Between chores and housework, caring for children and family, walking the dog, cooking, and working from home, taking some much needed “you time” can fall by the wayside, and you might not even realize it. But let’s back up — it’s actually so important to make this your number one priority and continue working out at home.
Why? Because if you don’t, chances are, you’re going to be running on fumes. And you can’t walk the dog or do the dishes or change the diapers if you’re completely depleted. You need to make basic self-care — particularly your at-home workout — a number one priority to ensure you’ve got a stable, healthy base.
Easier said than done, right? If you’re feeling at a loss, we’ve got some tips to help you rev the engine.
9 Easy Hacks For Working Out at Home
#1 Get Up 1 Hour Earlier (Before the Kids)
If you don’t have kids, no excuses! If you have kids, this might be a challenge, but try to get up at least one hour before they do so you can block out some time for yourself. This does, of course, mean that you have to go to bed an hour earlier at night — don’t sacrifice those ZZZs! We promise it will be worth it.
#2 Involve Your Kids
Can’t get up before them? Try to include them in a workout. This can be a fun bonding activity for the both of you and can help teach your children the importance of health and fitness while you squeeze in a solid sweat sesh.
#3 Set Out Your Workout Clothes
The night before a morning workout, choose your outfit and lay out everything, down to the socks, underwear, and headband. We’re all about a good time-saving hack, and cutting a few minutes out here and there can help you dedicate more time to working out at home.
#4 Or Just Wear Your Workout Clothes All Day
Stuck at home? Keep the yoga pants on! If you’re not leaving the house, make your whole day about health and fitness and be ready to exercise at any given moment. Plus, it’s so damn comfortable, we bet we don’t have to twist your arm to get you to wear leggings all day.
#5 Keep it Short and Sweet
You don’t have to find a solid hour to commit to one single workout. In fact, it might be much easier for you to break it up into chunks. Fifteen minutes here, 10 minutes there, etc, can all add up and keep you on track. It’s easier for you to stay focused and committed to a plan if you can get at least 10-15 minutes in each day, and you might find that you can carve out a little more time here and there to start extending the length of your exercise time.
#6 Exercise While You Do Chores
Do squats while you do the dishes. Try lunge walks around the house while you mop, vacuum, or sweep. Do some reverse lunges or pliés while you brush your teeth. Do a 1- to 2-minute plank while your coffee is brewing.
On a conference call? Take it while you walk on a treadmill. Watching Netflix? Do some sit-ups while you binge-watch (plus, if you’ve got time to get through a mini-series, you definitely have time to burn some calories… no shame). Find any way you can “sneak” your exercises in during different parts of your daily routine.
#7 Swap Instagram Time For Exercise
Take a look at your screen time report right now: how long are you spending on IG? (or email? or another app?) Chances are, it’s much, much longer than 5-10 minutes. A 2018 report found that the average user spends an hour on Instagram every day. AN HOUR. Can you imagine if you swapped that for exercise? Or even cut it in half, and spent the other half of your scroll time working out?
#8 Reward Yourself
Make some rules and rewards for your routine. Something like, “I can’t leave my bedroom until I’ve done a 10-minute workout,” or “If I do my 30-minute workout, I can watch my 30 minute TV show.”
#9 Automate It
Make working out as automated as brushing your teeth and making your coffee in the morning. If it’s scheduled into a routine you already have on lock, you’ll be less likely to miss it. Put your workout session in at the same time every single day and commit to it for at least three weeks.
At this point, it should become a habit, and your worries about missing a workout will be a thing of the past.
There are a lot of ways you can get creative with this, and what works for you is going to be different than what works for your friends (or fitness influencers on social media). Try each one on for size, and see what works best for your brain and habits. Once you find what works, you’ll be reaping all the benefits of consistent exercise — so get ready for a happy mood and boosted immune system!
