An active, healthy lifestyle is an excellent way to minimize health problems, increase strength and mobility, boost energy, and keep excessive stress at bay. However, getting motivated to stay active can be quite a chore, especially if working out at home is your best bet.
If you’re struggling with motivation and home workouts, we’re here to help. Here are a few tips and tricks to help you stay on track.
Why Working Out At Home Could Be A Good Idea For You
Working out at home isn’t the top choice for everyone, but for some, it’s the best way to work out. Exercising at home is an excellent way to eliminate distractions you might have at the gym, such as other folks coming up to talk to you.
You can push your body to its limits in the comfort of your home without feeling intimidated or judged. Going to the gym can be an intimidating first step, especially if you’re new to exercise and are unfamiliar with the machines. Working out at home gives you an element of comfort, as you don’t need to worry about navigating tricky machines or busy gyms.
In addition, home workouts are an excellent alternative for folks who cannot afford a gym membership or experience social anxiety. Or, if you do sign up for a gym and don’t use the membership, you might feel guilty, but with home workouts, it's a commitment-free way to better yourself.
So, instead of paying to work out at a gym packed with other individuals and spending time commuting back and forth to the gym, you might want to consider home workouts. Of course, home workouts aren’t the best option for everyone, but some folks might decide it’s the best for their needs.
Will You Actually See Results?
Perhaps you’re nervous about switching to home workouts because you’re worried you won’t see results. While we understand these fears, you have nothing to worry about. Hundreds of home workout options could get you in the best shape of your life.
You will see results if you remain devoted to your health and exercise regime. This means you’ll need to adjust areas of your life that might not align with your goals. For example, you might need to allocate more time to get better sleep at night.
Or, you might need to revamp your diet to incorporate healthier food options. Each element is essential. You must ensure you get plenty of sleep, eat healthily (most of the time), and exercise consistently. So yes, if you get these categories in order, you will see results.
How To Get Motivated To Workout At Home
Working out is a challenge in and of itself, but working out at home can be even more challenging. Motivation can be elusive, causing you to put off your starting date for days, weeks, months, or even years. It’s understandable – when you’re home, you want to relax.
However, home workouts might be the perfect way to incorporate exercise into your routine, so here are a few ways to get motivated for home workouts:
Create A Devoted Exercise Space
Once you commit to exercising at home, creating a dedicated exercise space is an excellent idea. It gives you a specific area to store your equipment, so it won’t be in the way of anything else. You could create a little workout space in the corner of your bedroom or make the gaming room a two-in-one by adding an exercise corner.
Select the location that works best for you and your home. Having this devoted space can help working out feel like less of a chore, as it eliminates the need to haul out your exercise equipment every time you work out.
Add your favorite exercise machines, like the portable cable machine from MaxPro Fitness. Remember, you don’t need to create a massive gym in the corner of your home. In many cases, home workouts only require a few pieces of equipment, if any.
Set Aside Time To Exercise
If we don’t set aside a chunk of our day for exercise, the day often escapes us, somehow disappearing before we have time to exercise. So, try to set aside a chunk of the day for your exercise routine. Some days, you might only have half an hour, while you might have a few hours on another day. Either way, stay committed to your exercise routine.
Giving yourself a specified time to exercise every day might be beneficial, especially if you enjoy routines, as it’ll help you stay consistent. On top of that, your exercise time is devoted to you. So, you have time to yourself, allowing you to better yourself in body and mind.
Select A Program Or Routine
Many folks struggle with consistency when they don’t have a program or routine to follow. This leaves them wandering around, trying to figure out what to do next. So, pick a program or routine if you don’t know what exercises to do.
If you want to commit to a complete program, you can find numerous options online, although they usually cost money to buy. That said, you can find hundreds of workout routines on Pinterest, YouTube, and fitness-related websites.
With a program or routine set for you, there’s no need to worry about coming up with a routine for the day. It makes it easier to stick with exercising, especially if the program sets each workout on a specific day.
Listen To Music
Listening to music as you exercise can help distract you from the task at hand, causing the time to slip by. Listen to your favorite playlist if you’re doing an exercise routine that isn’t your favorite, such as running.
Music with a strong, steady beat can help you reach a rhythm, sometimes aiding you in pushing yourself further. If nothing else, it can help pass the time, which is excellent if you don’t enjoy exercising.
With the MAXPRO Coaching App you can play your favorite music over your MAXPRO Coach.
Incorporate Variety
While consistency is key, repetitive workouts can get boring quickly. Once boredom strikes, it's easy to get discouraged and ditch the routine altogether. So, keep your routine fresh by incorporating different workouts.
At the beginning of each week, select the workouts you want to do for the week. Incorporate workouts that target different areas of your body, such as your lower body on one day, chest and back on another, and arms and shoulders on another.
Be Realistic In Your Expectations
It’s easy to get disappointed with what we perceive as a lack of results. However, remember you see yourself every day in the mirror. So, while you might not notice results, someone you haven’t seen in a while might.
Even if you haven’t noticed a difference yet, that’s okay – revamping your physique takes time. Generally, it takes a few weeks to see visible results. However, you might begin to notice improvements in your strength, endurance, and flexibility within a couple of weeks.
On top of that, some days will be better than others. Our bodies change every day based on various factors, such as how much water we drink, if we’ve eaten yet (such as when you wake up versus when you go to bed), and other similar circumstances.
So, be realistic with your expectations. Don’t expect to transform overnight – good things take time!
Be Kind To Yourself
Home workouts can be challenging, especially when it comes to staying motivated and on track. If you mess up or don’t feel like you crushed your workout, remember to be kind to yourself. Any effort is a reasonable effort. So if that means you did one pushup today and two tomorrow, congratulate yourself for your effort.
Constantly talking negatively to yourself can dampen your spirits and motivation, so remember to be nice to yourself. It’s a journey, not a destination.
Reward Yourself
Although this might seem counter-intuitive, rewarding your efforts is essential. Reward yourself for staying consistent with something you love, like an episode of your favorite show or your favorite coffee drink.
Of course, you must avoid going overboard, primarily if you use food as a reward. For example, instead of rewarding yourself with your favorite sugary drink after every workout, use it as a reward at the end of your week of workouts.
Something Is Better Than Nothing
For some people, spending an hour or two on exercise isn’t feasible, whether it's due to a busy work schedule or family time. You shouldn’t have to sacrifice everything in your life to exercise – it’s all about balance. Sometimes, balancing every aspect of our lives is tricky, but as we settle into a routine, it often becomes more straightforward.
If a half-hour workout works with your schedule, find a workout that fits within this time frame. If you don’t have time to devote to a workout, try to take a few extra steps. This could mean walking to work instead of driving (if that’s an option), strolling through the grocery store instead of placing a pickup order, or marching in place while in a virtual meeting.
Something is better than nothing, so if you only have time for a quick workout, make that work. You don’t need to spend hours on a workout, but try to stay active, even if that means getting extra steps. Consistency will help you remain on track, and eventually, your workout will become part of your day.
For many folks, working out at the same time every day is an excellent way to stay consistent. Some days, they might have an hour or two for working out, and other days, they might have fifteen minutes. Either way, try to get in a workout, even if it’s a mini workout.
You can find dozens of mini workouts online, many requiring ten minutes or less. If ten minutes is all the time you have, make it work.
Messed Up Or Missed a Day? That’s Okay. Get Right Back To It!
Every now and again, you might slip up on your diet or miss a day of exercise. That’s totally okay – life happens. Don’t beat yourself up over it. Instead, hop back on track. Mistakes and slip-ups will occur every now and again, but don’t let that discourage you.
You might miss a few days of exercise, or maybe you went on vacation, and your healthy eating plan went out the window. This is okay – don’t let yourself stop living simply to prioritize a rigid exercise program and diet. For many folks, a restrictive exercise and nutrition plan becomes increasingly hard to stick to, raising the chances of slip-ups.
Try to find a workout and diet plan that works for you. Sometimes, life will get in the way of exercising every day. Although skipping exercise for a few days can lead to breaking your routine and ignoring it altogether, don’t beat yourself up for missing a few days. It’s okay to mess up every now and again, but the most crucial part is getting back up and starting back on your path.
As long as you can realign yourself with your goals, exercise routine, and nutrition plan, you should be just fine!
Final Thoughts
While it might not be everybody’s idea of fun, exercise is an excellent way to support your health and keep you mobile. Exercising doesn’t always mean gyms – if working out at home works best for you, run with it! To make at-home workouts more accessible, check out MaxPro’s cable system gym today!
And remember, slip-ups happen. Don’t criticize yourself for it. Instead, hop back on track and keep working toward your goals!