With winter in full swing, the idea of not needing to leave your house to get your exercise in might sound better and better every day. While many aim to skip the gym commute, save money, and get a good workout in at home, at-home practices are often forgotten or cut short.
In order to make sure that you enjoy the benefits of working out in the comfort of your own home (such as not needing shoes and having the locker room all to yourself), there are a few easy steps that will set you up for success.
Schedule it in.
Just because you don’t need to abide by a gym’s hours or the start time of a class, doesn’t mean it isn’t a great idea to schedule your workouts. If you simply wait around until you have an inclination to get active, you might end up sitting at your desk or watching TV all day.
Know yourself enough to understand if you need to stick by a strict timeline. You’ll thank yourself later.
Find an online class or program.
One thing that may hold you back from having an awesome workout on your own is a lack of experience in creating a workout regime. The good news is, there’s now an endless amount of resources and videos available online. While many of these resources are free, price can vary depending on what kind of content you purchase, and from who.
“If you don’t know how to program (i.e., you’re not a trainer), that’s no issue. There are thousands of trainers (maybe even tens of thousands) who post workouts online, whether it be on Instagram, YouTube, or their websites,” says Lauren Kanski, NASM-CPT, as cited by MindBodyGreen.
Keep it simple.
“You don’t have to do anything fancy,” Kanski adds. “Standard body-weight pushups, square, lunges, stair climbs, jumping jacks, planks—any of the fundamentals—are all we need. Just move with intention! If you really want to invest in equipment, I recommend 5- to 15-pound dumbbells or kettlebells, a TRX, a yoga mat, and a set of resistance bands. These allow for some resistance, suspension, and cushion for moving.”
That said, “All you need is a space the size of a yoga mat so you can move in all different planes of motion.”
Hold yourself accountable.
One draw of working out at a gym or among others in a fitness class is the push to perform. When you’re at home, you may be more likely to give up or go easy on yourself.
Recruit your roommate or your neighbor, or if you choose to do it alone, make sure that you tell someone your plan. Setting up a challenge with another person, whether they are doing the workout with you or not, is a great way to hold yourself accountable.