Staying Motivated With Home Workouts

I think it' safe to say that we've all experienced challenges staying on track with our fitness goals since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. From multiple gym closures, to a world-wide shortage of fitness equipment, to your living room suddenly becoming your work place, gym and children's school... this has not been easy.

Myself, along with many people miss the hustle and bustle of our neighborhood gym. The rush of energy upon arriving, the variety of equipment, the steam room and the sense of community. Some gym goers made friends in group fitness classes, or by offering a spot on a heavy set, or maybe you felt that sense of community just by seeing the same familiar face there every Tuesday after work. Sadly, even with gyms re-opening, many members are not returning due challenges regarding limited capacity and fear of transmitting the virus. "I have not been at my gym since March 2020. I loved it there and plan to return one day, but it's so hard to book a time slot and for that reason I have shifted to working out at home"

SO, HOW DO WE STAY MOTIVATED TO WORKOUT AT HOME?

We asked our viewers how they are staying motivated at home and we found many people shared similar views.

"Schedule my workouts in my calendar and remind myself how good it feels after"

Scheduling in time to workout is key! Especially now, with many people working from home it's important to have that time of day when the laptop closes and you get to the other portions of your evening, just like if you were leaving work for the day and heading to the gym. When your "appointment" comes up, dedicate yourself for the full amount of time you’ve set aside. Have everything you need ready: water, a towel, motivating music, so that nothing pulls your focus. If possible, I recommend putting your phone away. We're all guilty of the quick text message that turns into a 10 minute break between sets. Create a schedule that makes the most sense for you and be as specific as possible. Back in December I spent about 30 minutes choosing specific workout videos that I found on Youtube for each day of the month. I found this to be effective, because I had a specific plan to follow and it helped ensure that I was doing a variety of workouts, not just what I felt would be easier in that moment. Many fitness influencers will have these types of calendars to follow free of charge, such as this one by MadFit, or you can make your own personal calendar.

Now for the "remind myself how good it feels after" part. I really feel this is one of the most important sentiments to hold onto when feeling unmotivated. Remember, it is very unlikely that you will regret working out! Aside from physical benefits, physical activity increases serotonin, which helps your brain regulate mood, sleep and appetite. This is especially important to remember when we are feeling low about other aspects of our lives, whether it be isolation due to Covid-19 or work stress. It may not feel like it in the moment, but some type of physical activity can help immensely.

You can even create a workout playlist with your favourite tunes, with enough songs to get you through the entire workout. Music is another common motivator amongst viewers.

THE GLASS HALF FULL

Now working out at home isn't all bad. Many people enjoy the privacy of an at home workout. Factors like rainy weather, snow-covered streets and traffic jams no longer have to stop you from exercising and you could even save money!

"I like working out at home because it saves me so much time. Even though I know I shouldn't care about how I look at the gym, I still put a bit of time into looking good. Now I just roll out of bed, have my pre-workout, get my workout gear on and I'm ready to go in 15 minutes."

If you don't procrastinate, working out at home could buy you extra time to get other important things done, or simply relax.

"Seeing progress by sticking to my home program keeps me motivated."

Seeing yourself progress has to be one of the most fulfilling aspects of sticking with a workout routine, whether that's doing one more push than you normally do, hitting a personal best, seeing physical change or simply feeling better. We are all motivated by having goals. It's important to set goals and celebrate your victories, maybe even a little more given the additional obstacles we currently face. Just remember, most fitness goals are a marathon not a sprint and sometime non-visible progress is the most important progress of all.

Many viewers mentioned apps, videos and fitness trackers that are helping them workout at home. There are truly so many options available to us, many of them free of charge. Below are some crowd favourites that we hope you, or someone you know could utilize:

YOUTUBE CHANNELS:

MR AND MRS MUSCLE: A variety of HIIT Cardio Home Workouts that are highly metabolic, incredibly effective and very, very addictive. These videos focus on large muscle groups and explosive movements to ramp up your heart and have a variety of different video lengths and options

POP SUGAR FITNESS: Pop Sugar Fitness offers fresh fitness tutorials, workouts, and exercises that will help you on your road to healthy living, weight loss, and stress relief. The channel has all types of workouts from Hiit, barre, kickboxing, and much more.

FITNESS BLENDER: A husband and wife duo with over 500 fitness videos. "Gimmick free fitness for the people" Helpful, informative and motivating videos for people of all fitness levels. Aside from workout videos they also offer workout programs, recipes and more.

FITNESS APPS:

FITON: Unlimited workouts from celebrity trainers, Cardio, Strength, HIIT, Yoga and more - no equipment required, Get results with personalized fitness plans & challenges, Stream to any screen: phone, laptop, tablet & TV

RIOT PLAY: RIOT Play offers you cycle, yoga, boxing and bootcamp classes all on one App. For 30 or 45 minutes, the bike becomes your best friend. A friend that pushes you, supports you, and connects with you on a mental and physical level. You’ll be singing at the top of your lungs when your favourite song is played, or just bounce to the beat with our Leaders

DOWN DOG: Down Dog provides a studio-like yoga experience in the comfort of your home. A wide variety of videos that are easy to follow along to. Mixes up your workouts so you never do the same one twice. You can download classes to take offline and has the option to customize your workouts

APPLE FITNESS: A fitness experience for everyone, powered by Apple Watch. World-class workouts by the world’s best trainers.10 workout types, everything from HIIT to yoga. New workouts added every week. Challenge your friends or co-workers to close your "Move rings" by hitting your personal goal of active calories burned.

STRAVA: Strava is an American internet service for tracking human exercise which incorporates social network features. It is mostly used for cycling and running using GPS data. Strava is a free app, with some features only available under a premium account. This could be a great app to check out heading into summer:

If you're getting tired of the view in your living room, keep in mind that you can spice up your workout by moving it outside, or substituting your usual workouts with other outdoor activities. Check out this list of approximate calories burned during different outdoor activities, of course these numbers will vary depending on intensity level. As much as possible I like to try and get outside on the days that I am focusing on cardio training.

Walking: A 60 minute walk will burn between 200 and 350 calories

Hiking: 300 – 600 calories per hour, depending on your weight, backpack, speed and terrain

Biking: The average person will burn between 450 to 750 calories per hour cycling. The number of calories depends on your weight, speed and time spent biking.

Tennis: 400-600 per hour, depending on level of intensity

"Balance is key. Sticking to my workouts as much as possible, but leaving time for self care and fun as well."

Balance is so important. This is something that will ensure that your fitness plan is sustainable. You need to factor in time to rest and recovery, otherwise you'll burn out physically and mentally. As important as a schedule is, keep in mind that you should also listen to your body and mind. If you had planned a high intensity workout, but you're not feeling up to it, maybe substituting with some yoga or outdoor activity is a good idea. Find that balance between pushing yourself and allowing changes to your plan.

"Even though we can't workout together, I like having my friends involved to help keep me motivated."

Accountability will lead to a higher success rate in your fitness journey. Over the past year I've even facetimed friends to complete the same workout. It was nice to connect and motivate each other.

DESIGNATE A SPACE

If you're working out at home, try your best to have a designated space to workout in. This may not be possible in all house holds, but making the space functional will make your workouts much easier. Some people have invested in home gyms in the past year, while others hold off in the hopes of returning to the public gym soon. Just remember that no matter how much space you have, simple items can make a huge difference. A mat can make your workout more comfortable, or a set of dumbbells can help you stay on track with your strength training. A set of resistance tubes or mini bands can add that extra resistance that you need to take your workout to the next level. All of these items take up a minimal amount of space.