It’s hard to believe I haven’t exercised in a gym in almost 6 years. Every single workout I have done since I canceled my old gym membership has been at home.
It was freeing to start working out at home, on my own terms. At first I was scared to cancel my gym membership because I worried I would get bored exercising at home. I also worried I wouldn’t get good results without the gym equipment or the gym atmosphere to motivate me. I discovered I had nothing to fear. In fact, I got more health and physique benefits with home workouts.
Below is a screenshot of one of the workouts I do at home.
HOW TO REALLY GET FIT AT HOME
1) Equipment
We don’t need expensive equipment to get fit. I do most of my workouts with an inexpensive set of dumbbells. Sometimes I’ll add a stability ball (the large ball pictured above). Many times I only use my body weight for resistance, and no exercise equipment at all.
The fitness industry likes to market the idea we need a lot of expensive equipment to get fit. In reality, you can do much at home with very little exercise equipment.
2) Schedule
Consistency is how we get results. Many of my clients, and I, have been able to be more consistent with our exercise by switching to home workouts.
In the past I would have 1-2 hour workouts in the gym, 4-5 days per week. This took a huge portion of my schedule, and it was hard to maintain this schedule longer than a few months at a time.
Now I use the motto #3to5forexercise. I exercise 3-5 days per week, but often only 10-20 minutes at a time, in a much more efficient and effective way (more on that below)!
3) Effective and Efficient Workouts
Typically my clients and I do metabolic strength workouts (efficient strength training with added cardio benefits). These types of workouts can be completed with as little as 4-5 full body exercises, back-to-back, in a specified amount of time. By changing the way we exercise in a more efficient manner, we can get fit in our own home without a huge time commitment.
4) Making It Work For Your Lifestyle
Make fitness work for your lifestyle. Home workouts are great when we have a schedule that varies, or have issues with daycare for our kids.
They promote a healthy lifestyle with your family. My family joins me periodically for workouts. My daughters think it’s fun to exercise with Mommy. We’ve all experienced health benefits together.
Now if you are someone who loves their gym membership, I’m not villianizing the gym (keep doing what you love). But if you have trouble sticking to a consistent exercise schedule at the gym, or you are ready to try a different (and often more efficient and effective) way to get fit, give home workouts a try. Let me know how you do!