We all want to maximize our efficiency when it comes to working out at home. That's why we asked our in-house experts on 5 ways to boost your home workouts.
1. Weight Training
Weight training has proven to be beneficial to our health in many ways. According to Harvard Health, once you reach your 50s and beyond, strength training is crucial to sustaining the ability to perform the most ordinary activities. What many of us don't know is that strength training increases bone density. Strong muscles lead to strong bones. And strong bones can help minimize the risk of fracture due to osteoporosis.
Garage gyms are becoming more and more popular. Having access to strength training equipment at home such as a power rack or free weights makes it ideal for home-gymers to build muscle.
2. Use an Accessory
If you do not have the space for heavy duty racks or weights in your home or if you prefer to do lighter exercises, use accessories.
Small accessories can make a BIG difference. For example, instead of doing free weight leg lifts, add ankle weights to your exercise and you have increased the stimulus of the movement. Or instead of doing bodyweight cardio in place, do ball slams with a slam ball. Switching your bodyweight exercises with an accessory is a simple way to increase your stamina and build muscle in your home workouts.
3. Get creative with your timer
Working out at home can be boring sometimes. It can be hard to stay focused and motivated without the gym environment. An easy way to make your workouts more interesting is by getting creative with your timer.
Tabata, for example, is a workout style that revolves around the time frame of 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off – in other words, perform the exercise for 20 seconds, then rest for 10. Perform this for 8 rounds and you have a 4 minute workout.
Interval training is another great way to rev up your workout. Set your clock to a specific time you would like to workout for and create an interval style workout within each time slot. For example, set a timer for 15 minutes and complete a certain amount of reps every 3 minutes for 5 rounds. Rest until the next 3 minute time slot begins.
4. Workout at the same time every day
According to Every Day Health, studies showed that the people who exercised at the same time every day logged more workouts and devoted more time each week to exercise than people whose workout times varied.
It can be hard to maintain priority and focus on our exercising when we are at home and there is no class time or gym hours to go by. Treat it as if it were a class at a gym and make your workout start at a certain set time each day. Becoming consistent with your workout routine will make it easier to prioritize into your schedule and get it done.
5. Incorporate effective stretching and mobility
Stretching and mobility is essential to muscle recovery when working out. Perform active stretches before working out to warm up the muscles and static stretches after your workout. There are many effective stretch machines you can have at home to reduce soreness and tightness in your body as well as lightweight recovery machines you can take with you anywhere.
Conclusion
Working out at home can be hard sometimes and we can find ourselves with less motivation and less drive. As we continue to build our home gyms, we want to keep things interesting. Adding equipment such a strength machines or accessories and getting creative with our workouts can keep us inspired and move our fitness in the right direction so we don’t forget our aspirations.
What does your current home workout look like?