I’ve had to do some rearranging in our home gym because I decided to keep my treadmill. I haven’t used my treadmill in years. It’s a nice one, but it’s pretty big, and I didn’t think I had room for it. So when I designed our home gym, I didn’t even consider trying to make room for the treadmill.
Before we began the remodeling process in the hallway and bedroom areas a few years back, the treadmill was in what is now our guest bedroom. That was back when the room looked like this…
The room had basically turned into a storage room during that time, but there was plenty of room for the treadmill.
When the remodeling began, I moved the treadmill into the sunroom. But then the sunroom became too cluttered, so I needed to move it again. I never actually used the treadmill when it was in the sunroom. I was just storing it in there. So I eventually moved it out onto our back patio, covered it with two tarps (one from the bottom up, and another from the top down) to keep it safe from the weather while I tried to find someone who wanted it.
Well, I never could find anyone who wanted the treadmill. Again, it’s big and heavy, hard to transport, and difficult for most people to find a place in their homes for it. I had a couple of people interested in it, but no takers. So it continued to sit out on the back patio.
Unfortunately, those heavy plastic tarps aren’t as durable as I thought they were, and during one huge rainstorm, the tarp got ripped to shreds and the treadmill got completely drenched. I was sure it was destroyed, but about a week ago, I dragged the thing from the patio to the carport where it could dry out, and I then plugged it in and turned it on. It worked perfectly!
That incident coincided with another that made me decide to keep it. A couple of weeks ago, I walked out into the carport early in the morning, and I saw a coyote in our back yard!! It was just beyond the tree line that marks the halfway point in our back yard (we’re on a one-acre lot). When I saw it out of the corner of my eye, I thought it was a stray dog. And as is my immediate response when I see a stray dog, I whistled at it to see if it would come to me.
As soon as I did that, it started to run off, and I thought, “What the heck? That is not a stray dog!” It moved kind of like a fox, but it was way bigger than any fox I’ve ever seen in our neighborhood. So I whistled again, and it stopped and turned to look at me, and that’s when I saw that super long, pointy snout, and those upright triangular ears. It was a coyote, for sure.
So that was about two weeks ago, and after my amazing streak of walking laps around our back yard almost every day when we had nice weather, my walking streak came to an abrupt end. I know in my mind that coyotes are generally not aggressive towards humans, but I also know that there are exceptions. And I had gotten into a pattern of walking around 5:30 or 5:45, which means that I was still walking after sunset. I’d just feel so much better if we had a fence around our entire yard, even though I know that a coyote can clear a 6-foot fence with relative ease.
So after the coyote incident a couple of weeks ago, and then the treadmill getting rained on and me dragging it to the carport to see if it still worked, I just decided to go ahead and keep it. This way, I can have options. If I can walk in the middle of the day when we have beautiful weather, that’s an option. But on days when it’s too cold, or too hot, or raining, I do like having another option.
I wasn’t sure if I could even get the treadmill into the home gym, and I did end up having to dismantle the control panel, the bar that holds the control panel on, and the arms. Once those were off, I could fit it through the door, and then I had to put it all back together and get everything rearranged in the room so that it would fit. I finally got it all finished this morning.
Now when you walk into the room, my rebounder is straight ahead.
That’s where the free weights and weight bench used to be.
I moved the weight bench under the Swedish ladder. I may end up getting rid of it altogether. It’s really the one piece of equipment that I rarely use. And then the treadmill is where the rebounder used to be.
Because the treadmill takes up so much room, and it encroaches into the area where my rowing machine used to sit, that means that my rowing machine now has to be stored upright when it’s not in use.
To be honest, I don’t hate that. In fact, it makes vacuuming this room so much easier! I used to try to vacuum around the rowing machine, but with it stored upright, I can take one minute to put the treadmill in its “stored” position also, and then easily vacuum that side of the room.
With the rowing machine being stored upright against the wall now, it’s also so much easier to access things that I store in the closet, like my kettlebell and Bosu ball.
And then when I want to use my rowing machine, I can put it down, use it, and then lift it right back up and store it against the wall.
The rowing machine does fit going straight back towards the treadmill where it used to be (i.e., not at an angle), but I don’t like having my back to that treadmill when it’s in its stored position. That thing is heavy, and if the pin that holds it up were to ever fail, and that thing came crashing down on me, I’d be in a world of hurt. So I’m perfectly fine putting the rowing machine at an angle when I want to use it. Thankfully, the rowing machine isn’t heavy, it has wheels for easy transport, and it’s literally made to be stored upright when it’s not in use.
I think this is the perfect solution, and I’m actually really glad that I couldn’t find another home for my treadmill. When we get into our summer months here in central Texas, I’m going to be so glad to have this alternative to walk inside rather than having to walk outside in the 100+ degree temperatures.
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.