These colorful accent lights turn your Tonal workout into a party.
Decorating your workout space is an opportunity to express your personal style and craft an environment where you’re excited and motivated to exercise. It’s also a chance to have some fun. Some Tonal members are taking their home gyms up a notch by adding neon LED lights for a high-energy feel, and we’re here for the vibes.
Bright lights don’t just make your workout more engaging, they can actually impact your performance. But it’s important to use the right color at the right time. According to this study, the color red enhances motor output, which helps you perform tasks faster and with more accuracy. That makes it a good choice for HIIT and strength workouts when you want to harness your maximum power. On the other hand, this study showed colors like blue, green, and white were linked to lower heart rate, meaning they’re better for relaxing workouts like yoga or mobility.
Most of the Tonal members featured here used adhesive LED light strips from Govee or Philips Hue. Both brands offer color-changing lights, so you can adjust the hue to fit the mood of your workout. Whichever lights you buy, make sure they’re long enough to go all the way around Tonal’s perimeter, which measures 144.8 inches or just over 12 feet.
Check out these members’ colorful setups and get inspired to light up your own workout space.
Club Vibes
When Tonal member Maureen D’Onofrio asked her husband for better lighting in their home gym for her 30th birthday, she thought he’d just swap a light fixture or two. Instead, he went all out, decorating the whole room with colorful light strips. Since the couple loves dancing and concerts—they actually met at a house music festival—it ended up being a safe bet and D’Onofrio loved the end result.
“Now even after my hardest workout with Gabby or Nicolette, I still have a little dance party at the end because I have a full blown light show and good tunes bumping,” she says. To transform their home gym into a veritable nightclub, D’Onofrio’s husband used extra-long lights from Dilunar to outline their Tonal, ceiling, and wall mirror. The lights come with a remote control for changing colors and flashing patterns.
If You Can’t Take The Heat…
Tonal members have plenty of creative ideas for fitting their Tonals into small or unconventional spaces, but Ron Scott’s kitchen setup might be one-of-a-kind. “I had the Tonal installed in the kitchen because there really wasn’t anywhere else in the house where it could go,” says Scott. I live in New England, so the basement is super cold in the winter.”
That didn’t stop him from creating a party-worthy scene in his workout/eating space. Along with the Philips Hue light strips framing his Tonal, he added Philips Hue lightbulbs above the kitchen island and dining table to make the whole room more fun. “It’s super nice because it can all be controlled by voice,” he says. “There’s also a phone app that allows you to set it so the colors slowly change.”
Mood Lighting
Jason Daigle says the lights around his Tonal give his workout space (pictured above, left) a “different vibe.” Like member Brandon Raab (whose setup is pictured above, right), Daigle used Govee lights to get the look. These lights can be set to a single color, a color-changing pattern, or even display different colors along different sections of the strip. Sync them up with your music, and they’ll change color with the beat.
“The lights are very inexpensive and they’re easy to install, so don’t be afraid to try it out,” says Daigle. “The adhesive backing works great, as I haven’t had any issues with the lights coming unattached.”
Looking Smart
There are endless possibilities for customizing your lighting setup, thanks to features like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, and compatibility with smart home devices like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Tonal member William Hein (whose setup is pictured above, right) says he’s “a big smart house automation guy.” He linked his Philips Hue light strips to his Apple HomeKit so he can turn them on and choose a color scheme with voice control or through the app. “I also have a Philips Hue motion sensor,” says Hein. “When I walk into my workout room, it turns on the lights, floor fan, and Tonal. When I leave, it turns everything off automatically again.”
Kevin Bright, a sales supervisor with Tonal, has his Philips lights linked to his Apple HomeKit for easy control, too (his setup is pictured above, left). As for how to best install your lights, Bright recommends starting with the corner of Tonal closest to your outlet and leaving a gap on the bottom for Tonal’s on-switch and power cord.
Monochrome Style
Color-changing lights are neat, but sometimes a single, bold color can make a powerful statement on its own. For Tonal member Beth Loftin, that’s hot pink. She matches her Govee lights with a customized neon sign reading “But did you die?” to keep her motivated during workouts. Loftin’s sign is from Amazon, and you’ll find more options on Etsy, in any font or color you desire.
