A busy lifestyle doesn’t allow for 1-3 hours at a commercial gym most of the time. Even a 30-minute routine is at least an hour and a half at the gym. With home workouts, you can use that extra hour for anything other than smelly locker room etiquette. Of course, like so many things, working out at home has some risks and challenges to overcome and reach your goals. Here are five tips to make home workouts work for you. 

1. Planning is everything

Plan your meals, plan your workouts. A good meal tracking app is extremely helpful to keep you on track and provide motivation when you begin to hit a slump. At first, it might be hard to remember to log everything. Don’t be afraid to try a few different apps until you find the one that works for you. Apps like MyFitnessPal and Lose It offer plenty of challenges and motivation to keep you going. Tracking your diet is beneficial for meal portions and to curb binge eating.

Tracking and scheduling your workouts is just as beneficial as planning your meals. If you have to, just start with one day a week. Tell yourself, “I will workout for 30 minutes after waking up every Wednesday”, then keep yourself accountable. After a few weeks add additional days and keep your plan. Implement a plan B because life happens. If you don’t get to workout, then be sure to walk an extra 45 minutes.

2. Become a creature of habit

This is a lot like planning everything. Know your workout plan. Likewise, know what you are going to eat for a week. This way you will be less likely to venture out for lunch or order delivery for dinner.

Fit your workout into your routine. For example: get out of bed, get the coffee maker going, do your morning DVD workout, have some coffee, take a shower, and continue on with your morning routine. For the first is the hardest, but the more you stick to doing the same routine, the easier it will become. Soon enough, working out will become as natural as brushing your teeth every day!

Don’t do too many difficult workouts in a row, but try to stick to your routine. Maybe have yoga days or rest days where you take an extra walk during the time you would spend doing an intense workout.

3. Get social

Sharing is caring. For many people, weight loss achievements are easier, and more fun if you are doing it with a buddy. The lack of workout buddies is a shortfall for working out at home. In comes social media, and the community forum of a good calorie tracker. They may seem awkward at first, but sometimes it is nice to read about someone falling into the same slumps, and fighting with the same muscle groups as you.

4. Find the right program

Find a good DVD program like P90X. If you are just getting started, a program like P90X will have trainers who not only give you advice on shedding pounds but also tell you how to adapt the exercises to prevent injuries. When you are working out at home, you don’t have a live trainer correcting your posture, so it is worth spending extra time researching the program you use, and spending a little extra money so you know you have something that isn’t going to let you down.

Again, make sure you are following the advice of the trainers in any program you follow. Most importantly, listen to your body. Know when to stop and when to push harder. Take rest days.

5. Give yourself a little space

Working out at home is a lot like working at home. If you don’t etch out some space and dedicate it, you will have a harder time succeeding. Even in a tiny apartment, you can find equipment that will tuck into a closet or a corner for storage, but when it’s time to hit the yoga mat, make sure you have a space ready and dedicated to you. If you are just getting started, you can get away with some barbells, a yoga mat, a jump rope, and maybe a pull-up bar if you are feeling especially fancy.

Have fun, and good luck!

 

 

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Teri

ARNP, Holistic Health Coach. Surround yourself with people who believe in your dreams.
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