Lifestyle

How to Create Your Own Home Workout Studio

Published

4 years ago

September 7, 2021

Regular exercisers typically love the outdoors, whether they run, bike, or simply walk outside – but the weather isn’t always conducive to exercise. Your local gym offers a perfect indoor workout area, but membership fees can be expensive, crowds can be annoying, and on top of that, it might take 10 minutes or longer just to get there.

That’s why so many people are turning inward, looking to create a home workout studio where they can exercise in privacy and comfort. But how can you go about this?

The Location

First, you’ll need to think about the location for your workout studio. Technically, any room in your living space can work, but some rooms will be closer to the ideal than others.

Consider:

Vertical space. Certain exercises are going to require an abundance of vertical space, especially if you’re already tall. Standing on a treadmill or an elliptical machine shouldn’t introduce the risk of hitting your head on the ceiling. You may also need enough room to do standing overhead presses or jumping jacks.
Horizontal space. You’ll also need to plan for horizontal space. Depending on the exercises you’re doing, you might want space to walk around – or enough space to include many pieces of equipment.
Proximity to others. Where is your target room placed in proximity to others? Depending on your objectives, you may want a room that affords you more privacy, or one where your noise won’t bother the other occupants of your household.
Unique features. Miscellaneous other room features also come into play. For example, you may want a window if you like natural light – or you may not want any windows, so you can feel a better sense of privacy.

The Floor

Next, you’ll need to think about the floor. The ideal floor for a workout space will be soft, cushioning your body if you’re doing floor exercises. It will also serve as a shock absorber, reducing the strain on your joints while simultaneously protecting the structures underneath. Of course, you’ll also want to look for something inexpensive, so you don’t spend your entire budget on the floor.

Exercise room flooring is designed to give you the best of all possible worlds. It’s affordable, cushiony, easy to install, and perfect for protecting your floors (and in some cases, your body).

The Equipment

Once you have the right flooring installed, you’ll be able to focus more on the equipment. For the most part, you’ll want to invest in the best quality equipment you can afford; cheap equipment may wear out faster, or may be unsafe, making the money you save in the transaction not worth it.

There are many options, including:

Cardio machines. Various machines exist to help you get a cardiovascular workout. These include things like treadmills, elliptical machines, stationary bikes, and even rowing machines. One is typically ample to give you a good start, but multiple options can also be valuable to keep your workouts feeling fresh.
Dumbbells and barbells. Dumbbells and barbells. Dumbbells and barbells are versatile, especially if you get an adjustable set of dumbbells, allowing you to lift weight and add resistance to various calisthenic exercises. You can get the hex dumbbells set with rack, this equipment can help your overall workout routine.
Cable machines. If you have the budget for it, a cable-based weight machine can also be valuable, helping you do exercises you can’t do with free weights alone.
Miscellaneous extras. There are dozens of extras to consider as well, including benches, pullup bars, kettlebells, inflatable exercise balls, and specialized equipment for different workout routines.

When you’re buying equipment, these tips can help you plan your home gym more effectively:

Set a budget in advance. Figure out how much money you’re willing to spend without impacting your long-term financial health. Once you have this figure, you’ll be in a much better position to set priorities.
Understand your personal priorities. What do you want to achieve when working out? If you know you want to focus on building muscle, for example, weights are going to be more important than cardio equipment.
Consider buying used. You can often get high-quality machinery and equipment for a reasonable price if you buy used. Just be sure to test the equipment for any flaws or defects before you commit to a purchase.

Leaving Room for Expansion

Few among us can buy and assemble a perfect home workout studio from the outset. Over time, your workout priorities might change. Your old equipment might break down. You might have more money to spend. Or there might be new types of equipment you want to include.

Because of this, it’s important to leave room for expansion. Keep an open mind about your next acquisitions, and leave some space in your workout room for a new piece of equipment to come in the future.

Lifestyle

When Seasons Shift: Dr. Leeshe Grimes on Grief, Loneliness, and Finding Light Again

Published

13 hours ago

February 22, 2026

Michelle Langton

Some emotional storms arrive without warning. A sudden change in weather, a holiday approaching, or even a bright sunny day can stir feelings that don’t match the world outside. For many people, the hardest seasons are not defined by temperature; they are defined by what’s happening inside, where grief and loneliness often move quietly.

This is the emotional terrain where Dr. Leeshe Grimes has spent her career doing some of her most meaningful work. As a psychotherapist, registered play therapist, retired U.S. Army combat veteran, and founder of Elevated Minds in the DMV area, she understands how deeply seasonal shifts and unresolved grief can affect people. Her upcoming books explore this very space, guiding readers through the emotional weight that can appear during different times of the year.

What sets Dr. Grimes apart is her ability to see clearly what many people overlook. Seasonal depression, for example, is usually tied to winter months. But she often sees it appear during warm, bright seasons, the times when the world seems happiest. For someone already grieving or feeling disconnected, watching others travel, celebrate, or gather can create its own kind of heaviness. Sunshine doesn’t always lift the mood; sometimes it highlights what feels missing.

The same misunderstanding surrounds grief. Society often treats it as a short-term experience with predictable phases and a clean ending. But in her practice, Dr. Grimes sees how grief keeps evolving. It doesn’t disappear on a timeline. It weaves itself into routines, memories, and milestones. People learn to carry it differently, but they rarely leave it behind completely. And that’s not failure, it’s human.

Her approach to mental health centers on truth rather than pressure. She encourages clients to acknowledge the emotions they try to hide: sadness that lingers longer than expected, moments of joy that feel out of place, and the waves of loneliness that return even when life seems stable. Instead of pushing for quick recovery, she focuses on helping people understand how emotions shift and how to care for themselves through those changes.

Much of her insight comes from her military years, where she witnessed the emotional toll of loss, transition, and constant survival. She saw how people continued functioning while carrying pain that had nowhere to go. That experience shaped her belief that healing requires space, space to feel, to speak, and to move through emotions without judgment.

In her clinical work today at Elevated Minds, she encourages people to build small, steady habits that anchor them during difficult seasons. Journaling helps them recognize patterns and name what feels heavy. Community support breaks the cycle of isolation. Therapy creates a place where emotions don’t have to be minimized or explained away. And intentional routines, daily sunlight, mindful breaks, and calm evenings help rebuild emotional balance.

Her upcoming books expand on these ideas, offering practical guidance for navigating both grief and seasonal depression. She focuses on helping readers understand that healing is not about escaping pain. It’s about learning how to live with it in a healthier way, honoring memories, acknowledging loneliness, and still allowing room for moments of light.

What makes Dr. Leeshe Grimes a compelling voice in mental health is her ability to bring language to experiences that many struggle to explain. She reminds people that emotional seasons don’t always match the weather and that there is no single path through grief. But within those shifts, she believes there is always a way forward.

The seasons will continue to change. And with the right tools, compassion, and support, people can change with them, finding steadiness, softness, and light again, one step at a time.