My Home Gym
I’m a big believer that staying strong and capable after 50 doesn’t require a commercial gym packed with machines. My home gym is relatively simple. I’ve chosen equipment that supports the things I want to keep doing for years to come: build and maintain strength, improve cardiovascular fitness, walk regularly, and recover.
Here are the five main pieces of equipment I use:
Trulap 92-Pound Adjustable Dumbbells & Rack
These are the foundation of my strength training. Each adjustable dumbbell ranges from 8.5 to 92 pounds and provides a wide range of micro weight increments without requiring an entire wall of individual dumbbells. For me, that means I can perform everything from lighter isolation exercises to heavier presses, rows, squats, and carries with one compact setup.
Ironmaster Super Bench
A good adjustable bench dramatically increases what I can do with my dumbbells. The Ironmaster Super Bench adjusts from flat to incline, decline, and upright positions, with 11 different locking angles. Combined with my adjustable dumbbells, it gives me a tremendous amount of exercise variety without taking up much space.
Fringe Sport Raptor Airbike
The Raptor Airbike is my go-to piece of equipment when I want a challenging cardiovascular workout. Because resistance increases with how hard I push and pedal, I can control the intensity simply by controlling my effort. It is also belt-driven rather than chain-driven, which helps make it a low-maintenance piece of cardio equipment for a home gym.
Sole F63 Treadmill
Walking is one of the simplest forms of exercise, so I wanted a treadmill that makes it easy for me to get my walking in regardless of the weather. The Sole F63 gives me the ability to adjust both speed and incline, which makes it useful for everything from an easy walk to more demanding incline sessions. The current F63 offers speeds from 0.5 to 12 MPH.
Vital Health Two-Person Infrared Sauna
The sauna is the recovery side of my home gym. Unlike a traditional sauna that primarily heats the surrounding air, an infrared sauna uses infrared radiant heat to warm the body more directly. For me, having it right in my gym makes sauna sessions convenient and easy to incorporate into my regular routine.