How to Workout at Home
I spent sixty-nine weeks working out at home from October 2017 to December 2018. Yes, working out at home has its challenges due to distractions and time constraints. I prefer to workout at home in the evenings. The end of my day means winding down from work, tween/teen stuff, homework, and trying to tune in to the latest drama from middle school. I decided to start working out from home to save money on a gym membership. My schedule is limited to working out a gym on the weekends and I cannot justify the return on a $29.99/month membership fee. YouTube is free and there are thousands of workouts and trainers. Also, you can select the duration of the workouts. There are days when I can only spare a 12-15 minute workout. This is perfectly fine as long as I increase my workouts for the remainder of the week.
Setting Goals
My goal is to gain muscle and lose fat. I love strength training and compound exercises. By increasing my dumbbell and kettlebell weights, I am hoping to maintain these results. Strength training is only one component, my diet is key as well. I like to count macros, using FitnessPal.
Ways to Achieve Goals
Some of the things I have learned in the last year include:
- Set a fitness goal – Do you want to lose weight? Gain weight? Lose fat? build muscle? tone/firm? build endurance?
- For home workouts, find the app that works best for your goals. YouTube is only one that is free. Online training apps are accessible for Android and Apple devices.
- If you elect to join a gym, hire a trainer to get started
- Purchase equipment that works for your workouts and space. Some suggestions
include: resistance loop bands, dumbbells, resistance bands with the handles, medicine ball, stability ball, barbell, mat - Set a time that works for your daily schedule and then decide how many days per week you can fit in. I try to do at least 3 days a week, 4 if I am feeling really motivated
- Diversify workouts each week to avoid getting bored
- Invest in workout clothing and proper shoes to get motivated