[cynnymynn]

Not sure if this is the right area to post this--apologies if I goofed!

One of my pet excuses for not exercising regularly is not having enough room, so that I end up having to drag stuff out, move furniture around, etc. etc. (I know, LAME excuse, but I'll grab at anything when I'm feeling lazy!) So I've been graduall migrating exercise stuff down to the basement, with the goal of setting up an exercise area.

We have an older house, with the kind of basement you'll find in an older home--low ceilings, bad lighting, little tiny windows, concrete floor. Cinder block walls. Has anyone else created an exercise area in a similar area? Any suggestions?

[jaxjob]

We have an exercise area in the basement, in an older home (1959) also. The ceilings are low, less than 7' - so I can't do step. I have a video I like to use where you do shoulder presses on a step - I just don't do the step part. You probably can't fit in a home gym, but free weights work fine. Until my treadmill broke, I used that down there, and we have a recumbant exercise bike (which I hate, but will use since we have it!). We also have a weight bench that doubles as a TV watching bench for the kids when they are down there. I have our older TV and a DVD player for exercise movies.

For the floor we covered the concrete with "Delta floor" - it's a plastic which looks like mini-egg crates and keeps the floor warm and keeps damp out - or so they say, has done so to date. On top of that is a layer of plywood and then a lino-like material called fibre floor. When I do lying down exercises it's too hard, so I use a yoga mat - although I'd like to get a thicker one someday. For now I use the yoga mat at double thickness. The exercise equipment is on equipment mats to avoid denting the lino. I bought weights that have rubber edges for a similar reason.

For lights, we still have the original ceiling spots. I'd like to change them for pot lights - so I don't have to worry about hitting them, but that hasn't happened yet. Our windows are small, but it's also cool down there, so that hasn't bothered me. You can use brighter bulbs if there aren't many lights - we use compact fluorescents and they're perfectly adequate. It's not as bright as a commercial gym but it's great for me.

We don't have cinderblock walls, but if you can paint them - use a light colour so it will be brighter down there. We have concrete with panelling over the top, but are planning to eventually frame a sub-wall inside so we can put more electrical outlets in. I may put in a couple of mirrors to check for form, but that's a ways away.

Hope this helps,
Jax

[almostheaven]

If you're going to paint cinderblock walls, you should use the water repelling paint for basements. It's a basic white, and is supposed to keep moisture from seeping through the concrete. That will not only help with the moisture, and protect the equipment, but also protect the structure.

[Idealmuse]

Our basement is still pretty dark and dirty like you describe but we are going to be fixing it up. I think we only have about 7 feet head clearnce too but it's surprising what you can do with that. I'm 5'5 and can do step aerobics and rebounding (mini-trampoline) without bumping.

What I'd done in the meantime is get those puzzle matts to throw down on the floor. For Concrete you're better off with the thicker ones and not the thin ones you see at Target etc. I found mine on Ebay.

I hung lights in my studio which is behind the exercise area. We're eventually going to out in recessed lighting and re-drywall the ceiling, but the hanging florescents work until we can save the cash.

I agree if your going to paint research the proper paints / sealants for blocking out water. Something like Drylok might need to go down before the paint.

I think the key is if you can't afford to fix it up properly no reason you can do just enough to make it useable in the meantime.