You don’t need a whole bunch of fancy gym equipment for a home workout, you just need to DO. Trust me, even though I’ve been a personal trainer for almost ten years, I STILL have a hard time fitting my workouts into a busy life schedule. If I let the day run away from me, the only place I’ll be running, is through my thoughts.
Discipline is something that isn’t talked about enough on our fitness journey. It is necessary for any change in our current lifestyle, whether it’s trying to be more active, make more money, get more sleep, etc. Discipline is the only way to get there. Our lives have a tendency to settle into default mode – you know, that mode of living where you aren’t working towards something exciting, but you also aren’t really, you know, satisfied with anything you’re doing?
Just like the seasons, our mood and motivations shift. There is a time for growth, a time for recovery, a time for reflection, and a time for fun. We can sometimes burn ourselves out by trying too hard to get to a goal, without respecting the other seasons that need to happen in order to get us there. Winter is necessary for spring blooms to come back. Summer is necessary for fall to arrive. Fall needs to happen to get the world ready for winter. And so on.
What would happen if the world only lived in one season? What is it was summer every day? I know some people would be ecstatic that it was warm and sunny, but that could only last so long! Eventually, the world would get bleak and start to die, trees and plants unable to find their ‘reset button’ to stimulate new growth. Animals that feed off of the plants would start to suffer, and the animals that ate THOSE animals would then suffer. Needless to say, but an endless summer, though nice in theory, would kill everything.
This is kind of like what people are trying to do nowadays. People are trying to stay in endless production mode, without taking time to relax, reflect and stimulate new growth. In our society today, it takes more discipline to relax and unwind than it does to continue pushing forward into the unknown.
Why am I taking about discipline and nature and seasons?
Yes, you need to respect yourself enough to be in tune with your body and take time to relax, but in doing so, you must do the work involved in reflection. This is necessary in order to stimulate new growth.
How does this apply to working out?
Every workout doesn’t have to set an ew personal record (PR). Every run doesn’t have to be an 8 minute mile. Every activity doesn’t have to be for improvement.
Some workouts are there just to keep you working slowly towards becoming your best self. If you wake up one morning and feel a little sick, getting a workout in is going to help keep your mind healthy, your lymphatic system moving (helping to get the germs out of your body), and help you build your discipline.
What exactly counts as a workout?
Short answer – whatever you like! A workout can be playing a sport or just following a youtube instructional. If your at home and don’t have a lot of time, bodyweight workouts are a great way to stay moving and stay on target of staying active.
What does a good home workout look like?
Start with the four major movement groups: Legs, Back, Chest and Core. If you can incorporate a workout that hits all of these areas, then think of yourself off to a good start! I like setting a timer for 20-30 minutes and then running through as many different variations of these as possible, but you can also just focus on the same exercises for reps if you are just starting out.
Best exercises for a home workout (bodyweight)
Legs: Squats, lunges
Back: pull up or superman row
Chest: push up
Core: Sit ups, crunches
A workout can cycle through these movements, back-to-back for time. For example:
Set a timer for 20 minutes. Complete as many cycles of the following as possible:
- 10 squats
- 10 lunges
- 5-10 pull ups
- 10 superman rows
- 10 push ups
- 20 sit ups (core work needs to be in a higher rep range for proper stimulation)
Now, this is just an example, but use your imagination! If you have access to kettlebells or dumbbells, add weight for increased difficulty.
For more information on how to workout at home, or get in contact with one of our personal trainers for your OWN personalized workout program, click here!
