11 tips how to motivate yourself to home workout

Would you like to start to work out at home, but you don´t know how to push yourself to do it? Maybe you just miss enough motivation! Read 11 tips how to motivate yourself to home workout and which factors influence your mood to exercise or slow down your progress.

11 tips how to motivate yourself to workout

Motivation is psychological process that actives human behavior and determines its direction. It is so-called an internal driving force, that leads to the satisfaction of unfulfilled desires. Simply said, it is a will to achieve something. So let´s have a look how to motivate yourself to achieve your fitness goals and start the mood to home workout.

1. Set specific, but realistic goals

People fail in their effort to lose the weight or to improve their sports performance, among other things, because they have set too unrealistic goals. It is different to say that I will lose 2 kilos in a month or I will lose 20 kilos in a month. It is also different to choose to exercise three times a week for 30 minutes and to exercise 6-times a week for 120 minutes. If your unrealistic goals are not met, then you start to be demotivated and the failure will negatively affect your motivation. Set specific goals that are physically and mentally achievable. Try to plan in a short-term, especially if you just start to exercise at home. You will not only have an overview how well you fulfill your commitments, but you will be much more motivated. Start slowly, exericse at home and then gradually increase your demands. [2] [3]

2. Create a workout plan

Whether you are at home or in the gym, achieving your goals will be more difficult without workout plan. If you are planning to lose the weight, gain some muscles or strength, you should prepare an workout schedule and a sketch of weekly training. Thanks to this you will see properly what awaits your, you can prepare for it in advance and if you see in your diary that Wednesday´s evening is devoted to training, your motivation will be even stronger. [1]

To create the best workout plan possible you should follow these 7 steps:

1. set a measurable goal
2. choose the workout structure
3. choose right exercises and put them in order
4. select the number of repetitions and sets
5. create combination of exercises
6. based on these steps, create a workout plan
7. plan the frequency of workouts

For more information about these steps and correct compilation of workout plan, read our article How to create a quality workout plan – tips, training, the most common mistakes.

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3. Equip your own home gym

Not everyone has the opportunity to go to the gym and maybe somebody does not like when other stare at him while exercising. In this case, home workout is ideal choice. To find a piece of motivation in yourself, you should also adapt your environment to it. Researches showed that motivation to home workout will double if you equip your home at least with basic fitness equipment. In your equipment you should not be missing: [2]

• yoga mat – thanks to it, the workout will be more comfortable and it also can help to prevent injuries and unpleasant bruises.
• ab roller wheel – during the workout, it can engage all muscles from back to the calves. It is mostly used for abdominal exercises.
• fit ball – you can use it to strengthen the whole body and improve its stability, balance and proper posture.
• resistance bands and expanders – they are used to strengthen the pectoral, sciatic and abdominal muscles as well as leg and back muscles. You will train the whole body with it!
• jumping rope – jumping rope has beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system, improves physical condition and it also strengthens muscular system.
• foam roller – in addition to massaging stressed muscles, you can use it to exercise sciatic muscles, back or it can be a part of plank or squats.
• dumbbells – you can use them for various exercises, thanks to them you will strengthen especially biceps, triceps, shoulder muscles or back muscles. If you don´t have them at home, you can replace them with full bottles of water.

Ensure your privacy and quiet environment

Just as you need quiet during the work, you should ensure quiet environment also during the workout. This is a moment that is only for you and you should adapt your physical and mental mood to it. Definitely, children should not run around you during the workout, your partner should not burden you with unnecessary questions and you should be alone in the room.

When you ensure privacy and quiet environment, the motivation to exercise will be stronger and you will perform much better, since your mind will focus only on workout and not on any disturbing elements. The best thing to do it to put away your mobile phone. Make sure that nobody will disturb you and you will not interrupt your workout by running to the phone. It can easily happen that you will receive an interesting message and you will not get back to the workout.

5. Wear sports clothes

Sports clothes serve several functions during the workout. You will not only look stylish, it can help to:

• prevent injuries – many sports injuries are caused by improper equipment or sports clothes. No matter if you are in the gym, at home or you decide to work out outside, your clothes should be adapted to the environment. You should protect yourself from bumps or overheating or hypothermia. You also should not be barefoot during home workout, but your feet should be protected by strong enough shoes.
• boost self-confidence – it is different whether you start the workout dressed in pulled old T-shirt and sweatpants or you wear leggings, sports pants, T-shirt and other fitness clothes. Their cut and material is adapted to effectively wick away sweat and strengthen your muscles. Also, you will feel as if you were in the gym, what will motivate you to more active workout. Simply said, if you will see yourself in the mirror how good you look in the fitness clothes, your motivation to work out will be stronger. [3] [4]

6. Show off your photo on social media

Social media and networks have undoubtedly a number of negative impacts on us, but on the other hand they are used as great motivator to workout, what you should definitely use to your advantage. Many studies showed that social media significantly increase self-confidence and motivation to work out. It is enough if you will show off with your photo from the workout or after the workout on any of the social media among your friends or even strangers.

People´s reactions on how you try to lose the weight or to strengthen the muscles are usually very encouraging. You can even join various fitness communities, that primarily focus on boosting self-confidence and motivation to work out. Like this, you can monitor progress made by the others, what will surely motivates you to perform better and lead you to better results. [3] [4] [5]

7. Play the right music

8. Track your progress

It is not enough to take pictures and post them on the social media. To motivate yourself fully to next workout, you should keep a diary of your progress. Especially, if you work out at home, alone, without the presence of experienced coach. In order to find out which exercises are ideal for you, in which day you performed the best and how many kilograms you managed to loose, you should properly write down each workout. [2] [3]

You should focus on these factors:

• weight after the workout
• diet plan during the day
• measuring of some areas – diameter of biceps, chest, abdomen, hips, thighs, etc.
• feelings before workout
• feelings after workout
• workout plan
• number of calories burned

By tracking these benchmarks, you will be able to define your progress over the time, see the mistakes you are doing or on contrary, find what your strengths are. If you will see your progress, the motivation to work out will definitely increase. You can reach for already prepared fitness diaries or notebooks, that usually contain also various fitness tips, healthy recipes or motivational quotes.

9. Try online workout

Online workouts are becoming popular and they are one of the fastest growing segments in fitness industry. These are not only fitness applications, that offer the option to purchase online workout plan, but more and more popular is to watch online workouts from reputable fitness coaches and trainers. Another format that was spread especially during the period of quarantine, are live streaming workouts of top athletes of fitness coaches.

The advantage of online workout is its reasonable price and flexibility, because you can start the workout anywhere, you only need good WiFi connection. Most of the live streams are later saved on channel of streaming companies or the coach, so you can get back to the videos even later. You can choose from really wide selection of workouts from online yoga to Pilates or HIIT trainings. The price of such workout is usually lower than when ordering the coach in the gym. It is due to lower overhead costs and party due to wider audience. [9] You can even find some free online workouts, that you can find also on our YouTube channel.

Important factors and great motivator is also a fact, that during the live workout you are not alone. The coach is in constant touch with you, he answers your questions and you see how many people are watching the workout. You will feel that you are not alone in this hard work and when xy people started to work out, you can´t be the an exception. Are you considering the services of online coach? Then you should read our article How to find out that your online coach and nutritionist is bad?.

10. Alternate your workout

Just like if you started to work out with professional coach, also during your home workout you should not focus only on one type of workout. It can then happen that you will get tired quickly and your motivation to sport will be gone. The best way to boost your home workout and to fall in love with workout, is to regularly alternate your workout plan.

The best is to combine strength, cardio and calm workout. So you should plan which day will be dedicated to strength exercises such as lifting dumbbells or own body weight exercises such as squats, sit-ups or push-ups. The next day should be dedicated to cardio exercises, that offer really rich opportunities to choose from. You can try HIIT trainings, cycling on stationary bike, Pilates, zumba or various other dance workouts. In the calm days you should focus on proper stretching or to calm down the body and mind through yoga or meditation exercises. Just as diversity in the diet pleases your taste buds, diversity in workout pleases your body and mind. [2] [3]

11. Benefits of regular exercise

At the end, we have prepared for you the summary of the biggest benefits, that regular exercise brings and that are also the main driving force for your motivation.  [10]

Regular exercise:

• reduces the risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes or high blood pressure,
• improves the mood and mental health,
• brings better sleep and less energy fluctuations during the day,
• improves sex life,
• has a positive effect on brain activity,
• increases fitness and help to lose the weight,
• slows down the aging process,
• strengthens and tones your figure,
• boosts the self-confidence,
• maintains the health of body and mind. 

So what, did you used to have problems with motivation to exercise at home, too? Did our tips how to change dislike to exercise help you? Let us know in the comment. If you liked the article, we will be happy if you will share it.

Sources:

[1] Bryan Kenny – Creating the perfect bodybuilding program! – https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/teen-kenny4.htm

[2] ROZALYNN S. FRAZIER – The 15 Must-Have Pieces of Fitness Equipment for Home Workouts – https://www.health.com/fitness/best-home-workout-equipment

[3] Julie Chiou Why – I Workout at Home + Tips on Staying Motivated – https://www.tablefortwoblog.com/why-i-workout-at-home/

[4] Molly Ritterbeck – Tips for Working Out at Home When It’s The Last Thing You Want To Do – https://greatist.com/move/workout-motivation-for-home-workouts#1

[5] Jingwen Zhang, PhD, Devon Brackbill, P – Support or competition? How online social networks increase physical activity: A randomized controlled trial – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5008041/

[6] Jenny Markell – Can Listening to Music Improve Your Workout? – http://www.center4research.org/can-listening-music-improve-workout/

[7] Avinash E Thakare, Ranjeeta Mehrotra and Ayushi Singh – Effect of music tempo on exercise performance and heart rate among young adults – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5435671/

[8] Baldari C, Macone D, Bonavolontà V, Guidetti L. – Effects of music during exercise in different training status. – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20842088

[9] Laura Williams, MSEd, ASCM-CEP – Benefits and Drawbacks of Online Fitness Training – https://www.verywellfit.com/online-fitness-benefits-drawbacks-86048

[10] Arlene Semeco, MS, RD – The Top 10 Benefits of Regular Exercise – https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-benefits-of-exercise