The Best Plants for Your Home Gym

Filling your home or office with greenery offers huge benefits. Research shows that indoor plants can also help reduce stress, improve concentration and productivity and boost the quality of indoor air.

The same holds true for your workout space.

Just ask Peloton instructor Emma Lovewell. An avid gardener, Emma has made plants a big part of the décor she’s planning for a new home she bought in late 2020.

“Plants are a great addition to any room,” she says. “They add color and life . . . Plants and flowers in general just make me happier. I also think it's good for us to care for plants. It creates a low-risk sense of responsibility and ownership that is both motivating and rewarding, in my opinion.”

To get started, you want to assess your space. Spend a day or two observing how much sunlight it gets, and when. That’s because plants need sunlight to varying degrees so you’ll want to know what parts of the room get light, and how much. You’ll also want to figure out if the sunlight available is direct (meaning bright and intense) or indirect (shaded sunlight or light that shines through curtains or trees, for example).

“Make sure to pay attention to what kind of plant you have, and how to care for it,” Emma says. If it needs bright sun, she recommends, make sure it’s next to a window, ideally a south-facing one. Or, if it does better in low light, keep it out of direct sun by placing it in an east- or north-facing window. “If your home gym doesn't have any windows,” she adds, “you can use a grow lamp over your plant.”

So what are the best plants to buy for your home gym? Emma recommends snake plants or prayer plants for those who keep their Bike or Tread in a low-light area. If you’ve got lots of direct sun, try a jade plant, aloe or succulents.

“Succulents don't require much water,” Emma says, “so they make for a fairly easy-to-care-for plant.”

There are plenty of creative ways to display your plants as well. Many garden centers have decorated pots of all sizes and shapes so you can add pops of color to your workout space. And if you’re looking for more décor, a plant stand will allow you to display flora at different levels. (Just be sure to put all of your plants a safe distance away from your Bike or Tread!)

If you’re a first-time planter, you may have to experiment until you find the right mix. Don’t worry, it’s all part of the process.

“Try getting different types of plants,” Emma says. “Some will be easier to care for than others, and you can move them around your home or room to find the perfect amount of light for them ... Don't be intimidated by having plants in your home, even if you don't think you have a green thumb. You just have to find the right one.”

Looking for more home gym design inspiration? Take a look at where our Members keep their Peloton Bikes and Treads.