We’ve all found ourselves working at home a lot more recently – because of lockdowns and gym closures, people all over the globe have thrown away their gym membership cards and have instead bought some shiny new weights to use in their living room.
But how effective is working out at home? We’ve learned that it can be just as good as a gym workout, as long as you do it right. In this post, we’ve got some tips for working out at home to keep you on track to your fitness goals.
There are a few reasons why you may find working out in a gym more favorable, such as there are big weight machines there and it’s somewhere where you find more motivation. However, working out in your bedroom or living room can be just as effective, provided you take some easy steps to stay motivated and make the most out of each home workout.
Find the right gear
You really don’t need a lot of gear to complete effective home workouts. Even if you have none, there are plenty of cardio and bodyweight exercise classes on YouTube or other platforms, or if you know enough about different exercises, you could compile your own routine.
However, if you want to improve your overall fitness and have some specific goals, it will help to invest in some gear. Here are some home workout tools that you can consider purchasing:
- Cardio machines – these are expensive, and most people only purchase them if they are building an at-home gym in a specific room in their house. However, if you don’t ever want to go back to the gym and don’t like running, hiking, or cycling outside, they may be a worthwhile investment.
- Weight machines – equally, people generally only buy these if they intend to build their own gym and have a certain machine that they like.
- Barbells – barbells consist of a long metal rod with an adjustable plate at either end. You can use these for squatting or lifts. They are relatively affordable and are a staple part of many people’s fitness routines.
- Dumbells – these are smaller, handheld weights. You can use these for various moves, including arm exercises, squats, lunges, and extra weight during ab workouts.
- Resistance Bands – these are inexpensive and a handy tool whether you are working out at home or in the gym. You can purchase long or short resistance bands here and use them to add more intensity to your workout; for example, you can put a short band around your legs when you are doing squats or use a long band to do arm exercises.
Get a trainer
This could mean hiring a virtual personal trainer, but equally, you could follow free workouts on YouTube. There are hundreds of exercise channels on YouTube; just type in the type of exercise you want to do, for example, ’20 minute ab workout’, and follow the video.
This will help you find inspiration for exercise routines and will encourage you to stick to your workout routine. It’s best to do a bit of research on the instructor to make sure that they know their stuff – they should ideally be a personal trainer.
Set aside a gym space in your house
Setting aside some space to workout will help you stay motivated and get into the home workout mindset. This might not always be practical, depending on where you live, but having a room or a part of a room that you associate with working out can really help to improve your attitude about exercising.
Once you have chosen your space, put all of your weights, resistance bands, and other pieces of gym gear in the area. You may also want to store your gym clothes in there and include a table where you can put your phone or laptop if you are following tutorials. Checking out home-fitness equipment trends is also a great way to set up your home gym. There is a lot of new equipment for beginners and serious athletes alike, an example of this is the ย MaxPro portable cable gym! Read more on how it works and the benefits it offers in this MaxPro portable gym review.
Train at the same time each day
Training at the same time every day can help you get into a routine and subsequently make exercising feel like second nature. Many people find that they work out better early in the morning. If you resonate with this, try to make working out the first thing you do each day.
However, the idea of working out before a meal and a cup of coffee may make you shudder. That’s ok too! You might find a lunchtime workout more palatable to break up your day, or you might like to do it just after you finish work.
Whatever time of day is best for you is fine; just try to be regular with it so it becomes a part of your daily routine. If you do this, you won’t need to look far to find motivation for working out at home!
Working out at home can be very effective, as long as you are smart with it. Having the right gear can really help, as can finding some expert guidance to replicating the gym experience in your house. However, one thing that people struggle with most when working out at home is motivation.
If you designate one area of your apartment or house as a home workout zone and try to exercise at the same time each day, you should find that you are able to stay focused and stick to your training plan.
