Today, we continue on our mission to construct an environment where healthy fitness levels happen automatically. 

Your home is the little corner of this world over which you have the most control. That means that it is within your power to modify this environment so that it directly incentivizes good health. 

So, let’s build a fit home.

Location, location, location

As outlined earlier, the very best way to optimize your home for fitness is to choose a location makes it possible to do most of your travelling by human power. You can make it even better by choosing a location that is also fairly close to a bit of nature. 

I cannot emphasize the power of this measure enough. If you get it right, this by itself can be enough to ensure lifelong healthy fitness levels (and save you a huge amount of money). 

Layout

Even if you cannot tap into the power of location, there are other ways to build a fit home. The first of these is to arrange your home in a way to encourage movement and discourage stagnation. 

The obvious place to start is to make it less comfortable to waste hours stagnating in front of the TV. Don’t spend huge money on a super comfortable couch in front of a huge TV with surround sound speakers and subscriptions to all the latest binge-watching platforms. 

Rather invest in forms of entertainment that involve some movement. Something like a combined pool and ping-pong table is a good example. Another good idea is to get some standing desks for working on a PC or doing other creative tasks.

If possible, a pool or a trampoline in the back yard can also guarantee some regular motion. Another interesting alternative is a dog (although there are many things other than fitness to consider). 

Fitness equipment

As discussed last week, be careful not to waste a lot of money on fitness equipment you rarely use. Start with something cheap and upgrade proportionately to how much you find yourself using it. 

But there are some simple fitness equipment every home should have. The first is a couple of comfortable yoga mats for some convenient morning and evening motion.  

Another is a specialized gym chair with some free weights. Put this in a location where a couple of sets of light weights will easily slot into your morning routine. 

One step at a time

Rome was not built in a day. Making too many changes too soon can be quite uncomfortable and could even cause some rebellion in the family. 

So, take a gradual approach to upgrading your home for automatic fitness. Let the stagnation points gradually whither away and gradually introduce a motion point here and there. 

Over time you’ll get a fit home that is viewed as the new normal by all family members, adding several good years to all of their lives 🙂