Our New Wellness & Gym Space

Y’all I’m SO excited to share this room! We decided mid way through our remodel to take half of our garage and turn it into a wellness and gym space. BEST DECISION EVER!

It all started for our desire to have a cold plunge, which eventually turned into adding a traditional sauna and gym area. Luke did SO much research about what would work best for us: i.e. climate, space, health benefits, stocking issues, etc. Since we live in the mountains, having a cold plunge outside is pretty impossible. This lead us too ultimately decide to use our garage. Luckily it is a bit oversize on one end, as you will see in the images below, and it allowed for the tub to fit perfectly under the window. It was meant to be!

We went with The Plunge. It has a cooler, filtration and cleaning system that doesn’t use harsh chemicals. It was really important to us to not have to constantly dump out and refill water or have to put in ice ourselves – meaning we would need a commercial ice machine. I know, I know it sounds intense but a lot people do it. The Plunge is such a great option! We do at least 12 minutes a week at around 45 degrees. It can go as low as 39 degrees – yikes!! LOL I typically cycle it getting in 3/days a week to hit at least 12 minutes. AND trust, it took me about 6 weeks to work up to my 4 minute sessions. YOU CAN DO IT! If you’re wanting to learn more, check out the benefits for cold exposure here and listen to The Huberman Lab podcast for a deeper dive here.

It was now time to select a sauna. After much research, we decided on a traditional dry suana, not inferred, due to the amount of research on longevity/health as well as the temperature setting. In order to get the most out of heat exposure it needs to be 180+ degrees. We have our set at 195 degrees. Unfortunately the inferred option can not get as hot and in-turn you loose many of the health benefits that were important to us: cardiovascular health, improved mood & stress response. I’m not saying there are not benefits of inferred however it wasn’t what we were looking for. We went with Finnleo Hallmark 46 Sauna. It was the type we wanted, in-stock and the perfect size for our space – seating 5. We do 20 minute sessions at least 4-5 times a week. I look forward to it! If you’re wanting to learn more about heat exposure check out The Huberman Lab podcast here.

We previously had a small gym area in an extra bedroom. Now we can have it all in one place! Scroll down to shop all of our equipment (many Amazon finds) and click here for our Peloton bike. Trust me, you can get such a great workout in from home! In terms of flooring, we went with a classic rubber grid option. It was so easy to lay out… y’all Luke did it 🙂 AND he’s not that handy if ya know what I mean! It is also great for moisture/water as the sauna and cold plunge are sitting on top of it. Link here.

Luke and I sit in our sauna and listen to podcasts at least 4 nights a week when we put the boys to sleep. This has become such great time to connect, learn about new things (podcasts), sweat out toxics and take care of our bodies. A huge win and use of our time!

COMING SOON – I will be posting about MY experience and why I decided to start cold and heat exposure! If you have any questions, please leave a comment on this post. Linking everything from the space below!