Easy Tips for Working Out from Home
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Fitness Fun
We’ve talked about the best ways to work from home, so I thought that it’s about time we address the issue of working out from home. We’ve talked about these things before, too, but it’s easy to forget about them. We can always use a reminder of how easy it is to sneak in a quick workout!
I’ve got a few different jobs at the moment, so I spend part of my time at a couple different offices and part of my time doing work at home (and my own little side projects of working on a couple of books and such are also what I consider to be “work”). For the first half of September, I was working pretty much solely from home, which was much different from what I am used to. Working from home meant that I let myself sleep in a little bit. And then I’d miss my favourite gym classes. Or I’d tell myself that I’d go for a walk “after I finish xyz”, but I’d end up getting caught up in something else and suddenly it was 5pm and I hadn’t even left my house yet.
If this sounds like you – or if you are simply always in a rush and find that you don’t want to prioritize the gym (because, let’s face it, we all have time to workout; the issue is one of prioritization) – then just follow the tips below!
1) Keep a yoga mat on the floor. When my yoga mat is on the floor, the idea of dropping and doing 30 crunches or 20 push ups seems way less daunting than if I have to lug out my mat every time it occurs to me that I ought to fit in some core or strength training.
2) Turn up the tunes. Take a 3-5 minute break from work by cranking up your music and dancing to a favourite song. Please do not start dancing while you’re still working at the computer. I’ve tried doing both at the same time and trust me, it takes some mad skills to do that successfully (which I do not have).
3) Keep the weights handy. It doesn’t matter what they are; 3 lbs, 8 lbs, 10 lbs, 20 lbs. If you feel yourself slumping at your desk, do a few bicep curls. Or do some shoulder presses while you’re waiting for the kettle to boil.
4) Put your favourite workout DVD front and centre. I have the 30 Day Shred DVD on my laptop desktop. It’s a great 20-minute workout – if I tell myself that I don’t want to go to the gym because it will take too much time out of my day (a really great excuse), then I can just do the 20-minute 30 Day Shred workout and be done with it. Because I can definitely take the time for a half hour break midday. You can also put a DVD right beside your computer or on a table where you see it every day to serve as a good reminder (or guilt trip ;)).
5) Use a timer. I like to use a timer to track my hours when I’m doing a freelancing project, but it also works well for figuring out when it’s time for a break. If I have the timer set and I work for a solid couple hours, then I get outside for a quick walk. I set a destination for myself or I decide how long I want to be gone for ahead of time so that I can get some fresh air and allow my mind to clear and sneak a little bit of exercise into the day.
Check out my Shop Healthy store for products that you can use in your home for exercising! What are your tricks for working out from home?
My fave at-home workout tip is YouTube, Hulu and Netflix instant streaming! With just your computer screen or TV hooked up to your computer, you have access to hundreds of free workouts of all types. I LOVE the Internet:)
Whee Internet! It is fantastic.
This definitely sounds like me! I schedule it in – at a very specific time everyday – 12 noon. I don’t say to myself in ten minutes or after I finish this task – because it’s easy to put it off that way. If I don’t do it at that time and say to myself I’ll do it at three instead – it never gets done. I have to get it done early in the day. When you set a specific time it becomes a habit after awhile.
ME TOO. I have to do it early or there’s a very good chance it just won’t get done at all.
My go to is Exercise on Demand – I love that if I don’t like it, I can just pick something else.
So many choices 🙂
Great tips! I do the gym but I also do some stuff at home & the things I use stay right there in the TV room as I do them to recorded shows or news or something like that. I do core/butt & things that I can easily do to the TV. Heck, instead of buzzing thru the commercial, people can challenge themselves to go all out for the commercial break on circuit of exercises & then slow down for other stuff during the show before the next commercial break!
Commercial breaks are there for a reason, and I am fully convinced that it is for the purposes of sneaking in a workout.
Forgive me for poaching a link Sagan, but the timing is serendipitous. I just sent this over to Bobbie at Anonymous Fat Girl in it’s still fresh in my clipboard. I love this exercise because it can be a TV exercise, a dorm room exercise, requires minimal equipment and offers great utility — noy gym required 🙂 http://contemplativefitness.wordpress.com/2009/10/02/scaps-effeciency-and-a-very-garage-video/
You can “poach” a link any time you like! That exercise looks like a goody.
I’m trying to envision attempting that exercise on a bosu. For some reason I think that it would go very, very wrong.
Actually, when I do them, I put a tilt board on top of my step. Attempted the Bosu a few times — nope.
You use a tilt board? Goodness. You’re a fitness machine!
At home exercise works for me because it is so flexible. Once I get home, I am not likely to go out to the gym (what can I say? I’m a homebody) and since Husband and I travel together, stopping in at a gym on the way to/from work is not an option.
What I like about having my own little home gym is that I can exercise when I want. I know that the best plan is to get in my workout as soon as I get home from work. But if that doesn’t work, I still have the option of doing a workout a little later. And if I’m short on time, that’s okay too; I only have to walk down to my basement which takes a lot less time than driving to the gym.
I do miss the classes, and the wider variety of equipment, but a gym membership is just not practical for me right now. Maybe someday it will be again, but for now I’m very happy with my at-home exercise options.
Aw that’s so nice that you and your husband can carpool together!
It takes a considerable amount of discipline to workout from home 🙂
And now you have an ab roller to add to your fitness tools!!
Hurray! I’m super excited 😀
I love having lots of fitness options! Right now, I work out at the gym (it’s right next door to work – it doesn’t get any easier than that!), but I like having many of the options you mention handy at home – dumbbells, stationary bike that’s not covered in laundry, and exercise videos. My favorite at-home exercise? Strapping on the shoes and going for a walk, run, or bike ride around my neighborhood.
I think I’d like to have some options for at work, like dumbbells and maybe an exercise ball to sit on periodically during the day.
Meant to mention, I’ve found great exercise DVDs at my local library, too – that can be a handy option.
Walking is my FAVOURITE.
I love the timer idea and used to do it, but have gotten off track lately. I end up just paralyzed at my computer working from home for hours! Not good. Gotta get my timer back out!
I like tracking pretty much everything. Timers are perfect for that. It’s so easy to get caught up with one thing – I think we’re more productive when we give ourselves a time limit!