Since the pandemic, millions of people have made the switch to start exercising at home.

When this pandemic hit I asked myself, ‘can I workout at home.’ I never had done home workouts consistently before but I switched it up from working out in the gym to getting pullup bars, resistance bands, weighted vests and more to upgrade my home. I like working out at home instead of the gym, don’t think I’ll go back to the gym for a while.

I’ve been working out from home consistently now and had also done calisthenics before the pandemic hit. I’ve learned how to workout at home effectively, safely and will share 4 mistakes I made when I was first starting to help you avoid them.

 

Benefits of Exercising At Home

Whether you’re starting to exercise at home because of the pandemic or a new job working remotely or any other reason, there are benefits of exercising at home that a gym can’t offer.

The biggest benefit of exercising at home is the convenience of it:

  • You don’t have to put nice gym clothes on
  • No shoes (optional)
  • No make-up (if you wear it)
  • No commuting there and back
  • No membership fee
  • No waiting on weights/machines

This opened my eyes when I first started and is my favorite benefit of exercising at home. I probably save an hour of time a day by not having to get ready, commute and wait in lines (for weights) at the gym. Most the time I do a workout I’ll be multitasking by either working or watching a show (I don’t recommend watching a show if you’re just getting started because it can be distracting).

Another benefit of exercising at home is that no one’s judging you (hopefully your family/roommates are supportive!). This is big for some people because being in a gym can be uncomfortable to see so many people in shape if their body isn’t there yet. Of the benefits of exercising at home, this one may stick out most to some people so they just learn the ropes of how to exercise properly, safely and at their own level; no matter how they look.

There’s more benefits of exercising at home but I’ll go over one more and that’s customization and flexibility. Some gyms can have a ton of equipment and some are more niche. Whatever the gym, they may not have everything you need. If that’s the case, then that’s where the customization and flexibility matters because you can deck out a home gym for whatever equipment you want and set it up however you want.

 

Is Working Out At Home Effective?

YES! It certainly is, I can attest to that first-hand.

When I initially switched it up and began working out at home instead of a gym, I was skeptical. I thought I might lose muscle and the progress, and hard work, with it. But that wasn’t the case and within just a week or two I discovered the benefits of exercising at home and saw it’s effectiveness.

Working out at home is effective to lose weight, build muscle, strengthen the body and help with rehabilitation.

To lose weight, you can do a HIIT workout at home. HIIT workouts at home are great because they’re typically 30 minutes, get the heart rate up and help burn fat.

Working out at home is effective to build muscle as well because bodyweight workouts challenge the body to grow.

 

4 Mistakes To Avoid When Exercising At Home

1. Not Setting Up A Safe Area

Gyms are usually designed for safety by keeping weights and machines spaced out appropriately with the right buffers in place. However, when working out at home, this mistake can be detrimental from small scratches to serious injuries.

When I first started doing calisthenics over a year ago, I tried doing a wall handstand at home. I thought I was good enough that I wouldn’t fall over and sure enough, I went up in the handstand, lost my balance and tumbled sideways into my desk. Thankfully I didn’t get hurt too bad except some bruising and scratches. But I may have tipped into the desk and broke my ankle or permanently injured myself.

So when working out at home, make sure there’s a safe area set up (even if you’re not doing wall handstands) with good distance around in case you lose your balance, let the weight slip and it hits someone else or any other factor that could cause harm to you or another person.

 

2. Not Having The Right Equipment

When first working out at home, it’s likely you won’t have all the equipment you need to have effective workouts. You can absolutely do bodyweight workouts at home without equipment but to see continual progress, you may need some basic pieces of equipment.

I first did bodyweight workouts at home without equipment and found that it helped my body get stronger, initially. After a while I got bored with the workouts and needed more weight to continue getting stronger. Also, I couldn’t ever find an effective way to workout my back beyond just ground exercises like supermans, cobra, reverse bodyweight flies…etc. I wanted to do pullups and rows so I invested in a doorway pullup bar and resistance bands, respectively.

It’s not 100% essential to have home fitness equipment to get in good workouts but it does make it better overall to get just a few key pieces.

 

3. Not Getting In The Right Frame Of Mind

I mentioned earlier that I’ll sometimes work or watch shows when I’m working out. I can do that now because I’ve got used to working out at home, learned how to keep my spirits up without the gym environment inspiring me and have developed habits to finish my home workouts successfully.

If you’re new to working out at home, as I was when I first started, I recommend setting yourself up for success by getting in the right frame of mind. By the right frame of mind, I mean creating an environment around you that’s motivating for you to workout.

You can do this by turning on music that gets you pumped up, setting a specific room that’s designated for workouts only or exercising at a specific time each day. Whatever it is, having that structure can help you to stay focused on working out to keep your spirits up.

 

4. Not Having The Right Plan

If you plan to ever just ‘wing it’ then you open yourself up to the demands of other people and outside events dictating your health and fitness.

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” – Benjamin Franklin

It’s imperative you have a workout plan that’s designed to focus on exercises that enhance your goal. For example, if your goal is to build muscle then you need a good progression plan to do so or else you’ll plateau in a few weeks and get frustrated. If your plan is to lose weight, you need to have a good balance between strength, HIIT and cardio exercises that all add to your journey or else you stray in one direction or the other thus halting fat loss progression.

If you want a custom fitness plan this is something I can help with. Just reach out via contact page and we’ll go from there!

 

Summary

Benefits of working out at home include convenience, customization/flexibility and not feeling judged as well as:

  • You don’t have to put nice gym clothes on
  • No shoes (optional)
  • No make-up (if you wear it)
  • No commuting there and back
  • No membership fee
  • No waiting on weights/machines

Is working out at home effective? Absolutely, just make sure you avoid the following mistakes:

  1. Not Setting A Safe Area
  2. Not Having The Right Equipment
  3. Not Getting In The Right Frame Of Mind
  4. Not Having The Right Plan

 

Disclaimers

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