Build your home, build your stamina

No, it’s no longer an excuse that you don’t have time to go to the gym, or that you find fitness classes and memberships a tad too expensive for your budget.

Today, you can easily build your stamina, even in the comfort of your own home. Whether you live in a cramped studio unit or you have the luxury of space in a garden and an extra room, you can easily create your own home gym—you just need to know how to work with whatever space you have.

It’s possible to elevate your wellness experience without pouring all your hard earned savings in it. Here’s how.

Find your nook

Find a specific area where you can freely do your exercises. It can just be a corner in your unit, an extra room in the house, your garden or even the garage. The size of that space will help you identify what kind of equipment or accessories you will need and exercises you can do.

A number of websites recommend stocking this area with towels, speakers or even a TV where you can watch your fave show while you break a sweat.

Get the basics

If you have limited space, you can easily make do with the basics: a yoga mat, kettlebell, barbell or dumbbell, stability ball, resistance bands or a jump rope. If you have enough room, you may want to invest in a punch bag, a stationary bike, or even a treadmill. You may want to throw in a full length mirror which you can place in front of you while you work out—this serves as motivation for others.

Plan your exercise regimen

What’s good is that you can easily find helpful websites that will draw up your exercise regimen for you given the equipment and accessories you have. Just make sure you don’t concentrate on a few areas—it has to be a full body workout from cardio, core strength to muscle toning, if you truly want to achieve a healthy bod.

Since you’ll be doing this by yourself, it means no one will be there to correct your stance or workout. So it’s best to research your regimen thoroughly: scour the websites and watch fitness videos. Keep learning as there will always be new trends to try.

Plan a day out

Although the point of having a home gym is to not leave the comfort of your home for that grueling work out, it would be best if you plan a day out. Run around your neighborhood (just make sure it’s safe); exercise with friends and neighbors; if you’re feeling extra social, invest in a class or two; or, if you’re ready and feeling a bit competitive, join games and marathons to test your limits.

For instance, you can enroll in some yoga or pilates classes at the Medicard Lifestyle Center in Makati as health maintenance organization Medicard Philippines recognizes the need for a more holistic approach to health and wellness. Its lifestyle centers, for instance, are not only for your regular consultations and outpatient operations. These also have a fitness facility, skin and body clinic, and a natural rejuvenation clinic.

On April, Medicard will be hosting the MediCard Metafit Cebu, the country’s longest running fitness boot camp.

Supremo Obstacle Challenge

This May, Medicard Philippines is hosting the MediCard Supremo Obstacle Challenge, where you can discover how you can push yourself beyond limits. Participants will need to pass obstacle course challenges during the conditioning sessions to be held at the Ayala Triangle, Centris, and Festival Mall Alabang before they can join the culminating activity on May 31 at the Glorietta Activity Center.

MediCard Supremo Obstacle Challenge will surely be the ultimate test to all that hard work you’ve been putting in towards achieving a healthier body.