More and more people are starting to realize the importance of having a healthy diet and regular exercise. Although the combination of these two which results to a healthy lifestyle seems to be the oldest and most effective health and fitness advice in the book, not many people have the capability to engage in physical exercises regularly.
There are many things that hinder them from exercising such as the lack of time, the lack of money for gym membership fees, and the absence of exercise machines such as treadmills that are usually found in gyms. Now, you can learn how to workout at home effectively.
1) Getting Started
Just like in any other activity or task, you need to diagnose or assess the situation first. Currently, where are you where exercise is concerned? Do you exercise regularly, from time to time, rarely, or never? What is your current health condition? Are you satisfied with your current weight or do you want to lose weight? If you do, how much weight do you want to lose? Does your work involve physical activities or not? From there, you will be able to formulate your goals and start crafting a workout plan and how to workout at home effectively.
Take note, honesty in this step is very important. By that, self-denial is never helpful in determining what you need to work out for.
2) Make a Plan
Once you have assessed your exercise needs, sit down in your study and make a plan. It will be helpful if you write down your plan, and post it somewhere where you can easily see it. This will help remind you of what you have planned to do. Make sure that you formulate a timetable with clear targets.
An important part of the plan that you should make is the type/s of exercise that you need, and you can carry out. The type of exercise that you should engaged to be based on the specific needs of your body which you should have assessed properly. Also, if you have particular health conditions like asthma, make sure to consult your doctor before you start you workout plans.
In choosing the type of exercise, choose only those that will be applicable at home and won’t need bulky gym equipment like push ups, jumping ropes, abdominal exercises, etc.
3) Find Time
Time is usually the most common hindrance to a successful workout routine. However, you can’t always make your busy schedule an excuse to compromise your health. Sacrificing things that are less important will be helpful so that you can make the time you need for your workout. You can try workout routines that can be done with other things that you usually do. Thus, multitasking is the key to maximize the little free time that you have. For example, you can watch the news while running on a treadmill or you can spend your date night with your wife brisk walking along the neighbourhood. If you can make way to do two things at the same time, then time will no longer be a problem.
4) Spend When Necessary
Budget should not be a hindrance to start your workout at home. If you can’t afford gym expenses, be creative and modify your workout. You don’t have to buy expensive equipment or build a sophisticated workout area in your house if it is not within your budget. A brisk walk or abdominal exercise won’t take too much off your budget. Besides, a pair of exercise shoes and sweat shirt can be reward for yourself for finally prioritizing your health.
5) Call a Friend
It may be better to have someone “run” with you. Invite a friend or a loved one over and share your goal. Instead of a night out at a club, why don’t you have fun exercising instead?
6) Make it a Commitment
The usual problem why people can’t continue working out at home is because of the lack of commitment. They usually get driven at first but lost the will afterwards. When you start to feel like stopping, go back to the plan that you had at the beginning. Check if you have reached your target. If you didn’t, don’t stop. Unless it is a matter of life and death, never miss any of your exercise schedules or you’ll get behind your targets. Avoid things that can tempt you to be lazy or feel less motivated. Do it regularly!
7) Monitor Results
Seeing improvements can surely make you more motivated. Hence, it will be helpful to keep track of your progress regularly. If you are trying to lose weight for example, keep a record of your weight to see if you are getting better. However, you should always remember that getting good results require patience and not magic. Don’t get disappointed when you don’t get the results that you wanted right away.8)
8) Watch your food
Seeing good results can make you more motivated. Hence, avoid things that can diminish the results like unhealthy diet. Watch what you eat so that your efforts won’t be wasted.
9) Enjoy
Make it fun! It is a basic principle that if you feel happiness in what you do, you will surely keep on doing it. Hence, don’t treat exercising as a hard task that you need to accomplish. Think of it as a hobby that you look forward to every time you get home. Think of your treadmill as your best friend waiting for you to have fun.
A healthy lifestyle is not just necessary to look good and achieve the figure that you want. Its long term effect is more valuable. Especially in today’s world where all kinds of diseases are rampant, a healthy lifestyle is an effective way to prevent these diseases. You don’t have to spend most of your salary to be fit. You don’t have to go to the gym if you can’t. And, you don’t have to make excuses anymore so you can’t exercise. Start you work out at home and make it fun!