Reader Question: Organizing the Exercise Equipment

Exercise equipment storage is a challenge for most of us who work out at home without the big machines. I personally have some of the same challenges as the reader who writes:

I love your blog, but don't see any posts on exercise equipment. My husband and I live in a 1,000sf condo so we don't have equipment like treadmills and elliptical trainers, but we have assorted small items like weights and balance boards. They are just stacked in a corner which I hate but I'm at a loss for what to do with them. We don't have a basement, garage, or utility room to store anything. The toughest thing is the large exercise ball, which we just roll from room to room to get out of the way. Any ideas? I'd love to see a post about this!

Sure, lots of ideas.

First of all, I'd like to encourage you to store the equipment as close as possible to where you'll be using it. The easier it is to get to the stuff, the more likely you are to use it - and put it away when you're done. (But yes, I know that might not be feasible.)

The Make-Do-With-What-You-Have Approach

This is what I've done so far. My bands and such get stored in an upside-down exercise step, and the ball balances on top. (A basket could work fine for this, too.) The weights get stored on bookshelves, in front of some books, making sure not to put too much weight on any shelf.

If you're ready to move beyond that - and I'm about ready, myself - here are some options.


Specialized Storage for the Exercise Balls




I just now came across The Loop, and I like it a lot.




There are a number of companies making ball bases/stabilizers - and prices vary widely. Make sure you get one that's the right size for your ball.




Here's another ball holder; you put the ball on the disc, push down, and supposedly create enough suction to hold the ball in place.




If you have more than one ball, ball stackers are an option to consider. Again, prices on the web vary greatly. They are often sold in sets of three, but you can buy a single one, too.




If you want a rack and space is limited, this one from Ideal Products could work - not pretty, but functional.


Specialized Storage for the Weights/Dumbbells




This wall-mounted rack is the most space-saving option I found.




This dumbbell rack is also a space-saver.




After that, we go on to vertical dumbbell racks; the A-frame is one such style.




And there are a lot of vertical racks that look more or less like this one.




On a totally different note, there's this weight wagon.


One More Exercise Equipment Option




This doesn't address the original question - but I couldn't quite leave the topic of exercise equipment in a small space without mentioning it. The FiTable home exercise system is a weight bench, a cardio step, a rolling storage drawer and a coffee table - all in one.