Not everyone has the option to go to a gym to workout. The reason could be personal like feeling shy to workout infront of others or due to situational reasons like lack of time, too much distance from the gym, etc. Of course working out in a gym can offer certain advantages like providing motivation to work out harder since one becomes conscious of people watching them Similarly a trainer or a partner at the gym offers motivation by pushing you harder and helping to keep your form in check. However there are some advantages that working out alone at home has to offer too. For starters one does not have to wait in a line to use the equipment, plus sometimes the socializing in public gyms make it too distracting to concentrate on the workout, which is not acceptable when you are trying to go hard and intense. And yes, also at times it is hard to find a partner who can workout at the same time like you, and personal trainers offered by gyms are not always affordable for everyone.
So if you decide to or have to workout at home then you better listen up since I will share with you some key suggestions that could ensure that you do not stop what you start anytime soon. As mentioned earlier if you work out alone at home and you dont feel like working out on a particular day there is a high chance that you might skip it altogether since there is no one to push you.. I am sure that this is what many of us in similar situations have done. To ensure that such events do not make you skip working out, here are some tips that can help to ensure that your motivation levels are not diminished when working out alone at home. In particular these tips are aimed at those who are just beginning to work out alone at home.
1) The first suggestion I offer is that you keep your workouts simple and not make it complex. For example a beginner trying to do too many exercises is likely to find it too daunting to workout and might skip it. On the other hand a workout comprising of only push ups and rope jumping might feel a lot more approachable and ensure that it is done. Sure, in the long run one will need more exercises to get in their best shape, however by then they would also have got addicted to working out and would find it fun to do. Simple workouts will make you look forward to working out!
2) The second suggestion is to keep the workouts brief and not make it too intense. I agree that intensity is crucial for success, however too much pain the day after working out will in most likelihood ensure that the next few sessions are skipped. Think of it, if you are in so much pain that you can’t move your arm and there is no partner/trainer to push you, will you go ahead and exercise the following day? On the other hand a very mild soreness will not cause enough discomfort to demoralize you to skip a workout. So initially you are better off undertraining a bit rather than try to be too adventurous.
3) The third tip is for those who do the same exercises everyday. If you do the same exercise everyday, then vary the reps, sets, intensity, duration, etc. to avoid boredom. Let’s say for eg. you do only rope skipping and push ups at home 5 days a week. Now this is a very simple and effective workout to begin with if you have been inactive for long, however the same number of repetitions and duration everyday will get boring and you might skip working out soon. A good suggestion would be to allocate days for doing more reps, less reps, faster reps, etc for push ups. Similarly for rope skipping you can allocate days to do longer, faster, and lighter sessions. This type of variety will keep workouts fresh and interesting, and more importantly keep you involved in it.
So take note of these 3 suggestions to make working out at home a success and to make it effective and not demoralizing. Here are some simple sample workouts that I offer for beginners working out at home:
Strength:
Monday, Thursday
Military press-3x6
Barbell rows-3x8-10
Tuesday, Friday
Squats- 3x5
Stiff legged deadlift/good mornings-3x5
Fat loss:
Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Circuit:
6-8 push ups
10-15 bodyweight squats
10-15 kettlebell swings
Repeat for 3-5 rounds with 1-2 minutes rest in between sets
Tuesday, Saturday
Rope skipping- 10-15 minutes after a good warm up
Image source-http://gymaddicts.com/top-ten-exercises-without-having-weights/
