Every year around March I realize what all my mother's peanut butterballs and butterscotch cookies have done to me and I instantly morph into a certified workoutaholic. I don't just go to the gym once or twice a week and I don't park myself on the elliptical with a magazine. I become a complete workout freak. My obsession lands me in the gym at crazy hours (who knew there was such a time as 7am?) and has me balking at the ladies who turn on the fans in spin class (we're supposed to be sweating!) For roughly 6 month of the year my love for decor actually has a rival: the gym. I've wanted to do a post on rooms with workout equipment in them (swoon!) but I guess most decorators don't take too kindly to a treadmill shoved in the corner. I couldn't find a single image. Not one. (If you guys know of any, send me links!!) Instead, I've combed the interwebs for the most well designed workout crap I could find. Maybe some of these pieces could find a comfy spot in a well designed home?
Grand Queen of Web Sleuthing, Laura Sweet did a fantastic weight roundup on If It's Hip, It's Here last March. I picked out my faves, um, hello, GOLD dumbells? I really need to re-negotiate my gym membership, it could be 1000 times classier. Be sure to check out the rest of Laura's roundup here
Electra Bike via Below the Clouds
My favorite workout involves cardio, lots and lots of cardio. Perhaps I could sneak into my gym late one night and paint some lovely alexander girard inspired images on the stationary bikes? I think the colorful flowers would look oh-so-lovely against the dirty-snow-grey. No? Maybe I should just start bringing in my own LOVE seat cover?
I have to admit that the idea of racing down a hill on the BauBike by Michael Ubbesen Jakobsen scares the living daylights out of me. What if you were thrown backwards? Need I say more?
Honestly, aside from my fear of falling, what makes these bikes particularly unappealing to me is that they are designed for outdoor use, a burden those of you in the north are lucky enough to not understand. Today it was 100 degrees in Austin and not even my strongest workout ambitions can battle that kind of heat. So something like this might be better for me:
The River Gym, a floating gym powered by the energy you exert while peddling or running or whatever.
Ok, these kinda freak me out and look like opportunities to either a. asphyxiate while baking under the sun or b. workout your way to a beautiful white grave under the sea. A for effort, but I'm a little creeped out.
Let's go to a happier place
ahhh, that hits the spot. LOOK! Decorating! Exercising! This is the gym for me!
If I ever tire of climbing on picture frames and deer antlers in Japan (not a chance) I will clear my mind at these minimally designed towers in Amsterdam (of course). The towers are a proposed vision to deal with the city's abandoned sewage treatment sites. Kinda gross, but it looks like they plan to give 'em a good scrubbing:
The inside of the towers.
Admittedly, I've never been climbing, I think this should be a good place to start.
Of course, if you're going to work out, you've gotta have good workout shoes
They're Transformers! Zoinks!
If you're more the workout-at-home type, might I suggest doing so while following Mariko Takahashi's Fitness video, which can be seen in all it's glory here