Working out at home is one of the best things – but also the worst things – that can happen to your fitness.
On the one hand, it doesn’t require a routine or time, equipment, and you can perform any exercise on your own terms. On the other hand, it’s surrounded by distractions – whether those are the phone in your hand, the TV, or simply interacting with the family.
Today we’re outlining 9 different ways you can get motivated to workout at home on those days where you feel like completely neglecting the idea!
We will help you find that ‘inner personal trainer’ that will motivate and push you towards taking action, so you can finally stop procrastinating, and get to work.
You can try any or all of these, and by the end of this article, you will have the ammunition needed in order to start taking your fitness more seriously at home.
1.Routine
Establishing a routine is one of the best things you can do for yourself. Not only is it a great way to stay motivated working out at home, but it maintains a sense of regularity and consistency to your workouts, and ultimately your life.
Being sure to do workouts at the same time every day, in the same place, is a great place to start. Find that lull in your calendar and get in before that. If you find you just want to relax in the evenings, then do so after you’ve worked out.
Make sure you’re capitalizing on your energy so you can ‘earn’ your relaxing evening on the sofa with a show or book. Activity is better earlier in the day and, the sooner you do it, the better impact it will have in order to help you stay committed.
2.Changing Clothes
If you’re not going to the gym, you need a signal to yourself that this is serious, and your mindset needs to switch. This is why I always recommend changing into workout clothes if you’re going to be putting serious effort into any work out at home. It will not only make you feel like your taking your fitness seriously, but will help you build confidence as if it was a true gym workout!
Get your clothes on and perform the same rituals you would for a gym workout. This provides a sense of routine, as mentioned above, improving overall adherence and the actual effort you put into your workouts.
If you’re going to try and get the results, you have to put in the same kind of effort at home as in the gym!
3. Reducing Resistance
Stop making workouts harder for yourself! Try performing them away from distractions while you’re at home; performing them near your bed or sofa probably isn’t the best idea.
Performing any kind of exercise outside is always a good choice if you’ve got the space and equipment to make it work. However, all you really need is a small space you can dedicate to workouts that are free from “path of least resistance” distractions.
Plug your phone into a speaker or similar, keep it away from your hands, and remove anything that requires you to stop exercising. A TV or similar screen with relevant audio/video is fine, but nothing that pulls you out of the workout!
4. Finding Joy In Your Workouts
One of the simplest ways to make sure you keep working out regularly is to actually enjoy the exercise process. It’s easier to keep going back to regular exercise if you find it fun, or at the very least rewarding when you overcome challenges.
When you’re not feeling up to it, do the exercises and workouts you enjoy the most. It’s far easier to get yourself moving, even if it’s not for the most helpful. When it comes to no workout or one that’s “sub-optimal” because it’s not your weaknesses, always get a workout in.
You should be focusing on things you don’t like/are bad at, too, but if it’s something or nothing – go with something! Once the ball’s rolling and you’re exercising, you can worry about what you need most after you’ve started!
5. Starting Small
This is related to the prior point: to get the ball rolling, do the smallest thing you can think of that would benefit you. This might mean doing a bit of core exercise here and there, or a few pieces of exercise every day.
This kind of low-commitment work is likely to snowball and development over time. The opposite is just going all-in and doing a perfect workout right away. Obviously, that’s less likely to happen and less sustainable when you’re feeling low on motivation.
Starting with a low-demand exercise regime and adding layers over time is easier than hopping into 2-hours of exercise every day. Start small and build up – this will also allow your body to adapt in time and keep you healthy.
6. Variety And Fun
If you’re doing the same workout daily, you’re not likely to feel excited and motivated about it on day 25. However, if you’re varying workouts daily, you’re probably not going to get used to – or bored of – any particular type of exercise.
This kind of holistic approach is pretty popular with CrossFit gyms, and for good reason. Doing different exercises daily offers a great way of staying engaged with your workout routine, getting interesting results, and mixing up the experience of working out!
How do you stay motivated to work out at home? Just have fun with it! Remember that fitness shouldn’t feel like a chore, but should make you look forward to your next challenge!
7. Strong Goals
One of the key things that provided me motivation was effective goal-setting. Without a personal trainer, this can be a challenge for many who exercise at home.
In fact, an article published by Forbes suggested that writing down your goals is strongly associated with any kind of success. People who can vividly describe their goals are more likely to accomplish them, versus people who dont.
The key is to have a clear picture and road map, then put it on paper. Not just “I want to lose 5 pounds”, but 3 tiers of exercise goals: short-term (daily/weekly), mid-term (1-3 months), and long-term (this year to the rest of your life!).
The strength of your goals will show up in your motivation. A goal that is set up incorrectly makes motivation difficult to come by, but a great goal sets you up for success.
Understand your overall goals and how this month, and today, fit into it. Every single day should have something actionable you can do to improve your movement towards your big, over-arching goal.
The stronger your long-term goals, and the better you divide them into shorter-term goals, the more helpful they will be to remind you why you should be exercising on that given day.
8. Don’t Break The Chain, Build Discipline
One side of the problem of losing motivation comes from the slippery slope of “I’ll just skip the workout this one time”. Keep track of how many regular workouts you’ve performed (every other day, for example) and build up your streak.
This is the kind of streak that is used by support groups for alcoholism and drug abuse because it’s so effective. Give yourself something to be proud of that you don’t want to lose – it’s a way of holding yourself accountable that feels very real and important, even if it’s not.
This leverages the silly “lizard-brain” quirks of the human mind, but in a way that really helps you. Cultivate a good streak of workouts and you’ll find it extends itself and each workout only makes the habit stronger.
9. Be Realistic
This is one of the most obvious but most overlooked aspects of good consistency when it comes to your fitness. You need days off and you need to progress appropriately, or you’re going to feel exhausted and sore.
There’s no benefit to working out hard for two days in a row if it means you’re going to feel crap for the rest of the week and not work out again. Balancing your rest and training days to keep your energy levels up is a simple way of keeping yourself motivated to do an at-home workout when you don’t feel like exercising.
This avoids bad workouts, gives you time to recover, and helps you to establish a good routine. It also ensures that you’re progressing effectively; if you’re relatively new to exercise (you’ve been training for less than a year), it’s easy to mess up the stress to recovery ratio.
Exercising 3 times a week, every other day or 2 on 1 off is likely to keep you progressing steadily. Staying motivated to work out at home comes from maximizing results and keeping consistent, healthy energy levels throughout the week!
Final Thoughts
Having your own at-home workout routines are a great way to exercise regularly and stay in shape without a gym. It’s a way of getting fantastic regular workouts, and with proper motivational strategies, you can make it pay off for your lifestyle.
Working out at home will require better discipline and motivation to get past distractions and build a great workout regimen.