How to Start Working Out at Home

Working out at home is a great way to start a fitness routine when you have a busy schedule. 

However, getting started working out at home can be a challenge. You have to be self-motivated, dedicated, and persistent if you want to get your desired results. 

I started consistently working out at home about 4 years ago. However, I fell off with my fitness routine during my pregnancy and have been slowly starting back over from square one again.

These are the things I’m doing to help me establish a fitness routine at home. 

Stop setting a date and just get started

Setting a start date can work for some things. However, when it comes to working out, you just have to get started.

If you try to set a date, no matter how determined you are to start on said date, more than likely something else is going to come up and cause you to push your start date back. 

Being too tired, not feeling well, or just not in the mood have been reasons for me to push back my workout start date. 

So, to avoid pushing back getting into a fitness routine when I found a spare moment I changed into my workout clothes and jumped on the treadmill and that was day one of working out at home. 

That first run after many months of only doing the occasional walk was hard, but I felt great afterward. 

After about your first week of working out daily, it’ll easily fit into your daily routine and the weeks will turn into months. 

Use fitness apps

Let’s face it, working out at home can be boring if you’re just doing random exercises with no end goal each day. 

What helps me keep up my energy to be able to work out at home daily is using fitness apps. 

Currently, I’m using Fitness+ since I’m still getting back into the swing of being able to do more strenuous workouts.

However, before pregnancy, I loved both OpenFit and iFit. I plan to restart my subscriptions with them again by the end of the year too because I like being able to interact with real instructors and other people as I find it helps the workouts go much quicker than just watching a prerecorded video. 

I recommend using fitness apps when you start working out at home because they give off the group workout class vibe, which can be great for those who are competitive like me and want to push themselves to climb up the leader boards. 

Plus, there’s the benefit of not having to figure out what type of exercises to do AND seeing the exercises being done in real-time so you can be sure you’re using the correct form. 

If you want to take things one step further, consider investing in a fitness tracker. My preference is my Apple Watch. However, these days there are so many options available that you’re sure to find one that fits within your budget that you’ll love. 

Invest in some at-home equipment

Yes, there are plenty of exercises that can be done at home without equipment. However, to keep from becoming bored with working out I highly recommend investing in some equipment. 

For me, I think my best investments have been a treadmill and indoor cycling bike. 

But once I get back into strength training regularly I am considering adding in a 15lb training bar as I think it’ll be a great addition to my dumbbells. 

Take a long and hard look in the mirror 

As I inched closer to 200lbs, I became accustomed to avoiding the mirror. 

I didn’t like the numbers on the scale, hated how my clothes were fitting, and definitely avoided looking in the mirror once I stepped out of the shower. 

After having my baby girl, I wasn’t too concerned about stepping on the scale for the first six weeks because I knew I needed to give it time for the baby weight to fall off first. Plus, I also knew I wouldn’t be cleared for working out for at least six weeks so it was no need to get myself all worked up. 

Once cleared for working out, I stepped back on the scale, and this time I started with at least 20lbs to lose. 

In my case, since I do have an infant at home, working out at home is my best option to make sure I’m consistent and it’s also a budget-friendly fitness option for me as well. 

Bottom line, if you’ve started avoiding mirrors and don’t feel comfortable naked, take a long hard look in the mirror – it may just be the motivation that you need to get started working out at home. 

Be honest with yourself

Have you ever been thinking in your mind, “How did I get here” and start evaluating at which point things started going wrong? 

This was me one night when I was restless, and I was having a full-blown trip down memory lane trying to figure out how I got to the weight and fitness level that I was currently at.

I used to be very active up until my mid-twenties, I loved doing kickboxing classes, and I loved shopping for fitness wear to keep me motivated to work out. 

However, I had gotten to the point where I avoided wearing 75% of the items in my closet as I didn’t like how they fit and I avoided going out doing anything fun because of how my clothing fit. 

As with my other goals having an honest discussion/reflection with myself helped push me in the right direction of getting back serious about my fitness goals.

You can start working out at home successfully

I get it, when you’re at home, there are so many other things to do besides work out. 

As a work-at-home mom, I’m always busy with working, kids, and doing household chores. 

However, if you want to successfully start working out at home, you’ll have to make it a part of your lifestyle and add it to your schedule. Maybe this means working out before everyone else is up, exercising while the kids do their homework, or ending your day with some sort of exercise. 

Once you make it a routine, you’ll find that you look forward to working out and feel like something is missing from your day if you don’t. 

What are your best tips for getting started successfully working out at home?