How to Stay Motivated for Your At-Home Workouts

Regardless of how good it makes you feel or how much you understand the benefits of exercise, sometimes, it can be tough to stay motivated to get a home workout in -- especially if you’re working out from home.

You’re not alone! Here, we’ve got six tips to help you stay motivated through your at-home workouts.

 

Put It On Your Calendar

One of the best things about at-home workouts is that you can do them whenever works best for you. Plus, without any wasted time driving to the gym, there’s even more time in your schedule to make sure you move your body. 

For some, it’s best to work out first thing in the morning. If that’s the case for you, wake up half an hour early in the morning and get to it. 

For others, especially if you’re also working from home, it’s nice to take a mid-afternoon break by doing some yoga or weight-lifting in the garage. 

Or, you might be a true night owl who’s most energetic when the rest of the world is dozing off to sleep. At-home workouts allow you to exercise at 10 pm if it works for you.

"It’s far easier to stay motivated when you’re on your own schedule."

The trick is, sticking to the schedule you set out for yourself. It’s best to not only workout when you have the most energy, but to workout at the same time every day so that it becomes a habit. 

Eventually, it’ll start to feel like clockwork and your body will crave some movement at that specific time of day.

 

Build a Dedicated At-Home Gym

When we say “home-gym” it doesn’t always mean you have to convert your third-car garage and stock it with all the home gym equipment on the market -- although that would be pretty sweet. 

On the contrary, a compact home gym in the corner of your living room could be more than enough space for a killer workout. You won’t need much equipment either. 

The point is, having a dedicated home gym space will make it easier to stay motivated for your at-home workouts. Instead of pulling out all your exercise gear every time you want to get moving, it remains ready to go for your next session, causing far less friction between thinking about working out and actually getting started.

Choose Workouts You Enjoy

One of the biggest mistakes people make when it comes to at-home workouts is choosing exercise styles they don’t actually enjoy. 

Sure, part of the euphoria you feel after working out is due to pushing past our limits and accomplishing difficult tasks. But it’s still possible to enjoy the process, even if it’s tough.

Do all your friends love yoga but you can’t seem to get into it? Choose something else. Are you always dreading your HIIT sessions but love weight-lifting in comparison? That should be telling you something.

"When we enjoy the workouts we’re doing at home, we’re far more likely to stay motivated to do them."

Choose an exercise style that works for you and you might be surprised at how much easier it is to use your home gym.

 

Rely on Habits

Even though we’re talking about motivation here, you should actually rely more on building habits than focusing on feeling motivated. Anyone who’s ever set a goal knows that motivation doesn’t last long. Therefore, we have to rely on the habits that set us up for success.

Sticking to a consistent workout schedule, as we mentioned earlier, is a great example of building a habit that encourages more home workouts.

Other examples of habits you can build include:

• Leaving your sneakers out by the front door, ready for you to change into when you get home from work.
• Creating a morning routine that includes a 20-minute workout before having your coffee and checking your emails.
• Using the walk to drop your kids off at school as your warm-up that triggers the motivation to do your at-home workout.

Generally, we need a cue to trigger a healthy habit so think of ways to make it easier to get up and get moving. 

 

Create Accountability

Sometimes, the hardest part about using our at-home gym is the fact that we’re the only ones in on it. We’re not paying for a gym membership that makes us want to make the most of it and we don’t have an instructor counting on us to show up to spin class.

Therefore, creating your own accountability can be a huge motivator for doing your at-home workouts. 

You might invite a friend over to use your home gym for a weekly workout. You won’t stay on the couch if you know someone else is there to exercise as well.

Or, you might take advantage of an online group where you post about a finished workout session every day.

"When others are expecting you to stick to your word, you’re more likely to get it done."

Another idea is to simply tell your spouse about your fitness goals to create accountability. Let them know that you’d like to be encouraged if they notice you’re getting into the bad habit of skipping your workouts.

However you go about it, give yourself the extra accountability to keep yourself on track with your at-home workouts.

 

Focus on the Benefits

Last but not least, one of the best ways to stay motivated with any workout plan, at-home or not, is by focusing on the benefits of exercise. 

After a sweaty session, you’re bound to feel oozing with energy, in a better mood, and, over time, your body will transform as well.

"By remembering why you’re working out in the first place, it’ll become easier to get started day after day."

 

 

Working out at home doesn’t have to be a nuisance. With portable gym equipment and these tips to help you stay motivated, at-home workouts might be the answer to your exercise woes. 

Check out Redge Fit’s full line of at-home gym equipment and start smashing your fitness goals today.