Turning my balcony into a home gym

I have been training at my community gym for more than a year now. In late-November it closed for renovations.

The timing was not ideal because it is usually around this time that I trade in my trail shoes for dumbbells. I work on all those things that I have neglected or scaled down on in the year.

Do I join a new gym? Bulk up for the winter while I wait for the gym to re-open? I decided to set up a home gym balcony style. Yes I am two-years behind in setting up a home gym, which was all the rage during COVID.

I had a few light weights kicking around, some resistance bands, a 10 kg kettlebell and a yoga block. The first thing I did was buy a plyo box. I figured if I wanted to consistently do at home workouts, I had to get equipment that I knew I would enjoy. I used to love box jumps when I did CrossFit. (I have a huge scar on my right shin to prove it.)

Next up I bought a weight bench (on sale at Canadian Tire) and 25-lb dumbbells to go along with my 5/8/10-lb weights. I would love to have a few more sets of dumbbells but they are crazy expensive. Lastly I bought a 15 lb-slam ball (like a medicine ball but it’s more grippy).

I loved going to the gym but now I am really enjoying workout at home. I love the flexibility and the 24/7 opening hours. So convenient.

What does my home gym workout look like?

I’ve been experimenting with splits (shoulders, back, chest, legs, core etc) – it is so easy to workout every day but I know it’s not something I will do long term especially in the summer when I will be in the mountains as much as I can.

I usually stop training legs in the spring and summer but I don’t want to do that anymore. I have been doing mobility work for the last six weeks and I think it has already made a difference. I bought Sally Mccrae’s strength app on Playbook. I am experimenting with it as well. With the app, I get access to more than 50,000 workouts, 5,000+ programs and 1,000+ creators (according to Playbook). It’s a bit overwhelming but I plan to follow Sally’s 50K training plan as much as I can.

Strength training is SO important at any age. I am looking forward to getting back to all functional body weight training too.

Right now I am doing yoga, core and mobility every single day while I figure out my training split. I have dialled down my running significantly in recent months. I am feeling good. I am looking forward to start training again in January.

Do you train at home or at a commercial gym? What do you prefer? I would love to hear from you in the comments below.