Why Working-Out at Home is so Hard

The Fitness Solution to Working-Out at Home

We’ve all been there. You’re home, you know you need to get a work-out in, you even want to workout. You’ve even got the time to do it but it just doesn’t happen…sometimes ever. Working-out at home is very challenging. That’s why there is a huge industry to provide convenient gyms and recreation centers all over the world. However, a commercial gym can’t compete with the proximity of your own home. Let’s look at some of the reasons why most people struggle to work-out at home as well as some fitness solutions to this problem.

Why You Aren’t Working-Out at Home

There can be millions of possible answers here-like excuses-everyone’s got them. In my experience, here are the five main problems that contribute to you not working-out at home.

1. You are trying to start a habit. Creating any healthy habit is a real challenge. Additionally it becomes even more of a challenge to keep it amid all the distractions that surround you like what you find in the comfort of your own home.
2. You don’t have a dedicated space just for exercising. The mental and physical effort it takes to re-purpose your living room into an exercise space is real and often down-played or ignored. When given the choice to move the couch, coffee table, get some fans going and exercise it may just be more appealing to sit on that couch and put your feet up on the coffee table and binge on Netflix rather than popping in that exercise DVD.
3. You lack knowledge of what to do and how to do it. We are drowning in information because we can get millions of answers to anything in nanoseconds. You know that you should exercise, but you may not be comfortable trying something you saw in a magazine or on YouTube without some more guidance or experience. So we experience a ‘paralysis by analysis’-we try to learn but never end up trying that ’10 Scorching Moves for Your Best Body Ever!’ article you saw.
4. You don’t like the mode of exercise you are trying to engage in. I see this all too often. People buy treadmills for their homes because they believe that in order to get in shape they must run despite hating running. It’s not just treadmills. Exercise equipment is the world’s most expensive clothes line. If you don’t like something, your whole subconscious is working tirelessly to keep you from doing that deplorable activity.
5. You don’t have a goal/focus/purpose for your work-out. This goes beyond the goal of, ‘I want to lose weight/fat’. This problem arises when you can’t answer the following sample questions; “What body parts am I going to work?”, “How long will my heart rate be in my zone 4?”, “Am I going to do intervals? If so, what’s my work to rest ratio going to be today? What was it last week?”, “What did I do last time, and do I need to switch things up or stay the same to reach my goals this week/month/etc?”

The Top 10 Fitness Solutions to Working-Out at Home

1. Create a schedule for yourself. Block it out and make it non-negotiable. We are creatures of habit and schedules. Often if it’s not on your calendar it doesn’t happen. So create an appointment and keep it.
2. Start small. If you are trying to create a healthy habit, try focusing on exercising for just 5-10 mins. Anything above and beyond that is a gold star. There is a definite power to just starting and you’ll be amazed at what 5 minutes can do for you.
3. Find something you enjoy doing-or can see yourself enjoying. If you hate running, don’t jog or go running. Enjoyment is a critical component to your fitness success. There are countless modes of exercise, explore and find one. This is like treasure hunting, you’ll LOVE the reward of finding that mode just as much as you loved the journey.
4. Focus on the process rather than the outcome. Process goals really are the way to go when it comes to fitness. Process goals are those that break down the outcome into daily habits. Instead of saying, “I want to lose 10 pounds”, instead create the goal to exercise for 20 mins each day, which will lead you to your goal, and is a process goal. You will have greater success when you make your goals process-driven, not outcome focused.
5. Use incentives. Is there something that will bring you joy and happiness while not undermining your fitness goals? It could be something like a new pair of shoes, or something like allowing yourself 10 mins to read a book.
6. Get an exercise partner. You will push yourself harder in most cases (if it’s a good fit), and you will have someone to be accountable to when you feel like bailing out. 
7. Create a dedicated space to exercise. This space is just for exercise. Make it someplace you’d like to be. Sometimes this means turning the treadmill around to face something else besides that motivational cat poster.
8. Make your space accessible. Many have a little corner where they put their weights, or exercise ball. Or if you own that treadmill-you’ve already got the space-you just need to clear all the clothes and other junk you’ve got on it and in your way to get to it.
9. Get a coach. If you don’t have the knowledge or experience to do something on your own you can get a fitness coach to help give you that knowledge and direction. You’ll also gain someone to be accountable to as you work on reaching your fitness goals.
10. At home doesn’t have to be in–home. Answer the call of the great outdoors. Just because you’re home, doesn’t mean you always have to work-out in your home. Get outside, enjoy the weather, get a sweat going. Walking, running, sports, jumping jacks, it doesn’t matter. It will spice things up and put a smile on your face.

Hopefully you’ve found these tips and suggestions helpful. 

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