On those cold, dark winter mornings it’s hard enough dragging yourself out of bed, never mind finding the motivation to workout at home.
We get it – staying under the warm duvet and hibernating till summer seems like a much more appealing option.
And for most people who work from home these days, it can be extra difficult to find time, space, and the drive to get away from your desk and look after your health and fitness properly.
Fear not, we’ve got you covered!
Three of our expert personal trainers, Chloe Slatter (online), Martin Randall (online) and Sophie Kennedy (Coventry) have come up with some golden advice on how to motivate yourself to workout at home…even on those days you really don’t feel like it.
I used to work out in the gym all the time, because I worked there. Now, all I have to do is get changed, and just start working out in my living room. It's just a much more productive use of my time and quite enjoyable as well.
Sophie, At Home Fitness Coventry
A gym membership can cost you anywhere from several hundred pounds to over £1,000 a year. Investing in your fitness is a good idea – but gym memberships have a habit of laying dormant and not being used for the money that’s spent.
Working out at home saves money on costly gym memberships, plus it’s a much better use of your time because you won’t be travelling back and forth to the gym.
No-one wants to put on multiple English-weather-proof layers, get stuck in wet Christmas traffic, only to have to un-layer at the other end – do your workout – and then rinse and repeat for the way back…
Chloe and Sophie, At Home Fitness trainers, share her experiences of the freedom and hassle-free nature of working out at home versus a busy gym.
Chloe, At Home Fitness Online
It’s the convenience of it. You can do what you actually enjoy doing with the equipment you have at home, rather than having to wait on machines becoming free.
Chloe, At Home Fitness Online
If you’re a parent working out at home, you’ll also be setting a great healthy lifestyle example for your kids.
[Your kids] wouldn't see you workout at the gym. They might know you’re there, but they don't know what you're doing. As a parent, my son sees me exercising. He knows what exercise is, and he always wants to be part of it.
Sophie, At Home Fitness Coventry
Plus, there’s something about getting to train in private – without feeling like people are watching (judging) you, removing the temptation to compare yourself, and exercising purely for you.
It removes that social pressure - the pressure of having other people watching while you're working out.
Martin, At Home Fitness Online
In summary, working out at your home is a practical, freeing way to exercise that saves time, money and stress. It comes with a number of benefits (check out our article Are Home Workouts Effective), and makes it easier to motivate yourself and get into a consistent and effective routine.
While exercising at home has plenty of benefits, there are some hurdles that can get in the way of a regular training routine.
If you find you have no motivation to workout, our expert trainers agree that there are four key barriers that need to be overcome.
The TV, laptop, the phone ringing, children screaming…and even the fridge can all be distractions from your home workout going as planned.
Every home workout deserves its own dedicated space. It’s all about getting in the zone mentally and treating that area of the house as the place where you get down to business with your health and fitness.
When you’re at home for lengthy periods of the day, it can be easy to keep putting the workouts off. Telling yourself, ‘I’ll do it at lunchtime’…then when you’re busy at noon you may delay the workout another few hours.
Sophie, At Home Fitness Coventry
When you can exercise any time of day and any day of the week, it leaves a massive opportunity to exercise but also an overwhelming amount of time. Having someone to hold you accountable will always be helpful because it can be difficult to find that motivation in your own time.
Sophie, At Home Fitness Coventry
We don’t all have a garage that’s filled with fancy exercise equipment. We don’t all have a treadmill, a set of kettlebells, or even a four-year-child to bench press!
The lack of equipment is often viewed as a barrier to working out at home. What most people don’t realise is that you can get extremely creative with your home workouts and very little, if any equipment, is often needed.
Creating these types of specialised home workout plans is exactly what our expert fitness trainers can provide. To learn more, click here.
Fortunately, there are simple tricks to overcome these exercise barriers.
Firstly, find an exercise buddy who will do workout sessions with you and ensure you stick to the plan. This will help you build momentum.
If this isn’t an option, you can always ask your other half or a relative living in the house with you to be your ‘accountability partner’. Ask them to check in with you each training day and ask how the session went.
Martin shared the importance of creating a home workout space. It can be a specific room, or a specific section in the room.
You need to create an effective workout environment - whether that’s rolling out an exercise mat or moving the coffee table - so you know that's now ‘your space’ to work out in. This can be really helpful and show others in the house know that you're going to work out to try and avoid those distractions.
Martin, At Home Fitness Online
Thirdly, choose a specific workout time – and stick with it. If you decide to workout from 1pm-1.30pm, then let anyone else in the house know in advance. That creates freedom to have time just for you, and boost motivation.
Turn the TV off, switch your phone onto silent, and do whatever you can to ensure you don’t cancel your scheduled workout.
To get long-term results, building regular workout habits is much better than trying to do too much and getting discouraged. Start with a 20-min workout that you’re happy with, and set a routine with an ‘always something’ approach.
Your workouts don’t have to be a slog, in fact it’s possible to really look forward to your sessions – if you choose the right form of exercise. Do more of what you enjoy physically to maintain motivation.
Accountability is a great way to help you show up even when you don’t feel like it. With personal training you get that accountability, plus the support and expert advice. Our team of At Home Fitness trainers can visit your home or offer online personal training sessions. For more details, click here.
Our expert personal trainers all agreed that planning is an important part of staying motivated.
Go into every workout with a clear plan of what you’re doing – and make sure you track it. There’s no quicker way to lose motivation than to not see progress. Unless you’re tracking it, you’re not going to see that progress.
Martin, At Home Fitness Online
Making a list for the aspects of [your] life and trying to dedicate time and space to workout definitely help. Planning is key!
Chloe, At Home Fitness Online
While you’re planning out those workouts in advance, make a point of setting some clear fitness goals for yourself. Whether it’s losing 7lbs in a couple of months, or increasing your repetitions in certain exercises, having a target to aim for will boost motivation.
A lack of sleep naturally leads to a drop in energy. If you’re depleted and feeling like your batteries need recharging, it’ll be much easier to skip the workout. Invest in sleep and it will boost your motivation to workout – and you’ll enjoy it a lot more too. Chloe explains:
It’s helpful to look at the bigger picture - making sure you're getting good quality sleep, you’re focusing on your dietary intake. This helps you feel better - and be more inclined to have the energy to work out!
Chloe, At Home Fitness Online
Workouts can provide some much-needed ‘you time’ away from the chaos of family life.
On the flipside, getting your family (or friends) involved in home workouts can actually make everyone more inspired about their health and fitness. A win-win for everyone.
Martin, At Home Fitness Online
At Home Fitness personal trainers offer a FREE Discovery session if you want to get fit, feel great, and improve your health through home workouts.
It doesn’t matter where you live because the fitness sessions can be led either in-person, or via online sessions, by our expert personal trainers.
Learn and apply the 5-step journey we use to help clients transform their health and firnes from home
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