Motivation Tips: How to Stick to Your Home Workouts

Working out at the gym when you’re surrounded by other motivated fit gym-goers as well as hiring a personal trainer to coach is much easier than having to do all of that at home, on your own. That’s why many home workout programs fail after two weeks. So how do people who always work out from home stick to their schedules? Here are a few motivation tips that will keep you on track:

Set your goals

If you exercise to “improve your health” or “lose weight”, these goals are too vague to keep you motivated to exercise at home. The best thing you can do for your motivation is to write down realistic and specific fitness goals. For instance, good goals are to lose X pounds, lift X pounds, run X miles, etc. Write down your goals, post them somewhere you can see them every time you work out and they will give you the strength to keep going.

Track your progress

Another great way to stay focused is to follow your progress. When you see the results of your hard work at home, you’ll be more motivated to keep working out and even elevate your workouts. Sure, competing with yourself is the hardest way to improve, but it’s also the most efficient one. Track things like your weight, your measurements, your reps and miles that you run on the treadmill or cycle on your Peloton bike.

Keeping track of your progress can be very easy and even fun, especially with apps and templates that can make it all practical. Make sure to include details like reps, times and distances into your workout tracker. You can also leave little notes that tell of your feelings during the workout, your nutrition and thoughts about your progress.

Find a good fitness app

Today, you can find amazing apps that allow you to make fast progress and track your workouts. If you find the best sports training app, you’ll get to enjoy many benefits like logging your activities, tacking your progress and working out with your friends, all that for free. If you want more from your fitness app, try premium features that will offer a more personalised experience. These apps will make your home workouts efficient as well as fun and practical.

Hire an online personal trainer

If you can’t seem to push yourself alone, hiring a personal trainer to coach you over Skype or Zoom is a great idea (if you can afford it). Your trainer will not only come up with the best plan for your home workouts, but also offer diet tips, feedback on form and keep you motivated.

Opt for short yet explosive workouts

One of the biggest mistakes people who work out at home make is scheduling workouts that last too long. Without a personal trainer, overly long workouts won’t do you any good. Instead, keep your sessions short but extra explosive. Try HIIT workouts that will keep your heart rate elevated and your muscles working all the time. And since HIIT workouts usually last between 10 and 20 minutes, everyone can stay motivated for that long.

Invest in equipment

With a few equipment pieces like dumbbells, bands and kettlebells, you will be able to widen access to different workouts and ensure all the muscles in your body are getting the appropriate training. Also, having equipment makes workouts fun and motivating.

Design your workout space

If you make space for your workout, you’ll manage to minimize distractions and achieve comfort during your sessions. Of course, you don’t need a whole separate room, but a little corner where you can lay your mat and spread your arms and legs comfortably is the key to success. Even if you don’t have any equipment, this space will make your bodyweight exercises much more pleasant.

Join a community

Some people work the best when they are left alone, but many of us need support from our peers. You can easily join a community like NerdFitness or any of the Reddit fitness forums. With the support of people in a similar situation, you can stick to your workouts better and even be there to offer tips to beginners.

Working out at home is often not ideal, but it can be very effective, as long as you stick to your schedule and perform your workouts with 100% strength. With these motivational tips, you’ll achieve all your goals and kill every home workout, no matter how short and simple.