Do you want to start working out, but don’t want to join the gym or head to exercise classes? Maybe it’s too expensive, there’s no good near you, or you feel silly working out in front of other people. Maybe your schedule is too full to allow for trips to the gym. This leaves working out at home. Can you really get an effective workout at home?
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If you want to try exercise at home, try some of these tips to make your workouts effective, and to help you stay motivated and free from injuries.
Challenge yourself to avoid getting bored
If you do your workouts at home, you won’t have access to the variety of equipment and classes that would be available at the gym. To avoid getting bored of doing the same exercise, you can go online or flick through fitness magazines to get some ideas for new workouts and to make sure you’re doing your exercises correctly. Pictures and video can be very helpful. Use them as a guide to check your form and technique to avoid getting injured. Wear the right clothes too. Even working out at home needs supportive shoes and comfortable clothing from shops
Find an exercise partner
It’s a lot harder to find an excuse to avoid your workout when you’ve promised someone else that you’ll work out together. Get your spouse or a friend involved to keep you both on track.
Schedule your workouts
It helps a lot to have a plan. Buy a dedicated planner, use your normal calendar, or use your phone, and write down your exercise like an appointment well in advance, the same way as you would anything else, like going to the optician, or a friend’s birthday party. If something comes up, and you need to change a workout, rearrange it, don’t just cancel it. Having the time blocked out will help you to actually do it. Putting your workouts on the calendar also shows the family that you are not free at this time, just as you wouldn’t be on hand to help with homework or settling a squabble if you were out.
Use a journal to track your progress
You should record any milestones that you reach during your fitness journey. If you have a bad day, record that as well. This will help you to spot patterns that you can break or make use of. For example, if you felt lethargic during a few workouts, and can see that happened on days when you didn’t eat breakfast, then you know not to do that. Writing things down might show you that your workouts are more effective after you’ve eaten eggs for breakfast, rather than a bagel, for example. Tracking your progress can also help you to feel more motivated. For example, if you can see that you’re able to do more push-ups than you could a month ago, you can feel proud of that and aim to strive for more.
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