So I'd been working out in the living room with Mike the Trainer Guy for some time now and I was sick of all the exercise stuff being out there in the room. Kevin and I cleared some space in our most un-lovely basement for a workout area. I got some of those thick, interlocking mats they use in martial arts classes (perhaps I unconsciously expect to land on the floor often) and we put them in that space.
Ignore that pile of kindling in the right foreground. Kev cut the pieces to fit around the a/c thing. Edison performed the QC inspection. Miles and Lizzie also slunk into the basement while we were moving stuff down there. They never get to go into the basement bc there's all kinds of dirty nooks and crannies and we don't want them getting tangled up in all the junk that's down there. But they got to explore for a short while and,from all accounts, a good time was had by all.
So now everything's down there except the treadmill which is still on the third floor. It's big, bulky and heavy enough that I don't know when -- if --that sucker will make its way to the basement.
There's lighting in the basement, of course, but there isn't any directly over that area. There's some just outside of the area. Right now, I'm using one of those lights you temporarily hang when you're working on the house, e.g., we used it this weekend while painting the inside of a dark closet. Mike suggested getting more lighting and I might arrange for something to centrally light the area, but I gotta admit that I kinda like it not too bright. I don't really want it to be as bright as, say, an office or bathroom.
Some people advised against using the basement for a workout area bc it is an old basement and it only has those high, tiny windows for natural light. But again, I have to admit that I kinda like the dungeon feel. I enjoy feeling like I'm withdrawing from the rest of the world when I go down there to do my thing. No phone, no TV, no email, no doorbell, no nothing.
No one can hear me scream down there.
I am considering putting an old TV and DVD player down there. There are DVDs I'd like to watch and I'd be happy having them in the background while I work out down there. E.g., I just took out a DVD lecture series on cosmology. I've had it out before and watched some of it with my butt firmly planted in The Comfy Chair, but I'd be happy to have it on while stretching, doing sit-ups, reps, etc. Until I do put a TV and player down there, I can always watch it while on the treadmill.
Making this area was a good investment of time, space and money. The stuff's always set up, i.e., I don't have to push the living room furniture out of the way anymore, so I can just noodle down there and do whatever I want...whether it's a whole hour of activity or short snatches of activity. Just writing about it makes me want to go right back down there!
You don't see it here, but I did decorate the walls with big pictures of tuxedo cats from last year's wall calendar. That actually made quite a difference; it made the space less drab and much more welcoming. All in all, a good move.
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