Having trouble staying motivated to workout out at home? Here are 9 tips to trick yourself into actually sticking to that home workout plan you got from that guy online.
Schedule your workout in advance. Take it from someone who’s been self employed his whole life - the keys to being productive are schedules and lists. Set out your day just as you would if you were at the office. If you usually workout before work. then put a time in the calendar to complete your home workout early in the morning before you start your work day. The worst thing you can do is just think "I’ll work out today at some point”. "Some point" will never come around and suddenly it’s the end of the day and you are tired af.
Set a time and stick to it.
Or should I say don’t workout where you work. One of the ways of feeling less claustrophobic whilst we’re all stuck at home is by utilizing different spaces in your home. Back in pre Covid-19 life I found it very difficult to get a good workout at home. I had to physically change locations and walk to my gym to be in the right mindframe. Once there I was fine. Now that we’re all quarantined, most of us are working at home. When it comes to your workout try to use a completely different part of your home. If you have an outdoor space, use that. Better yet if you can and are allowed to, drive to an outdoor space where you can set up a little work out area. I live in an apartment building and I am currently using my car space as my gym area. Don’t you judge me! I can turn up the music and let loose.
Changing physical locations to work out, even if it’s just from within your own home is a great mental trick to keep you motivated.
If you don’t know what I’m referring to then you obviously haven’t seen The Lion King and frankly, I don’t even know if I want you reading my blog anymore! It's ok, Imma move past it for now. I already told you to schedule your workouts ahead of time, well now I’m suggesting you book them in as early in the day as possible. As the day progresses, we get more tired and it’s harder to stick to our plans. This is also why people can start the day eating a healthy breakfast and by dinner time, they're sitting naked in a bathtub filled with melted ice-cream and 20 liters of Lucky charms.
Schedule your workouts before you inevitably lose the will to live. For me that’s around about 3pm... or my second poop.
You’re probably sensing a theme here… planning ahead. That goes for your actual workout too. Make sure you know what you're going to be doing each day for your workout. Don’t just make it up on the spot with a few arm curls here and a little ab work there.Not only is this a good idea mentally (there’s nothing better than ticking things off or crossing things out as you complete them -except ya know, money, chocolate, free travel) but it will also help you meet your fitness goals. The most effective workouts are carefully planned out, with specific exercises, progression and difficulty throughout the week. If you are just doing the same thing, or random things, or only exercises you like then you aren’t making the most of your time. This means inferior results which can lead you to become demotivated.
Plan your entire workout ahead of time, one that fits in your bigger workout strategy.
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Much like changing location, changing into a different set of clothes - preferable sports wear - for your workouts is a great way to get your mind primed for exercise. This means not wearing athleisure wear whilst you work, otherwise what are you going to change into!? The same can be said for work. Finding it hard to be productive whilst working from home? Wear a suit, or whatever the hell you would usually wear to go to work.
Change into proper workout clothes for your workouts.
Having a list of exercises for your workout is a good first step, but having long term and short term goals is another great way of setting yourself targets. Almost like making mind competitions for yourself. If your goals are too broad, you don’t know where to start and they're not actionable. "Losing weight" is not a good goal. Goals need to be SMART; specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time specific.
A better goal would be “to lose 2lbs of fat per week for the next month”. Now you have your goal you can break it up into achievable steps and mini goals.
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"Goals are great fitness nerd, but how does this keep me motivated!? "
Sometimes it's hard to feel like you're making any progress at all. Now you have mini goals set, these are far easier to achieve than the previous big omni goal. This means you’ll constantly be ticking off achievements and feel like you’re making progress. You essentially created a self rewarding motivational feedback loop. Well done ya scientist.
Goals give you achievable milestones to strive for keeping you motivated.
The best way to keep yourself motivated and accountable is to outsource it. Working out with a buddy is a proven method of keeping you on track with your fitness goals. Since you are most likely social distancing, try and get your roommate involved, or someone who is already within your quarantine community… sounds like a band. I prefer "quarantine communities" 3rd album myself, they really found their voice again. If you find yourself completely cut off from society right now then why not try working out with a friend over Zoom?
Workout with a partner so that you'll keep each other accountable.
If you’re really reeeeeally struggling to workout at home. Start with a small workout, just 20 minutes. Anyone can do 20 minutes, right? Most likely you’ll start and then continue on anyway. Make the workouts achievable and not overwhelming long. You don't need to jump straight into 60 minutes of CrossFit! Workouts longer than 40 minutes can be intimidating, start small and increase the length and/or intensity as you get into a routine.
Any workout is better than no workout. Start with just 20 minutes a day.
Yeah I said it. Now of course you don’t want to undo all the hard work you just went through by having a pizza. However, treats can come in many different forms. Reward yourself with your favorite TV show, or a cuddle with your dog/cat/pillow. Link certain things to your workout, that you can’t have or do until you’ve finished your workout.
Make dinner, or make watching a TV show contingent on completing your workout.
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