How to Get Motivated to Workout at Home
Working out at home has many benefits – it saves time, offers you privacy, and gives people more flexibility. But one problem we often hear about is staying motivated. Without watching eyes at the gym and with so many distractions at home – TV shows, the internet, books, etc. – it’s easy for grand fitness plans to go off the rails. So how do you stay driven to maintain an at-home routine? Here are six tips for how to get motivated to work out at home.
1. Create a Workout-Only Space
A dedicated space for working out gives you more control over fitness activities and eliminates diversions. It can be an elaborate home gym with dumbbells, a treadmill and a workout bench. Or it can just be setting aside a corner of the living room. Either way, having a designated workout space makes it easier to start exercising and stay focused.
2. Set a Schedule and Goals
If you say you’ll fit in a workout “when I have time”, you may never find the time. When making your weekly schedule, set specific times to exercise and treat them like an appointment you can’t miss. Setting attainable goals and milestones will also help you maintain that schedule. Don’t just think about your goals – write them down and do regular self-check-ins.
3. Track Your Progress
A big reason people lose motivation is that they feel like they aren’t seeing results. Keep detailed notes on your workouts – the weights you’re using, your running mileage, etc. – that you can look back on to see how far you’ve really come. We like Fitbod for this. As the Harvard Business Review notes, these small wins are often enough to spur people forward.
4. Reward Yourself
As Charles Duhigg notes in his book The Power of Habit, tangible benefits of working out are usually more effective than vague ones such as “being healthy”. Come up with incentives for sticking to your fitness plan. For example, you can reward yourself for completing a workout by watching an episode of your favorite show or celebrate reaching a goal by getting some new exercise gear.
5. Find a Workout Buddy or Accountability Partner
You don’t need to go to a gym to have an exercise buddy . By training with someone, you can hold each other accountable for scheduled workouts. Plus you get to spend time with a friend. If you can’t find someone to exercise with, you can still talk to people about your workout routine so they’ll know if you’re starting to slip.
6. Add Variety
Doing the same workout routine over and over can get boring – and as noted in the Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research, it increases the risk of overuse injuries. So remember to mix things up. If most of your workouts are strength training, have one or two days a week where you go for a bike ride, hike in the woods, or play soccer. This keeps things fun while also working other muscle groups.