Whether it’s the winter air that’s keeping you indoors, a casual global pandemic, or just the lack of access to a gym in your area, sometimes exercising at home is your only option. Which is no easy feat.  

Have you ever tried to work out in a dark and dingy basement only to feel tired and unmotivated minutes into your session? Yeah, that’s a hard pass for us.  

Whether you’re an advanced powerlifter, or an occasional yogi – setting the scene for your exercise routine is invaluable to keeping yourself in the zone. Especially if you’re working out from home. 

An often overlooked feature of any exercise room is the lighting. The shade, brightness and features of your lighting can completely transform how you feel and preform during your workout. But what lighting is best for your home workout? Keep reading to find out.  

Best lighting for home gyms  

Unsurprisingly enough, our internal clocks are regulated primarily by the sun (a little thing called circadian rhythm). That means sunlight will trigger the hormones in our bodies that tell us to get up and go. Which is why the dark and dingy basement lighting may make your workout feel way harder to accomplish.  

But most of us don’t have the luxury of exercising outdoors, under a bright sun… in mild temperature… with just an ever-so-slight breeze. Most of us need to make do with indoor workouts in whatever space we can find.  

So, if we can’t have the sun, the next best option is to mimic it, which almost all LIFX lights can do. The temperature of the sun is roughly 6000K, and lights set to that colour temperature have been proven to increase focus, energy levels, and physical performance.  

LED (light emitting diode) lights are also a better option for home gyms as they consume less energy than a standard lightbulb. Home gyms should be well lit and bright, which requires more than a bulb or two. But by using multiple LED bulbs, you’ll be choosing the more cost effective and planet friendly option. LIFX Downlights are a great option for overhead lighting that will illuminate an entire room with 6000K LEDs.  

Smart lighting for working out  

The bare minimum for good home gym lighting is an LED bulb that can emit 6000K light. But smart lights are really what will transform your fitness experience. By using smart lights, you can ensure you not only stay consistent with your weekly exercise routine, but also get the most out of every session.  

Lighting for warming up  

Sometimes just getting started is the hardest part of a workout. To ensure you stay consistent and work out when you planned you, LIFX Colour and LIFX Downlight Colour smart lights can be preset to alert you that it’s time to work out with a vibrant colour.  

Then, they can easily transition from warmer ambers to the brighter whites (6000K, the colour temperature of the sun) to help signal to your body it’s time to start bringing your heart rate up.  

Or, set your own Scene that works for your individual needs. By presetting all your LED gym lights to the perfect shade, brightness and colour to get you started, you can create contextual consistency that can keep you on track and in line with your workout schedule.  

Lighting for cooling down  

While bright, white lighting is great for feeling invigorated during your workout, warmer and dimmer lights are perfect for your cool down. You can signal to your body it’s time to stop working hard and start getting ready to relax by scheduling any LIFX Downlights, LIFX Colours, or LIFX White to Warm lights to dim down to 50% and switch to a warmer 3500K after your session.  

Once you’ve finished your session, sanitise your bacteria ridden equipment, mats, and shoes with LIFX Clean. While LIFX Clean has every feature mentioned in the above lights, it can also disinfect objects and surfaces with HEV (high-energy visible) lighting. By putting a UV-free LIFX Clean in overhead lights or lamps that are placed above racks or tubs of your home gym equipment, you can sanitise between daily sessions without lifting a finger.  

Lighting for fun vibes  

Don’t forget to keep it fun. Working out doesn’t have to be a chore, and your lights should reflect that. With LIFX Lightstrips along your ceiling lines or floor lines, you can light up your workout space. These LED WiFi lights transition from whites to colours that will help you get the most out of your session, as well as provide awesome vibes.  

This is also perfect if you’re a content creator and like to share your workouts on socials.  

Controlling your home gym  

Top off your home gym setup with a LIFX Switch, which can control all your lights across all your sessions. What does like look light? With the LIFX Switch 4 Gang or LIFX Switch 2 Gang, you can preset each button to a different Scene, which means you can transform your space into feeling like a fitness centre with a single click.  

Save every light’s setting for your favourite warmup on button #1, workout on button #2, cool down on button #3, and cleaning settings on button #4.  

How to use lighting with your exercise method 

Lighting for yoga  

Using coloured lights as part of your workout gear can dramatically enhance your flow. Blues and greens have long been thought of as calming and anxiety reducing colours. To help ease you through your session, we recommend using a LIFX Lightstrips, LIFX Downlight Colours or LIFX Colour lights to create the perfect blue-green aura soothing scene.  

Lighting for HIIT 

Let’s be honest, HIIT is ****ing HARD. Every little bit of contextual motivation helps. So bright white light from a LIFX Warm to White or LIFX Downlights will definitely help you feel a bit more invigorated when it’s time to push yourself.  

Or use LIFX Lightstrips, LIFX Downlight Colours or LIFX Colour lights to create a vibrant, colourful scene. Using bold purples, pinks and blues can change the vibe in your room and transform a torturous 30 seconds of burpees into an aesthetically awesome, torturous 30 seconds of burpees. 

Lighting for weight training  

LIFX Downlights are perfect for weight training, power lifting, and bodybuilding because they kill two birds with one stone – performance and aesthetic.  

When you’re looking to hit PRs and get that final rep, every little bit helps, so using LIFX Downlights’ 6000K white setting to enhance focus and performance is a must-have.  

But when it’s time to cool down, LIFX Downlights are incredible for creating overhead shadows that’ll enhance the appearance of your pump.  

Simply dim down the lights that were just seconds ago fuelling your session with bright light. The light and dark contrast of the shadows will enhance the appearance of your gains and provide the perfect lighting for posing and photo shoots.