With the global pandemic that has affected the world over the last 18 months and most gyms closed, working out from home has seen a sharp increase in popularity recently. The question becomes, where do you start? How can you be as successful as possible when you decide to start? We decided to create this list of things to think about to get you off to the best start.
1. Start small
Starting small is probably one of the hardest things to remember, but also one of the most important. You are likely going to feel motivated at the start because...well...that's why you're starting. This means you will want to push yourself, but if you haven't worked out recently and start pushing yourself too hard, you're just going to succeed in hurting yourself. It will take discipline to hold yourself back for the first couple of weeks, but you need to build up the strength slowly. Let your body get used to the workout. Start with just 10 push-ups rather than 20. Start with 5 chin ups instead of 10. We are going for long term changes here, so it's a marathon and not a sprint. You get further in a marathon.
2. Schedule your workouts
Another great way to make sure you are successful is to go through your current day and schedule a time each day. If possible, make it the same time each day. That way, it can become as much a part of your day as a shower is, or as brushing your teeth. I am not saying you have to do the same workout every day; in fact, I discourage that, but at least once a day where you will build up a sweat from different activities.
3. Create a specific workout area
This one is a strange one, but it's the reason people find going to the gym so much easier than working out at home. Working out at home has a lot of distractions (TV, computer games), granted, but when you go to the gym, you create a habit in your mind. Your mind learns that when we go here, we're going to work out. Whereas that habit struggles to form in the home environment. That is why you need a specific workout area or routine that gets your mind to form the same habit. "If I go into this room, I am going to work out" kind of thing. This can tie in nicely with the previous tip of scheduling your work out. For example, "I just took off my work shoes, so now I am going to put on my running shoes."
4. Create a pre and post workout schedule
This shouldn't be confused with Tip 2. This is part of your workout. Sure, you may not be building a sweat at this point, but it's more to help your mind get into the workout zone and come out of the workout zone. Something along the lines of putting the phone or distractions away and drinking some pre-workout. Getting the exercise equipment out or reading the routine you will be doing today in the work out. This is, again, to help your mind separate the distractions of being at home from the task at hand. Same with your post-workout routine. Maybe it's a shower, or a glass of water while staring out the kitchen window. The idea is that we are looking for something to define that the workout is over in our heads, the same effect as driving away from the gym.
5. Stick to a program
This one can be a bit difficult for people just starting out. It might be good to get a professional trainer to help out with this if possible. The programme should deal with the full body. This will allow you to work on different parts and muscle groups on different days. The benefit of doing it that way means that you can let the muscles you worked out yesterday rest and recover while working out a different group today. It is more efficient that way. It also means that certain groups of muscles are less likely to become stronger while their opposite groups don't change. If this happens, it causes muscle pain and pulled muscles if both groups aren't worked out equally.
Working out at home is very different from working out at a gym. You are faced with issues like distractions, not being able to get into the right frame of mind and what kind of exercises are you going to do? These tips should help you get a great head start on your journey.