Fitness Lifestyle: Fitness at Home Four Years Later
A fitness lifestyle requires commitment. This is the one activity that remains consistent. In four years, I went from working in the office to two years of working from home. When the pandemic created a lockdown it was easy to continue my home workouts. Two years of living with a pandemic and trying to stay healthy were challenging. My workouts helped to deal with stress. As much as fitness helps physically it is my stress relief for mental health. I decided to forego a gym membership and continue with my home workouts. In four years I have logged at least 300 home workouts. I skipped some weeks because the reality of life sets in and the body can benefit from rest days. A fit lifestyle is not always perfect and the most important lesson learned is to use the next week to reset.
Fitness Lifestyle Workout Schedule
- Plan a weekly schedule. how many days? what time works best? AM or PM Monday, Wednesday, Friday or Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday I prefer an evening workout.
- Choose workouts that make sense. YouTube is my go to for free workouts. My favorite certified trainer is Body Fit by Amy. She always provides a warm-up, modifications, and cool down. Some of my other favorites on YouTube include Well + Good, Fitness Blender, The Live Fit Girl, Caroline Jordan, Mad Fit, Workout Hotel, and Mr&Mrs Fitness. On YouTube you can search under thousands of key words such as cardio, strength training, yoga, pilates, HIIT or under equipment key words. There are fitness apps for a fee but I opt to use free workouts. Do what makes sense for you.
- Equipment: home workouts require space and storage for equipment. I have invested in dumbbells, kettlebells, core sliders, mat, high density foam roller, resistance bands, medicine ball, stability ball. My two favorites are my TRX and a BOSU ball. If home workouts are an option, you can also find plenty of workouts using only body weight.
- Space: Where you can workout is important to stick to a schedule.
- Apparel: Dress in your best fitness apparel to prepare for each workout
- Stay consistent, if necessary find an accountability partner, find a social media fitness group for motivation
Nutrition
The best suggestion I found for nutrition is to create balanced meals that are rich in vegetables, fruits, grains, and lean protein. One of my initial apps that were very helpful was MyFitness Pal which tracks foods. I am not a fan of eliminating foods I love but choose to eat in moderation. My best advice is find what works for you and stick to it. This fit lifestyle is not a one size fits all. Also, reaching out to a registered dietician to create a plan is a great idea.