This guest post was written by Shari Duddy
Shari Duddy is a Yoga teacher and educator in New Jersey. Shari has many years of experience teaching Yoga
Working out… it can be drudgery, for sure, if you don’t have a great place to do it. If you’re someone who just loves loves loves working out so much that you really don’t care where you do it, well, bully for you. But the rest of us? Well, some of us need just the right circumstances in just the right place in order to get motivated to even put on our workout clothes, let alone do the actual workout itself. And if you’re one of those people, you’re in luck, ’cause today’s workout rooms can help make your workout anything but drudgery. Look, you have to exercise, right? If you don’t, you end up feeling like you want to take a nap about an hour after you wake up. But does it have to be have to a grind? No way! If you choose just the right colors for the room, you’ll be surprised how much less effort you have to put into motivating yourself. Try some of these tips for choosing the right colors and color combinations for your workout room, and see how it helps to get your workout out of its rut.
The first thing to do when you’re painting your workout room is to match the colors with the workout. Top colors or no, you don’t want to choose colors that are going to inhibit rather than enhance your workout. For instance, if you’re looking for the right colors for your yoga workout room, you’re probably not going to choose a stark white on every wall, or a vibrant lime green that you, personally, find anything but relaxing. You want to choose colors that will complement, not complicate, your workout. On the other hand, if you’re someone who loves a vibrant lime green and finds it soothing, then by all means, go for it! However, if you’re looking for top colors for various types of workout rooms and the reasons they top the list, the following information is for you.
Other factors you need to consider when choosing colors for your workout room are lighting, floor color, type of flooring, and room size. If you’ve got a tiny room, you probably won’t want to choose dark colors for all walls. In fact, choosing just one wall to paint a dark color while painting the other colors lighter will help to make the room feel bigger. And if the room has very little to no natural lighting, you’ll likely want to consider brighter or lighter colors to lighten the mood. After all, it’s a workout room… not a torture chamber. (Don’t say it!)
So, now that you know what type of workout room you want and the other factors such as light and size to consider, it’s time to choose colors. And, if you’re reading this, you’ve already decided that the top colors are the ones for you, and for good reason. Top color choices top the list of colors because, time and again, they’re proven and effective. If you’ve got a weight room or an aerobics workout room in your home, consider painting it your favorite tint or shade of blue. Blue has a calming effect on mind, body, and spirit. Does it matter which hue of blue you choose? Not really. As long as you love it, it’s right for your weight room or aerobics workout room. The reason blue is the top color choice for weight rooms and aerobics workout rooms is simple. First, blue helps to reduce stress levels in the body because its calming effects have been proven to reduce stress chemicals in the body. Second, and most ironically, blue is also a high-productivity hue. These two facts combined make for a highly effective weight room or aerobics workout room.
If you’re choosing paint colors for a yoga room, blue is also a great color for this. However, when choosing hues of blues for a yoga workout room, not all blues are created equal. Soft, soothing ocean blues and blue-greens typically are best for this type of workout room. Another top color for a yoga workout room is sand. Combine sandy hues with ocean blues or even foamy greens, and you’ve got a yoga workout room that will not only help you to relax and meditate; it will also help you to get motivated because its beauty will be unmatched with most other color combinations.
Exercise doesn’t have to be a bore. It doesn’t have to be the struggle some of us make it. If you’re looking at your workout room like it needs a bigger makeover than you do, it’s probably time to change it up. If you paint your workout room colors that will help to boost your energy, thereby motivating your workout, exercising won’t feel like drudgery anymore. Today’s top colors for a workout room are about spurring that inner excitement that will help not only to motivate you, but to energize your entire workout from beginning to end. In fact, if you’ve got a workout room whose colors are vibrant and exciting, you may never want to leave it!
