I am very fortunate to have a screened-in lanai built across the back of my house.
The floor is cement and the ceiling is ten-feet high.
It is approximately twenty feet long and ten feet wide. The area is ideal for a home gym. I have an incline bench, mini trampoline, set of hand weights, yoga mat, jump rope and battle ropes set up. For the majority of the year, local weather is ideal for exercising in the lanai. I appreciate the constant influx of fresh air. The lack of temperature control becomes a problem at the height of summer and winter. The heat and humidity for several months is brutal. With no link to the home’s air conditioning, the lanai becomes extremely overheated and sticky. Although I run a box fan at high speed and stand directly in front of it, I am sweating profusely before I finish my warm up and initial stretches. It’s difficult to push myself and engage in high-intensity aerobic activity when I feel so sluggish. I try to workout as early in the day as possible to avoid the heat of the afternoon. When the weather turns colder, the temperature drops down into the mid to lower forties at night. I am then forced to wait until the day warms up before exercising. I dress in layers of clothing and plug in a small space heater. It is nearly impossible to get my muscles warm and loose. I worry about injury. Sometimes my feet get so cold that they hurt. If the conditions on the lanai get too severe, I switch to exercising inside the house. Although I have very limited space, I am thankful for heating and cooling.