For anyone passionate about fitness, the gym is more than just a room full of weights.
The gym is your home away from home. The weight room is your refuge from the daily grind of life. The squat rack is your sacred place and the bench press is your oasis. The gym is a place where a man or woman’s worth is measured by the calluses on their palms and the sweat-dripping from their skin. It’s a sanctuary of swole for people who love nothing more than earth-shaking, vein bulging lifts and booty-burning HIIT sessions.
So what do we do when the gates to our house of gains are slammed shut? Well, one option is to drown our sorrows in double chocolate thickshakes while reminiscing over old gym selfies. The other option is to get creative and follow our top five tips to bring the gym to you.
Since we’re stuck at home, we’re not going to be able to recreate every minute detail of the gym. That familiar gym fragrance of protein powder, perspiration and rusting iron. The quad raise machine that’s always broken. That one guy who keeps curling in the squat rack.
But what we can do is replicate the best and most important aspects of the gym. The sights, the sounds and the overall feeling. Everything about the gym that stirs that relentless drive within. Everything that flips the switch in your subconscious to say ‘I’m here to train hard’.
It’s hard to feel that same motivation if you’re training in your family living room underneath a Live Laugh Love portrait with a Friends rerun playing in the background. So what we need to focus on is recreating those small details we took for granted, which is why we’ve teamed up with some of our Ryderwear athletes to help you properly recreate the gym at home and get your muscle-building mojo back!
‘I think it’s all about creating a good routine and sticking to those same patterns you had before. Just because you’re at home doesn’t mean everything has to go out the window. It’s all about adapting.’ - Lauren Simpson
THE SPACE
The gym is a chaotic assault on the senses.
From the moment you hear the sound of iron clashing against iron, or the primitive grunts of that one guy hogging the smith machine, the switch is flipped.
Part of flipping that switch is having a good workout space that reflects how serious you take your training. Whether it’s the garden, garage, bedroom or living room, your home workout space has to get you into the ‘training mindset’. It has to get rid of any unwanted distractions and provoke that workout white line fever.
The first thing to do is make sure your space is tidy and clean. If your home workout area looks like the bathroom scene from Saw, the only thing it’s going to motivate you to do is take a shower. Plus, you’ll need the space to leap, lunge and sweat to your heart’s content.
The concept of the visual cue can also be beneficial for homebound bodybuilders. A visual cue is something that’s going to trigger that part of your brain responsible for focusing on owning your workout. Something simple like a yoga mat or a whiteboard with your workout routine or training goals written on it can serve as a great motivational switch. For those with limited space, even something like flipping your couch on it’s side can create that clear distinction between a space where you eat cookie dough straight from the tub and watch Crazy Stupid Love in your track pants, and a space where you crush intense home training sessions.
Here’s a few of our Ryderwear athletes training in their home workout space! Whether it’s a pink yoga mat or an indoor plant, one thing they all have in common is that visual cue that tells them it’s time for some serious training. 
THE SOUNDS
While it might feel like every gym is contractually obliged to play at least one Diplo song daily, those pulsating sounds were great for getting you in the zone when you were at the gym. That’s why putting together a killer workout playlist is essential for recreating the gym at home! It doesn’t matter if it’s Drake, heavy metal or baroque bangers from the 1700s, good music usually means good lifts, and that’s a scientific fact! (kind of). We’ve curated a playlist featuring our Ryderwear athlete’s favourite workout tunes to take your home workouts to the next level!
THE FRIENDS
The social side of the gym is rarely spoken of, yet so important. Your gym buddies aren’t just there to spot you when you’re aiming for a squat PB. They’re also motivators, inspirations and someone to discuss the most recent episode of Survivor with. They’re there sending you bleary-eyed texts at 5AM to make sure you’re still coming to the gym, and they’re a shoulder to lean on when life gets tough. Even while we’re all social distancing, your gym partners can still be there for you. One great way of bringing that gym feel to your home is FaceTiming a friend while you train. It keeps you accountable, you can chat between sets and it gives an added element of fun to your home workouts! Real friends don’t let friends skip leg day.
‘Right now is the time to not be discouraged or afraid to pick up the phone and call somebody. Everyone is going through their own situation. Reach out and talk to someone!’ - Natalie Eva Marie
THE TRAINER
If you’re used to bootcamps or working out with a personal trainer, making the transition to working out at home can leave you feeling a little lost. Bring the personal trainer to the palm of your hand with apps like PUSHH! With over a dozen detailed home workout programs followed by some of the world’s best athletes, PUSHH can take the guesswork out of your fitness regime. Whether you want to gain functional fitness with David McIntosh, stay swole with Jaco De Bruyn or tone up with Natalie Eva Marie, there’s a PUSHH program for you no matter what your training ambitions are! 
THE THREADS
While it might be tempting, working out in your coffee-stained pyjamas isn’t the most motivating outfit in your workout wardrobe. The right workout wear is essential if you want to recreate those gym vibes at home, and Ryderwear have a heap of functional, fashionable pieces that empower you to train with fearlessness and confidence. You want lightweight fabrics that flatter your physique and flaunt your finest assets. You want clothing created for lifters who still hit brutal home workouts and track their macros no matter what. You want clothing that’s going to flip that switch and motivate you to live your best life. For ladies who lift, the Collide collection is a breathtaking fusion of fitness and fashion, with compression pieces that allow you to go from working at home to working out in one outfit. For the guys who live and breathe the bodybuilding lifestyle, our high-performance Power collection is perfect for hustling through home workouts. 
While there’s nothing like the real thing, if a zucchini can become a brownie there’s no reason why your home can’t become a gym! In need of some more inspiration for your home workout routine? Get the lowdown on Gym Equipment Swaps and how to Maintain Muscle During Lockdown!
