The Quarantine Struggle Part Three…Working Out From Home

Let’s be honest with ourselves… If you’re a gym goer, working out at home is TOUGH. (If you already workout at home you are probably crushing it during the “Stay at Home” Order. So kudos to those people.) But us gym goers miss the gym! For many of us, the gym is our zen, our balance, our therapy, our happy place. It might be where you see your friends or lifting buddy that you now don’t get to see. It might be where you push yourself your hardest and achieve new goals. It might be where you take your favorite workout class. This is just to name a few reasons why people who love the gym, LOVE the gym! So what do we do about not having a gym?

We modify and adapt! No gym? No problem. As hard as it may feel when some of us are thinking about it and over analyzing all the reasons why a home workout isn’t good enough, it really doesn’t need to be that complicated. For every day you sit and sulk about “no gym” you’re missing an opportunity to do a home workout to maintain your lean muscle mass, or keep unwanted body fat off, or break a great sweat! This is also a GREAT opportunity to start if you haven’t started!

A workout doesn’t NEED to be done with gym equipment.

Improvise:

If you have some dumbbells, kettle bells or barbells at home, great! If you don’t? Who cares! If you look on social media right now the home workouts are off the charts! People are improvising in so many different ways. Using everything from water bottles to gallon jugs, buckets and broomsticks, wooden boards and cinder blocks. Those innovative, creative people, that are modifying and adapting, those are the ones who are successful in their fitness goals!

If makeshift free weights isn’t your thing, you can still do body weight workouts and just focus on intensity rather than load. (Increase the reps, or do super sets, or HIIT training.)

Side Note: Don’t forget you can also use resistance bands. I have been telling people for years, resistance bands are a GREAT investment. Not only can you use them at home, but you can use them at work, or when you travel also! You can get a full body workout with a good set of resistance bands.

For my class people, that prefer the group atmosphere and setting: Some gyms are offering FB Live Workouts. If your gym isn’t, maybe check out some of the other gyms that are, or get on a video chat with your Bestie and stream a workout video you guys can do together. Help each other stay accountable. This is also helpful for people who prefer/enjoy a workout partner. Get on FaceTime, Zoom, or Skype with your gym partner and create fun workouts together.

Where Do You Start?

You start now! By figuring out which home workout style fits you best. Write out a plan for yourself each week and add it to that daily checklist (from Part One, Remember?). Whether you are following online workouts, streaming workout videos, doing a live workout with a group, or even just going for walks outside, commit to it! Make yourself a plan and fit it into your schedule. It doesn’t matter if its 30 minutes or 2 hours, just get it on your agenda and get it done!

I hope this information has been useful! And don’t forget, the gyms may be closed, but you can always hire an online coach to help!

Lastly, I want to mention the other important parts of this equation, which are your diet and sleep habits. If you’re eating like crap and/or not getting enough sleep, no amount of exercise is going to fix that. Get your diet and exercise in line with your goals and make sure you’re getting enough sleep at night. Stay the course, modify and adapt to the challenges we are facing and keep moving forward!

1 Comment

  1. Always right on the mark for what I need! Today, the sun is shining and I plan to get out there. Thank you Rachel.

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