Working out at home can bring a swag of benefits: membership is free, you enjoy all-hours access, and it’s nice and private (no sharing sweaty equipment!).
On the flip side, home is also full of so many distractions.
From housework and family time to plonking in front of Netflix, plenty of things can steer your focus away from exercise and keep you too busy to make a real commitment.
But, of course, the story doesn’t have to end there.
In this post, I’m sharing five tips to help you stay focused and actually fit in that workout at home.
Know your why
Underpinning any workout goal – whether at home or in a gym – is the question, “Why do I want to do this?” The key to answering that question is to be specific and find the emotions driving your decision to get fit. (For me, it’s health rather than looks.)
If you don’t have a clear idea of the ‘why,’ you will find it challenging to stay on track when you feel tired or time-poor.
How do you feel at your current level of fitness?
What will you gain with greater fitness?
For some, weight loss brings a newfound sense of body confidence; for others, increasing strength and endurance means being more active with the kids or pursuing sports and adventure hobbies.
Once you have written out the motivation behind your goals, whip up a visual to keep you focused.
Vision boards are a great antidote to the old “out of sight, out of mind” problem.
Keeping some inspirational images and quotes up where you will regularly see them helps bring your mind back to the reasons you really want to exercise.
Make some room
Unused studies and spare garages can be a great place to set up a home gym.
However, even if you are simply popping on a workout video in the lounge room, you can still carve out some dedicated space for your equipment.
It doesn’t matter what kind of space or gear you have.
What matters is that it works for you.
Keeping things neat, organized, and easy to pull out will make it quicker for you to dive straight into a sesh.
There’s plenty of home gym storage inspo online, so flick open a browser and take a scroll to see what options might best suit you.
Get kitted out
The amount of equipment you have will come down to personal preference, budget, and available space for using and storing it.
You can get started with home workouts using no special equipment at all.
Try using bodyweight or improvised weights, such as cans of food, or mix it up with cardio exercises, pilates, and yoga, which can all be managed without spending a cent.
You may prefer to have a few smaller items on hand, such as hand weights, a skipping rope, and some resistance bands.
Ready to go the whole way and put together a home gym?
A treadmill or elliptical trainer, stationary bike, squat rack, and bench are popular choices to help you achieve your fitness goals.
Set your schedule – and stick to it!
It is so easy for the daily demands of life to muscle in on your best-laid plans for exercise.
Even the couch can sap your will to move if you don’t have a strategy to combat its charms.
Heading to the gym frees you from other distractions and helps you get in the zone: you’re there with one purpose in mind.
At home, you have to work a little harder to stick to your plan, and it all starts with setting a specific time and day for each workout session.
Set a start and finish time and make it a rule that when your workout alarm goes off, you stop what you’re doing and head straight to your exercise area.
It might be helpful to have your workout clothes on ahead of time so you’re ready to spring into action and really grab hold of that momentum when your session starts.
Mix it up
Following the same routine, every time you work out can feel like you’re stuck in a (very dull) rut in no time.
YouTube is a fantastic resource for free exercise videos, and there are limitless combinations of home workouts available. My favorite workout trainers there are HASFIT.
You can also choose from hundreds of phone-based exercise apps, which may include features such as custom workout plans, fitness challenges, and exercise tracking.
Keeping things varied and exciting ups the likelihood that you will keep up with your goals and continue making progress.
Free Printable Workout Tracker
Here’s a free tool from me that can help you stick to your goal of working out at home.
Simple, lightweight and minimalistic workout tracker for easy and decluttered fitness tracking.
Use it to track or pre-plan your workouts in your preferred setting – it comes undated so you can set your own routines easily.
You can also reprint this planner for years!
The unisex style fits perfectly all genders.
To get your free workout planner printable, choose the size below:
FREE Workout Tracker Printable by ShineSheets – size US LETTER
FREE Workout Tracker Printable by ShineSheets – size A4
*Personal use only!
However you like to get your sweat on at home – there are no excuses now! Get moving with your equipment, or pull out your yoga mat and take advantage of all the benefits that working out at home has to offer.
