Tips for Working Out at Home

When you find that you have to work out at home instead of at the gym, how do you stay motivated? Working out at home can give you all of the same benefits of working out at a full gym – here are my tips for making the most of it.

Set Up a Dedicated Workout Space

Whatever gym you go to (or went to), you went there to workout and that’s it. Maybe you showered there after and you probably did a bit of chatting on the gym floor but you knew that once you stepped through those doors, you were there until the workout was finished.

Set up the same kind of space at home.

Dedicate an area of your home or yard to your at-home workouts. A corner of your basement or a grassy area on a flat part of your lawn is all the space you need to get in a good workout.

Whatever gym gear you have, organize it so that it either lives in that dedicated space, or is easily moved into it.

Invest in Some Basic Equipment

You can absolutely stay healthy and fit doing body weight workouts alone. However, if you have specific goals and you’re planning on working out at home for any length of time, basic equipment can lend variety and intensity to your routine.

You don’t need big, expensive or complicated equipment. Start here:

Dumbbells

There are an endless number of exercises that you can perform and/or amplify with a simple set of dumbbells. If you have the space, get 3-5 sets of dumbbells in a variety of weights. If you don’t have the space, consider investing in a pair of adjustable dumbbells.

https://juliahalefitness.com/the-value-of-free-weights-womens-fitness/

Exercise Mat

At the very least, you’ll want a yoga mat for any exercises that you perform from the ground. Invest in a high-quality mat and it will save your joints and last for a long time to come.

Stability/Exercise Ball

I’m a big fan of stability balls. They add an element of stability and balance to a variety of exercise, and they can be substituted for a seat of bench in exercises like dumbbell chest presses, reverse flyes and shoulder presses.

Jump Rope

If you haven’t jumped rope since you were a child, you might be surprised at just how much of a workout it is. It requires coordination, power and endurance and will have you sweating in no time.

Medicine Ball

If you are worried about noise, get a soft medicine ball. If not, either a soft or hard will do. Medicine balls are great for increasing power, core strength and stability. Some of my favorite exercises include slams, wall tosses and single leg wood choppers.

If you have a bit of extra room and spending power, these pieces of equipment can add a lot to your workout as well:

Pull Up Bar
Kettlebell
Box or Step
Exercise Bands

Schedule Your Workouts at Home as You Would at the Gym

Part of going to the gym is the pause it puts in life – whether you go to the gym after work, or before school, or on your lunch break, you have a time that you put everything else aside and just move your body. That’s an important part of what exercise brings to your life so don’t lose it.

Schedule your workouts for the week. Dedicate a specific time when you put everything else aside (chores, work from home, social media), turn up the music and workout. I schedule all of my workouts in my Passion Planner ahead of time so that I know when I’m getting it done and what I’m working on.

Find an Online Class/Trainer to Stay Motivated

If you’ve never been someone who enjoys heading to the gym to workout alone, don’t get discouraged because you’ve moved your workouts home. There are tons of classes and trainers who host classes and train clients online (I know, I’m one of them).

Find someone you connect with and either join a live class or follow along with a recorded class on YouTube.

Build a Workout Playlist

Music plays a HUGE role in your motivation level and the pace of your workout. Ever notice the people who are rocking out by themselves in the corner of the gym? I bet they are also rocking through their workout.

Build a playlist, or find a workout playlist that you like, and reserve it for workouts only. I find that even when working out at home, a great playlist and my favorite head phones are all I need to get in the zone.

Challenge Yourself (Even Without All of the Weights and Equipment of a Full Gym)

Adding weight to an exercise is not the only way to increase the intensity of a movement and challenge your body. If you don’t have a squat rack and a set of plates, don’t worry – you can still get results!

Slow it down

Slow down your reps. Instead of powering through the motions to get it done, purposefully count through each portion of the movement so that your muscles are spending more time under tension (more time working to control the force of the weight), and less time resting.

Practice holds and pulses

Without adding any weight at all you can up the intensity significantly. Add a hold or a pulse at the point of the exercise that you would usually reverse movement. For example, squat down and pause or pulse at the bottom of the squat before straightening your legs and returning to a standing position.

Add instability

Challenge your core and improve your stability by performing movements on an unstable surface. For example, bicep curls become much more difficult when standing on one leg. Deadlifts get harder when you switch to single leg deads instead of placing both feet on the ground.

And of course if you’re looking for some inspiration to pump it up while working out at home, I’ve got you covered.

Fitness & Exercise, Motivation & Mindset

Set Up a Dedicated Workout Space