are a great way to get your workout in and have some fun while doing it. Tiny house owners spend a lot of time outside which presents the perfect opportunity for walking, running, biking and hiking, all good exercise choices.
Tiny house communities are all about family and social interaction. Plan a communal dance party that gets your heart racing and your limbs moving. Even a potato sack race will give you an excellent heart-pumping workout and some laughs along the way.
Another benefit of being a member of the tiny house community is that there are dozens of resources online you can turn to for help. There are even blogs and forums devoted to tiny house fitness where you can find tips and instructions on how to fit workouts into your tiny house lifestyle.
Tiny houses benefit your life and the environment in impactful ways. You should not feel limited in any way when thinking about your workout. Getting regular exercise when living in a tiny house is easy, and there are so many creative options.
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