Stay Home. Work Out. Look Great.

Are you a stay at home mom?  Do you work from home?   If you are someone with a tight or non-traditional schedule, you might wonder how you can possibly stay in shape.  Add that to the cost of working out at gyms and the energy it takes to get to the gym, getting a sleek fit body might seem out of reach.  Many people have turned to at home fitness programs to get & keep them in shape.  In order for your program to be effective & worthwhile, here are some ways to stay committed and find a program that really works for you.

Mindset & Intentions

Many trainers and gyms neglect to share the most potent weight loss and fitness tool to people desperate to get shape.  What is it?  It’s your mindset.  You need to decide what it is you want and why.  Writing those thoughts down makes it even more real and also puts it in the forefront of you mind.  Focusing on what you want in a very specific way to achieve what you want.

Sit down and write down what you want to achieve and by what date.  Setting measurable goals for yourself is the first crucial step to achieving any goal in your life.  You can apply this to any area of your life and it will yield amazing results.  Once you write down your goals, you need to write these goals down on separate cards, put them up everywhere you can see them.  Put one on your fridge, in your pantry or snack cupboard, in your car on your dashboard, in your wallet or purse.  Try to put your main goal somewhere you will run into several times a day. 

Now that you know what you want and are ready to achieve it, next comes creating an at home workout plan of action.

How much time and space do you have to workout at home?
Do you have any home exercise equipment?
What time of the day will you workout?
Do you have an exercise partner?
Do you want to do a dvd or follow a specific list of exercises? Or Both?
Do you want nutritional guidance or meal plans to follow?
What is your fitness level today?
Are you preparing for an upcoming event?

Picking Your Program

More and more people are starting their own at home workout programs and are seeing the results — fast!  There are a multitude of programs available from many different sources.  Weeding through all of these options can be another delay to you getting started.  I have tried many of them and even had my husband try ones just for men.  Of all of these programs, the ones that work have some specific things in common. 

1.  Easy to follow exercise routines that don’t take more than a few sessions per week to complete. 
2.  Easy to follow eating plans and guidelines – that change your mind about nutrition as opposed to depriving you of food.
3.  A network of people doing the same program – all in a forum checking in with each other daily.  This is a crucial part of any at home workout program.
4.  A variety of videos, written explanations, and photos of exercises that can be done by both men and women.
5.  Inexpensive or free to join.
6.  Require little or no home equipment.

Armed with your answers and intentions, start looking around online to find a program or plan of action that might be right for you…

**Stay tuned for my video where I share my step by step guide to finding the most effective at home programs!***

Home Gym Set Up

Take inventory of what you have right now. 
Bands? resistance cords? weights?

Here are the basics you need to get set up at home.

Free Weights:
Men and women have different muscle building goals, so if you plan to work out with your significant other, try to get a wide range of weights.
5 – 40 lbs is plenty to start off with.  You can always add more as you progress. 

*You must challenge the major muscles in order to get results, so using heavier weights will allow you to this much more effectively.

Exercise Mat:
Get a cushy, thick exercise mat – at your local sports store.  I found a great one that says it’s for yoga and pilates. 

Stability Ball:
Pick up a large exercise ball which is about 55cm or larger.  You want to be able to sit on it with hips at the same level as your knees.

For at home pregnancy workouts, you should actually get a bit larger ball where your hips are slightly higher than your hips.

Small Squishy Ball:
Pick up a small-ish squishy ball that you can put between your knees or ankles for ab work.

Theraband or Elastic Resistance Cords:

Get a pack with a few different resistances. There are many workouts that use the stretchy bands for resistance instead of the free weights.

Some days I’ll use these and some days I’ll use the free weights.  It’s crucial to have choices in your equipment.

Home Gym Extras:

>Foam Roller – There are many exercises and routines you can do on the foam roller. Plus, you can roll out sore muscles and back tension from sitting at the computer all day.
>Magic Circle – Again, this is another great accessory that is used in pilates, but also is a great all over body toning tool.
>Bosu – Great for stability & core training.

Check out some of these listed tools here and start setting up your home gym today!

Home Workout Checklist:

>Goals & Intentions Set?
>Workout plan research in progress or completed?
>Home Gym Set up?

Ok, so by now you have a lot of questions answered, your intentions are set, and maybe you have found a workout plan you want to follow.  Even if you haven’t chosen an at home workout, you can still take the next step.

What’s the next step?

Your First At-Home Workout!

Read my next post and get moving today!