Tips for Working Out at Home
Covid brought home workouts to normalcy for me. Beforehand, I would never consider sweating in my living room - nor would I have the motivation to. Without many other options, I found a way to make it work and I actually love it now! Here’s how I converted to a home workout guru:
My typical home workout setup
Put time on your schedule for it. This seems obvious, but I never get to the workout if it isn’t on my schedule. I treat it the same way as I do going to workout at a gym or studio. Need tips on squeezing it in? Read about my time blocking tips here.
Get dressed for it! I always put my gear on in the morning if I know I’m doing a class that day (I work from home, so this is doable for me - or, you can set your workout clothes out if you need to dress classy for Zoom that day!). Need gear inspo? My favorite go-to fitness gear is here.
Designate a spot for it with plenty of room to move. Try different spots at different times of the day and pick a spot that easily converts to a semi-private workout area for you. This will make ALL the difference.
Store your props together in an easy to grab spot. I have a cute basket with two sets of hand weights, my yoga mat, my pilates ball, resistance band, my yoga blocks and yoga strap ready to go for whatever the class brings. All I need to do is grab my favorite water bottle (I seriously carry this thing everywhere) and hit play!
Cut the distractions. When I first started with home classes, I played the class from my laptop out loud on the speakers and usually left my phone on. This had me pretty distracted and taking a lot of breaks to return texts. Now, I swear by airplane mode on my phone and noise cancelling earbuds. For yoga, I even play music on my phone nearby while I listen to class in my earbuds so that I can’t hear anything else in the house.
Set the vibe. Online yoga has been a newfound favorite of mine this month, but my usual workout spot in the laundry room is pretty bright and it can be a high traffic area, too. AKA not very relaxing. That’s fine for higher intensity workouts but for yoga, it became tougher to feel successful. So, I changed up the spot and now do yoga upstairs in our loft area with a dimmable lamp and a relaxing candle, too. It is bliss! I even think savasana is more relaxing there than in a studio.
Give yourself grace. Working out at home is hard. Like, really hard. Give yourself credit for each moment spent moving and breathing because it’s a minute not spent on the couch lounging. If it doesn’t go as planned, hit the mat again tomorrow for another try. And, if your dog interrupts, go with it. As it turns out, Mindy makes a really great savasana snuggle pal :)
My workout pal, always cheering me on
Looking for more ideas to unplug successfully from the WFH life? You might like this post.
