People, I’m living the dream. Well, or the nightmare, but luckily I don’t see it that way. I am confronted daily with my good intentions and it really works very well for me, I’ve found out, even though I live in a small Amsterdam apartment and can literally trip over those good intentions. What are they? Getting fit. Exercising more. The usual, which will sound familiar to many. And yes, I know: the gyms are open again, but I still find exercising a few times a week (even if it’s just half an hour) at home so nice. I notice that the threshold to actually go to the gym is sometimes quite high for me.

How did I tackle that? Very simple: by searching the internet for sports articles that suit me. I ended up at Decathlon, where I succumbed to the exercise bike. When it arrived, I thought for a moment: oh god, what have I done now… But it was very simple to assemble and took up much less space than I thought. Why this exercise bike? As you may have noticed, I watch quite a bit (understatement of the year) of Netflix and now I force myself to sit on the exercise bike for at least half an hour a day while watching TV. Seriously, this is really the invention of the year for me.

In addition, I am now boxing twice a week and I’ve found out that I’m really a dodo when it comes to technique. So I also got a punching bag , including boxing gloves (which I also use for the class), to practice at home as well. I wanted boxing lessons for a long time, but I find those lessons at gyms often so intimidating that I don’t dare to go (I’m now being trained by a friend of mine). Too bad, because I really enjoy it. You can easily take that punching bag apart; it doesn’t take up much space either. Love it.

A bit unfortunate was that I have full visibility when I have my curtains open and that the neighbor across the street could enjoy the show while I was swinging kettlebells with full conviction. I always want to do strength training too, so that couldn’t be missing from my new home gym. Tip: also use your furniture as sports equipment.

And now that I’ve proclaimed it here and really feel like a pro with this gym, I can’t just abandon those good intentions. So far it has worked and I almost don’t dare to say it, but: I genuinely enjoy it. Really, a home gym is my best idea of the year.