Learning how to exercise every day at home is an important step for anyone on a fitness journey.
Sure, expensive gym memberships can help you stay in shape.
But learning how to do it at home has even more benefits. You get to exercise from the comfort of your own home, while also learning how to implement it in your everyday routine!
So, we’ve compiled 6 easy ways to stay in shape by learning how to exercise every day at home.
How to Exercise Every Day at Home
If you’re invested in the idea of only exercising at home, you may want to consider setting up your very own home gym.
Fortunately, you can still stay in shape and learn how to exercise every day at home without a big set-up!
For your convenience, we’ve noted any important exercise equipment you’ll need for each tip for staying in shape.
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Create a dedicated space
As mentioned, you don’t need a fully equipped home gym to learn how to exercise every day at home. All you need is a clean space that has enough room to get you moving!
Creating a dedicated space can mean clearing out a room and only using it for exercise.
However, if your space doesn’t allow for it, you can also keep a dedicated space in your living room that you clear out whenever you’re ready to workout.
Having a place that is specifically designed for working out allows you to get more in the zone of working out. Your space can remind you that it’s time to switch to workout mode.
Fill this area with the essentials. This will include a water bottle, a comfortable surface (like a yoga mat), speakers, and any other equipment that you may have.
We recommend having a set of free weights available. Other ideas could include a fitness ball, a cardio machine, or a weight bench. However, your unique essentials will depend on your fitness goals and what is available to you.
Many easy fitness routines also include basic household objects. Have a chair nearby as they can be used for things like dips or other assisted exercises. You can also use heavier household objects to substitute for weights.
Start each morning with a brief workout
If you’re learning how to exercise every day at home, you need to learn how to embrace the early morning. This is a perfect time to start your day off. It allows you to start your day off strong while also getting energized before your day ahead.
Unless you choose to do the entirety of your fitness routine in the morning, it doesn’t need to be a strenuous workout.
Many fitness enthusiasts choose to start their day off with something light, like a yoga routine. This will give you the added perks of morning exercise while also leaving plenty of energy for the rest of the day.
You may need to set an earlier alarm to accommodate for doing even the briefest activities in the morning. While this can be a tough adjustment at first, it’ll help you get in the headspace of implementing exercise in your daily routine.
There are a variety of yoga routines that you can do that are designed for the morning. These tend to be more flow-focused yoga, using lighter moves and stretches than other upbeat routines. So, grab your yoga mat and roll onto it each morning.
Create daily challenges
Your workouts don’t only have to take place during a strict “exercise time”. One of the most fun parts about dedicating yourself to home workouts is that you can do things anywhere! Creating daily workout challenges is a fun way to spice up your daily routine, and add to your fitness.
Create unique challenges that work with your fitness goals. One idea is to create a goal such as “do 100 squats”.
You can do them throughout the day, doing 10 squats at regular intervals, or whenever you feel motivated. You could sub out squats for anything like jumping jacks, sit-ups, push-ups, or running on the spot.
Another common idea is to do a challenge that’s designed around another common activity, like “do 10 sit-ups each time you watch an episode on television”. This will help you feel more productive, even if you’re just lounging around!
Daily challenges can be done on your own or with a family member. If you have others who are willing to participate then it’s even easier to stick with it and find ways to make it more fun.
Keep a chart in your kitchen and keep track of who has been participating the most. See who can stick to their challenges more often and make a whole game from it!
Keep a cardio machine in your home
One of the biggest deterrents from working out is not feeling like you have the means. It’s easy to tell yourself that you can put off your run if it’s raining outside, or that there’s too much traffic to drive to the gym. Having an easy-to-use fitness machine in your home is a great way to combat this.
Buy a cardio machine, like a treadmill or cross trainer, and keep it in your home. It’s much harder to make up excuses when it’s just in the next room! Create a personalized goal of how much time you want to spend on your exercise machine each day or week and set up a schedule that you can stick to.
For those who struggle with motivation, you can also set up your cardio machine in front of the television and use it during your nightly news watch! Using your exercise machine can be in addition to your other workouts or can become a daily workout on its own.
Use an online fitness class or app
Working out without a trainer can be tough for people who don’t know where to start. Fortunately, there are now so many ways of learning how to exercise by using technology!
Take stock of all the fitness gear that you have in your home and find a class or app that works with it. If you want to learn how to get better at running and you have a treadmill, choose from the variety of different online running guides that are available.
Or, if you have a way of indoor cycling, there are plenty of free apps to make it more fun! No matter what your fitness goal is, there are thousands of different apps, Youtube tutorials, or other classes that can assist you in your goals.
By taking online fitness classes or following workouts on an app you can easily find motivation through its easy-to-follow process.
Many will also come with online communities of like-minded people who also exercise at home. These can keep you from feeling lonely in your quest to stay in shape, and can give you all the fitness inspiration that you need!
Create a workout schedule and stick to it
It’s not enough to say that you’re going to start exercising at home. You need to come up with a plan and a schedule so that you know you’ll stick to it.
Create your schedule by planning what times and days work better with your schedule. If you know that you feel more tired on certain days or tend to have a busier schedule on others, plan around it. Not every day needs to be full, but 3 or 4 days of the week should be.
Set up your plan so that you have a dedicated routine for each day. This can include certain workouts or areas of focus or a mix of multiple.
If you find it easier to go for a treadmill run on your least busy day, then dedicate it to your runs. If you find yourself the most stressed at the end of the week, schedule a strength-training day in to help you let out your frustrations.
One of the best ways to stick to a schedule is by creating rewards. When embarking on a fitness goal you should always design ways to treat yourself.
This can be in the form of a cheat meal or a variety of different things that you think are worth sticking to a plan for. It may mean more time to relax or time to dedicate to self-care.
The key to learning how to exercise every day at home is to design a plan that you’re motivated to do. Don’t set unreasonable goals that you won’t enjoy!
Instead, pick a goal or workout routine that excites you, and find a way to stick to it. Some find that rewards work, while others are pleased just to have a routine in place. The best way to find out what works best for you is to start by giving it a try!
