Home Workout Tips to Maximise Results
Exercise does not have to be an expensive {or even public} activity.
Slender, athletic women seen running on the treadmill and showcasing fit and toned bodies, beefed up machos flaunting their hard-earned abs, the clattering of heavy gym equipment, a chiselled trainer keeping clients in line ~ a gymnasium is as daunting as it is expensive.
If fitness has breached your top five goals this Christmas and hitting the gym sounds inconvenient or gym-timidating, good news! You don’t need to squander money on an expensive monthly fee. A bit of space, a comfortable outfit, some fundamental moves, and you are good to begin your home workout. And yes, you need a lot of willpower to stay true to your goal, as I walk you through the only home workout tips to maximise results that you will ever need!
- Carving Your Workout Space
You don’t just walk into the middle of any room, pick up a pair of dumbbells and start flexing your arms. Like every other important activity in your life, you need a space earmarked for your home workout. It could be a corner of your bedroom, a portion of your garage, or even a nice little carved out area in your living room. Preferably, an airy and bright place.
The size of your workout space would depend on the complexity of your movements. For simple jumping jacks, push-ups, or burpees, anything that fits a yoga mat would suffice. You could place your fitness kit, such as resistance bands, in a basket next to your mat to keep everything Marie Kondo-friendly. But if your routine calls for more elaborated activities, you would want broader real estate. Make sure you have ample room in all four directions to accommodate your movement.
- Don’t Splurge on Equipment
The best home workout tip someone can give you is probably this: do not spend beyond your capacity, to buy fancy gym equipment. It’s not about stockpiling your designated workout space with treadmills or spin bikes. Without the right attitude, those would in all probability become makeshift clothes hangers. What you need to start is a dumbbell with interchangeable weights, a yoga mat and perhaps resistance bands.
As you begin to develop a firm sense of understanding about what type of workout your body needs, you can invest in more expensive equipment. Additionally, dispose of the notion that an exercise session has to be endless and uncomfortable. All you really need is 25-45 minutes, a suitable space to workout in and staying motivated.
- Keep Distractions at Bay
Most people will muster enough willpower to start a home workout, but sticking to the task is the real challenge. There are plentiful sources of distraction operating around your workout space ~ be that members of your household, the cat/dog, the television, somebody at the door or the ringing phone ~ which may lead to a workout being missed or cut short. You have to reward yourself with home workout tips on how to avoid them best. Silencing your mobile phone’s notification or not letting a television program steal your attention goes without saying. Also, you would do well to avoid working out amidst conversations or in a chaotic environment.
Pro tip: I usually find it beneficial to get myself into the right frame of mind, particularly when I’m home alone and clearly feeling lazy, to redirect my calls to voice mail. I assure myself that I am focused on nothing but myself for the next 45 minutes, or however long.
- Warm-up and Cool Down
Working out sans a warm-up session can cost you all the rewards that come with it. Worse still, it can be counter-productive ~ your muscles will be strained more, thus increasing the chances of picking up an injury. So, do not tread into your exercise routine without preparing the body by loosening your joints and stretching the muscles, with a proper warm-up.
As important as the warm-up is the post-workout phase, where your body needs to cool down. During the workout, you have elevated the level of activity that you can’t pull the plug off it all of a sudden. Settle yourself into a less demanding state by steadily decreasing the pace of your exercise; this slows down the heart rate, gently bringing your body to a calm state and helps the body to recover properly.
- Music for Muscles
As you exercise more and more, you will feel the need to replenish your self-motivation reservoirs. Thankfully, a workout leaves enough freedom to multitask, and you can tune into some music to hit you with a dose of gym-spiration. So, create your gym-playlist now! Be it contemporary remixes, soul-pumping hits, or even old classics; pick the one that gets you going, thus ensuring you’re progressing towards your fitness and health goals.
If you are worried about wandering off your goals, you can pin them on places where you will never lose sight of them. I would recommend using to-do apps that will remind you of your unmet goals. But if you prefer the old school, then add them to your diary or calendar. Stay disciplined and diligent.
To conclude: Convincing your body to go through a phase of strain can be challenging initially, but I find that giving myself realistic fitness targets helps in building a healthy sense of accountability. You will do well to remember that starting a home workout doesn’t require you to have something you already don’t possess. Everything you need, you already have. Now it’s all about building a manageable routine with proper home workout tips while ensuring it suits your lifestyle and is sustainable.
I hope you enjoyed these home workout tips I have recommended and write back to tell me if you like it or not! I’ll be waiting to hear from you!