Child Proof Your Home Gym Exercise Equipment: Home Gym Safety For Kids

Child Proof Your Home Gym Exercise Equipment: Home Gym Safety For Kids

The pandemic has pushed a lot of people out of their comfort zones. Many people picked up old habits, while others continued lifestyles they have formed before the pandemic.

One of the most popular habits that many invested in is with their health and fitness.

Home workouts became all the rage and people wanted to bring the gym to their homes and have started setting up home gyms.

With people staying at home, this means that your children would also be around as you work out.

How do you maintain home gym safety for kids? What goes into keeping a child-proof home gym?

Tips On Keeping You And Your Children Safe In Your Home Gym

According to the Chicago Tribune, based on statistics from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, about 5,500 kids below five years old had to be treated for treadmill injuries back in 2006 and 2007.

The common injuries they sustained were cuts, bruises, and scrapes on their hands and fingers. Many of the kids’ hands were caught on or in treadmills, and this caused a lot of friction burns.

The home gym equipment that posed the biggest harm to kids were treadmills, stair climbers, and stationary bikes.

Hanging cords from the equipment also posed a great risk for kids. Weights and dumbbells are also equipment that needs to be kept in secure places.

There are important steps you can make to maintain a child-proof home gym set up for you and your children.

Keep Handbags and Scarves Away From Children’s Reach

It is a common practice for most home gyms to be set up in or near the living room.

Be careful about hanging stuff on your gym equipment. Handbags, scarves, belts, can twist and easily become a noose.

This can lead to injuries and even worse is death. It can only take one to two minutes for it to harm a child.

Wear Safety Clips Or Keys Whenever You Use The Treadmill

As we mentioned earlier, the treadmill can be very dangerous for everyone, not just for kids.

More than 60,000 Americans suffer injuries every year while using exercise equipment like treadmills.

One of the best ways to minimize accidents and injuries is by using an emergency safety clip or key attached to the treadmill while you are using it.

What the safety clip or key does is that it will shut down the power if you ever fall over from the treadmill.

Set Rules And Enforce Them

Children Safe Home Gym - Fitness ExpoYou cannot expect children to be safe unless you explain to them how they can stay safe.

Set clear boundaries about your home gym equipment and what they should do while you are working out.

If your kids are old enough to understand, you can explain and tell them the name of each piece of equipment, what it does, and how they should be careful around each piece of equipment.

If you have smaller children who cannot understand rules yet, you can set up play gates to keep them away from your home gym area.

You can also set your exercise schedule during the time that they are normally asleep.

You should also set clear boundaries for yourself as you work out. If you know that there are children nearby, you can keep off the phone or turn down your music as you work out.

You cannot be preoccupied with too many things. Focus on your workout and focus on your surroundings.

Be Mindful About Where And How You Stash Your Home Gym

Equipment

The ideal setup would be one where you have a separate room for your home gym or a closet where you can store your stuff away.

If you have this setup, make sure to keep children away from these areas. Lock doors if needed. If you only have a set space for your home gym, do not keep your equipment lying around.

Weights should be kept far away from children and even exercise bands should be secured.

Big and bulky electrical equipment cannot be stashed away like other smaller ones, but you can secure electrical plugs and cords away.

Unplugging them is not enough, you need to also coil and hide them away. You can place it high enough, behind or under the machine where children cannot reach it.

Home gym equipment is meant to help you reach your fitness goals. You can make your setup work for you and your workout while making sure that the rest of your family stays safe too.


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Fitness Expo caters to all your exercise needs from treadmills to fitness accessories.

First opened in 1980 by the Rice family, the store continues to offer the top brands and largest selection of exercise equipment for the home or commercial facility making us one of the oldest and most reputable fitness retailers in the country

We have showrooms across Louisiana and Mississippi, but you can also shop on our website from the comfort of your own home.