Working out at home is getting more and more popular, and its rise started even before the pandemic. Home workouts are a great way to work on your fitness, but also release stress, accept your body and boost your confidence. However, it’s not all roses and butterflies! Most people who start working out at home report that they lack the motivation to stick to their workout schedules. Don’t let that happen to you with these easy ways to boost motivation and reach your fitness goals:
Set your goals
We all know that physical activity is important and staying fit is good for health. But how do you reach the goal of ‘being more physically active’ or ‘being healthier’? When you don’t see you’re reaching your goals, your motivation might wither and disappear. Instead, create a few smaller goals and one big goal, all being easy to measure. For instance, good small goals are to lose X pounds or lift X kg. Good long-term goals are: fit into high school pants, run a mile or perform a clean pull up. Reaching your short-term goals will give you the motivation to keep pushing even without a personal trainer to shout encouragement.
Track your progress
If you want to maintain strong motivation throughout your home workout program, put your focus on your short-term goals. Finish your workout of the day, finish your first week of working out and then start a monthly challenge. Once you finish a week of exercising, you can measure your progress by weighing yourself, taking your measurements or testing your fitness. If you’ve been sticking to your regimen, the results will be visible and your motivation will skyrocket. Tracking your progress is important for another reason as well—boosting your workouts. Every week, add 5 minutes to your stationary bike session, one set to your weightlifting routine or squeeze in one more workout.
Designate a comfortable workout space
Surprise, surprise, your home is not a fully equipped gym with great lighting and music. If you happen to have a home gym, wow, congratulations. But if you’re just a mere mortal like most of us, you’ll have to settle for whatever little space you have. Many people are more than satisfied with setting up a tiny gym in their basement or fitting a yoga mat in their study. Having a handy and ready place where you can work out will remove many barriers between you and your session for the day. Plus, your little “gym” will be your safe space that provides you with health, strength and wellbeing—who doesn’t like a corner like that!
Dress up
Many people find it hard to work out at home because they don’t have that motivating sense of routine—getting dressed, commuting, working out, hitting the locker room, etc. Well, you can recreate that at home…sort of. Start by grabbing some new workout clothes. And don’t worry about style, because functional womens activewear looks better than ever. When you’re all styled up and looking fit and active, it’s going to be much easier to hit the weights or do your cardio for the day. And you can instantly snap amazing post-workout selfies! Hit the shower right after your session and move to the kitchen to fix yourself a shake—it’s a great routine that will make you feel accomplished. And motivated.
Put it in your calendar
If you’re a very organized and responsible person, make sure to put your workout on your calendar. Schedule your session like an important appointment and you will realize that exercising is actually a big priority in your life. Seeing a “finish a workout” in red on your calendar will definitely make you feel guilty and motivate you to do better. Plus, crossing off your workout for the day from your calendar feels very satisfying.
Find your cheer squad
According to research, it’s best not to share your workout plans with the world, because you’ll be very embarrassed if you don’t succeed to stick to them. However, when you muster the courage to actually do your workout, snap a sweaty selfie to share your satisfaction. You will build a small squad of social media supporters who will give you that feeling of accomplishment you can use next time you’re contemplating skipping your workout.
The best way to stay dedicated to your workouts is to find a routine you enjoy and work towards your health goals. It’s actually possible to control many factors that dictate your home workouts so clear out your schedule, get all dressed up for success and blast your favorite tunes. Soon it will feel weird not to exercise and work actively towards your goals.
