There isn’t a better time to start working out from home with stay at home orders being extended to help flatten the curve of the Corona virus, but you might not know how to start and what’s the most effective way to come out of this healthier, stronger, and ready for summer.
Working out from home doesn’t have to be complicated or stressful. Purchasing home exercise equipment and tools can definitely help motivate you to workout, both from a skin-in-the-game mentality and because it’s exciting to play with something new – but you really don’t need to spend a lot of money to take care of yourself. In fact, you can usually find everything you need around the house.
I’ll share some tips to get started and how to get the most out of your workouts. I’ll cover:
- Setting A Schedule to Workout
- Creating A Workout Space At Home
- Finding The Right Workout For You (including full video walkthrough!)
- Additional Resources:
Setting A Schedule to Workout
Although you’re home most of the day during this time, it’s still important to have a routine established for when you’ll workout to build a habit. Setting aside a designated time for your workout helps to make it easier to start working out, easier to stick with it, and makes it easier to form your routine into a habit.
In short, forming a habit isn’t about sheer willpower and just forcing yourself to get moving on any particular day, rather it’s about making it as easy as possible to workout with a schedule in place.
Actionable Steps:
- Plan your workouts for the next week. I recommend using Sunday to map everything out and make sure you can realistically complete all of your desired workouts.
- Include recovery routines. This could be foam rolling, doing a quick restorative yoga session, or going for a walk.
- Anticipate soreness. If you’re working out, challenging yourself and doing something new, you’ll probably be sore. Make sure your plan accounts for that!
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If you’re looking to start a yoga routine to lose weight, gain muscles, flexibility, and strength, Man Flow Yoga offers on-demand structured programs that complement your lifestyle and schedule. Sign-up below!
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Creating A Workout Space At Home
Developing a home sanctuary or altering your space to remind you to get moving is also key to developing a habit since it’s a visual reminder and less effort to get started if it’s already there. However, most of us don’t have space or budget to develop a fancy home gym, but luckily even rolling out a yoga mat in your living room is often enough to remind you to exercise.
If you’re worried about not having the equipment to make proper adjustments – don’t be! Many household items can be used to substitute workout equipment. If you don’t have yoga blocks, you can use a stack of books instead. Even a rolled up grocery bag can be used as a strap. Get creative with your household items.
Actionable Steps:
- Choose a specific place in your home for exercise. Make it your workout space. (Bonus: The more you can associate one particular area with exercise, the more likely you are to do it.)
- Set up your space with everything you need before your workout. (Exercise equipment, screen for watching workouts, water bottle, etc.)
- Make it motivational. Surround your workout space with objects that help to motivate you. This might be a framed quote, a picture of your family, or anything that reminds you of the importance of exercise.
Finding The Right Workout For You
There are plenty of online resources and videos for finding workouts, but finding one that is right for you is a bit more challenging. A good workout program should include: strength training, mobility and flexibility training, restorative exercises, and a structure that is informative and easy to follow. You shouldn’t be lost on understanding what muscles to activate or what a particular exercise is trying to achieve.
This is why I personally recommend yoga and particularly MFY, where we focus on building strength, flexibility, mobility, and balance with focus on breathing to develop a well-rounded base of physical fitness. The instructions are easy to follow and more informative than going into a studio for a class.
If you want to give one of our workouts a try check out the follow-along video below! All you need is some open space, maybe a block (book or two), and the drive to workout at home!
Actionable Steps:
- Find a workout system that aligns with your values. The instructor should be somebody you wouldn’t mind hanging out with.
- Choose a program with a workout schedule you can follow along to. The more organized the program, the easier it is to be consistent (so you don’t have to worry about which workout to do next).
- Join an online community to help keep you engaged. Ask questions, share your experiences, and use the presence of others to keep you motivated.
Additional Resources
You might be interested in relieving neck and shoulder pain, strengthening your glutes, or relieving back pain, so check out these 3 blogs!
About the author, Dean Pohlman, Founder & CEO of Man Flow Yoga, Author of Yoga Fitness for Men, Expert on Yoga Fitness for Men.
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Best way for me to stay motivated was to use your book for the last 5 months. There is always something there to get me going. I had been going to classes at my gym for several years and was usually the only guy. Your book was exactly what I needed. Thanks
Richard – wow, that’s great to hear!! Very happy that Yoga Fitness for Men helped to keep you motivated. 🙂