When my husband and I retired, we’d had enough of the snow and cold up north.
We packed up our stuff and moved much further south, into a little house on a lake.
I am thrilled that our new home features a screened lanai across the back. The lanai traverses the entire width of our new house. It provides a lovely view of the lake, and we often watch fishermen, kayakers and people on jet skis. We get some very interesting looking birds, turtles and ducks on the lake as well. The lanai also provides a spacious workout area for me. Having this area allows me to lay down mats and set up a weight bench. I’m able to use free weights and kettlebells, jump rope, do lunges and all sorts of exercises. I typically workout for an hour every morning, and I prefer having a designated area for my gear. This keeps the smell of sweat and my bulky equipment out of the rest of the house. My only complaint with working out in the lanai is that it’s not able to be temperature controlled. During the summer months, it gets super overheated and sticky out there. Fortunately the screens welcome in the breeze. I also run a portable electric fan for some relief. I make sure to get up extra early during the summer to avoid working out during the heat of the day. We are far enough south that the winter weather doesn’t last long but we do get some chilly temperatures. The lanai can be especially cold. I sometimes need to bundle up in layers of clothes in order to workout. However, for most of the year, the lanai is the ideal workout area.