Training in cold garage

[DrSweden]

For fitness I do running and weight training. I have been a member to a gym ever since I started out at age 16 (I am 30 today). My current gym membership expires by june this year. I have som equipment in my garage and my plan is to use it instead. So for the next month I will train at my garage and evaluate. Today it was 2 degrees celsius (36 F) in there.

I did
Turkish get up
Kettlebell swing
Kettlebell press
Pull ups (olympic rings)
Fronlever
Backlever
Push ups
Bicepscurl with barbell

I started out with a hat on but I could soon remove it. It felt great. So nice to have the gym 3 meters away and for free. Has anyone else started working out at home instead?

[Monkey Uncle]

I cut my own firewood - never felt the need to work out for the sake of working out.

[LiveLean]

I've used a room in the house off and on over the years. But I found I'd rather pay the $33/month for the gym membership (that I use 12-15 times a month) rather than keep a bunch of weights and other equipment around. I figure I'm spending $2 to $3 per gym visit and this is a large national chain that I use when I travel, both for training and even for the quick shower.

I'm all for working out in the great outdoors and using bodyweight exercises or a TRX slung over a tree. But I don't always buy into the notion that a gym membership is a frivolous expense. Negotiate down to where it's affordable and it can be a tremendous value.

[Murdoch]

Drsweden,
I live in a warm climate, however I love being uber warm whilst exercising and have always hated paying gym membership.
A small area with a set of rings, mixed with a good bodyweight program, and I'm set for all the exercise I could want or need.
When I've been to colder regions in winter, putting on thick clothing and keeping it on even when things heat up is a great way to make you feel like you are working hard.

Murdoch

[jzb11]

I was working out at home (p90x). I really loved the fact that I could wakeup, hit the basement, and start working out instantly. Instead of having to spend 20 minutes or more round trip in the car. 

Eventually my goals changed and I wasn't willing to purchase the equipment I would need.

I am living overseas and pay a ridiculous amount for my gym right now, about $160 usd a month :(

[DrSweden]

For me the feeling of being close to the gym is great. I can put my son to bed and be at the gym in 2 minutes and back in again if I am needed.   I also love the feeling of being able to train with what I have in my house.

Right now I am on a business trip and working out in the hotel at the gym. It is pure luxury with heated gym and spa.

[Retired To Win]

For fitness I do running and weight training. I have been a member to a gym ever since I started out at age 16 (I am 30 today). My current gym membership expires by june this year. I have som equipment in my garage and my plan is to use it instead. So for the next month I will train at my garage and evaluate. Today it was 2 degrees celsius (36 F) in there...

My gym equipment is in my cold basement, and my tool workshop is in my cold garage.  My solution in both cases is a parabolic heater.  I can aim it so that all the heat is directed at me without having to heat the whole place.  And, as I move about around my workbench, I can just adjust the aim on the heater.

These heaters cost no more than $30, so it's not a big splurge either.

Good luck with your workouts.

[enigmaT120]

I cut my own firewood - never felt the need to work out for the sake of working out.

I do that, but I only burn about 5 cords per year.  Falling, limbing, and yarding the trees is a good workout, as is splitting the ones I need to split.  But I'm always done with the next winter's wood before the end of the summer, then I have to do something else for the next 8 months.  Also I still have a job so I'm not home in the daytime most of the year.  Sundays are my days to work in the woods.

The rest of the time I bike (commute or fun), run, and soloflex.  The problem with a Soloflex in my unheated garage is that the resistance comes from big rubber bands rather than weight, so when it's cold the resistance goes up.  I could store the bands in the house, but instead I just adapt how many I put on to the temperature.  It's not precise but it keeps me strong enough that I don't hurt myself when I do get to work in the woods.  I never  have a problem with getting cold myself, as I warm up after the first set.

[I'm a red panda]

These heaters cost no more than $30, so it's not a big splurge either.

Do you have a brand you recommend?  My husband doesn't do woodworking in the winter because our garage is too cold.  Many of our neighbors have garage heaters, but our garage isn't plumbed for gas, so it would be expensive to install one (in addition to buying a heater).  Our tiny space heater isn't working well enough, it is too big of a space.

[Syonyk]

I don't work out in my garage because it's full of motorcycles, bicycles, shipping supplies for my side gig, and is rather small to start with. :)  I'm happy to to have a walkway through it.

Regarding heating garages, though, the kerosene torpedo heaters are great (assuming you can get kerosene locally at a reasonable price).  They burn a gallon an hour or so (so maybe $3-$4/hr), and will heat up a very cold garage in a hurry.  I was parting out a car in Iowa, and that thing running firing into an uninsulated garage could get it up to a workable temperature in half an hour, and even warm the car up enough that I wasn't freezing my fingers to the frame.

I've just got a little wick style heater now, but it works fine for my much smaller garage in a warmer climate.

You don't need a gas line to heat the garage - kerosene heaters work fine.  Or propane, though the bigger tanks can be a bit of a pain to haul around, and don't work well below about -40.

[MrFrugalChicago]

Nice!

I took up winter running a few years ago (vs treadmills). If you dress well, you can usually run down to 0F pretty comfortably. Biggest problem can be unplowed roads and sidewalks, have to live in a  place with decent plowage.

My weights are in my giant basement, but garage is not bad either.

[YK-Phil]

I started a high intensity workout (Prime Mover about 15 months ago) and I never looked back. I can do the workout practically anywhere, including in my office after everybody leaves. I rarely miss a day except when I do a double-shift and in that case, I replace the workout with 40 sets of 10 pushups throughout the day. Add to that a 30-minute bike ride in the morning and the same after work, even when the temperature goes down to -44 C like this past week, and at 56, I never felt in better shape in my whole life.

[DrSweden]

training in the garage during summer is nice. Sometimes even to hot but then I just go outside. I have started the Rite of passage from Enter the kettlebell by Pavel Tsatsouline. Did it a coupld of years ago and it really did wonders with my press and snatch ability. Have anyone else tried that program?