A lot of men tend to think that it’s difficult to impossible to be successful when trying to achieve their desired fitness goals every day. Thankfully, we’re here to assure you that staying fit at home is as easy as taking candy from a baby (but we don’t recommend doing that). You might be thinking of staying fit but might also have found that there isn’t a gym within easy reach of your home, or there isn’t one that offers the kind of price that you can afford. It’s a struggle, we know since you don’t want to make an hour commute to work out just to drive that extra hour home, give or take a few minutes. The upside of this predicament is that you can easily stay fit at home since if you can find it in you to be creative, then there are bound to be many ways that you can find ways to experience a great workout at home. Here are just a few tips that will help you get into the swing of things when it comes to your fitness success.
Stay motivated
Working out at home will demand a positive mindset. There might be distractions, especially from your kids, pets, or partner, but stay focused on your goals. Obviously, you’ll need to attend to your partner, kids, pets, home, whatever, but make it known that you want to carve out a bit of time for yourself for the day, even if it’s just 20 to 30 minutes to get your heart pumping. Finding that time and staying positive about the goal you want to achieve will help you push yourself into putting in the effort to achieve the level of fitness you desire. Staying motivated is necessary, especially on days when bad habits start to creep in and entice you to lay on the couch and watch Netflix or some other streaming service all day. Get up, get moving, and stay moving for a while. It will do a world of good.
Create a sustainable diet and portion out each meal.
Healthy food is actually essential to staying in shape since no matter how much you work out, putting junk in the tank isn’t going to do the trick. We get it, junk food is good, it’s tasty, and it makes you feel good, up until it doesn’t. All that oil, sugar, and other processed crap might be fine for a snack here and there or every blue moon, but otherwise, it’s like tossing low-grade fuel into the gas tank of your car. It might run for a little bit, but it’s not going to perform the way you need it to. It is important to watch what you eat like it or not, and it does matter how much you eat. Learning about what foods can help maintain your health, and about portion sizes can make a huge difference in your health.
Daily exercises
Unless you’re a professional athlete or someone that simply cares that much about your health and prefer to perform at a high level, daily exercise doesn’t have to be grueling. Exercising regularly is a good idea, but you don’t have to kill yourself every single day. Find a way to measure your workouts and take it easy some days and go hard on others. A good, balanced workout can shock your body as needed and then allow it to relax, creating a balanced system that allows you to continually push yourself while getting enough downtime. From cycling to jogging to simply taking a long walk, there are a lot of ways that you can exercise simply without needing a gym. Do take care to pay attention to your body. Sore muscles are one thing and should be a sign to back off and take care of yourself with a bit of relaxation. But the moment the pain becomes severe it’s time to back off and reassess your workout, and of course, find out what’s wrong. Don’t take the term ‘man up’ as an excuse to be stupid and push past the pain, especially if you’re just starting out. Aching and sore muscles are going to happen, it’s normal and it’s natural since your body is getting used to being active. If you do need guidance and can’t go to a gym there’s always YouTube, and there are numerous books on how to work out in a safe and measured way that will help you to build up those muscles. In fact, there are a few good workouts you can do around the home and within your neighborhood, without needing implements of any kind.
- Running/Jogging or Walking-All you need is a pair of shoes, a decent outfit to walk in, and a place to walk. Try to map out a beginner’s route that won’t challenge you too much to start with, and then expand your walk as you feel the need.
- Push-ups, Sit-ups, and their many variations-There are plenty of examples on YouTube, and as mentioned there are plenty of books out there that are designed to take people through one workout after another. Go slow at first, with two or three exercises utilizing a low number of reps in order to fully understand the motions and what needs to happen with each exercise.
- Yoga, Calisthenics, etc.-Anything that doesn’t require any special equipment is easy to do at home, and if you want to work with weights there are ways to make this happen. Again, look at YouTube or get inventive. Just have fun with it!
Get enough sleep
You’re busy, we get it, and we understand since a lot of people work that normal 8 to 10-hour shift, which leaves you exhausted or at the very least unwilling to do much at the end of the day. It’s even harder if you have kids, pets, or other obligations since forcing everything into a 24-hour day isn’t always as possible as people might think. But sleep is one of those things that you can’t do without since even getting half a night’s sleep, especially after a busy day and a workout to boot can leave you depleted and in need of at least 6 to 8 hours of rest. Getting only half of that isn’t enough, even if you feel that you can keep going with so little sleep. Your body will take over and say “Look, you don’t know what you’re doing, we’re falling asleep now” if you persist. Unfortunately, your body might actually do this at the wrong moment, such as when you’re at work or even during the commute to or from work, which isn’t optimal. Sleep is when your body takes the time to repair cells and recharges for the day to come. When it comes to working out, if you feel the need for a short nap first, then do it. It’s not worth your health, to be honest, so sleep when you can.
When all is said and done, working out and staying fit at home can save you a small fortune, and keep you active and healthy.
