Remember last week when I told you I was putting my foot down and telling you you need to create a home workout routine as part of your sustainably healthy lifestyle?
Well, I know I convinced a lot of you that a home workout is a significant key to finding that balance that you're looking for, but we're still faced with the HOW.
I have this conversation on the reg: "I just can't get to my classes as much as I want! I wish I was someone who could motivate to workout at home, but I just can't!" Sound familiar?
For many of us, working out at home is not only unappealing but it's just not happening, no matter how much we'd like to create that routine for ourselves - no motivation, no idea what to do, too many distractions, and it really doesn't feel very fun.
But, seriously, if I can do it and enjoy it, so can you!
I'll solve those 4 things for you right now:
1. No motivation
So (you by now know my favorite piece of advice) SET THE BAR LOW.
Want to start a home workout routine? if you start out aiming for 60 minutes 4 times a week, you may do it once or twice, but in my vast experience, that doesn't stick. Not at first, anyway ;)
Tell yourself to do 10 minutes. Just 10! Isn't that a lot easier to motivate to do than telling yourself you'll do 60?
You see, when you tell yourself 10 minutes, you'll often find that you're up for more! And if you're not, you'll have at least done that. And 10 minutes is better than NO minutes!
And it adds up to a TON of strength work in your weeks, months and years. Same goes for cardio -- race your kid to the end of the block, set up obstacle courses, go for walking coffee dates with your friends or even a walking meeting (on your phone or with your business pal!). It all adds up and it will make you stronger, healthier, and HAPPIER.
If you can't seem to motivate to get where you want to be, aim lower! You heard me! Go just a notch or two above what you're doing now. Sustain that for a bit and then bump it up.
It may not be the huge steps you think you need to take to get you to your goals but if you think about it, everyone (mostly) knows that eating salads instead of donuts and drinking water instead of Mountain Dew is ideal - it's the matter of actually doing it that's hard.
So own where you are and take the action that you know you can make happen and be proud AF of yourself every step of the way!
2. Too Many Distractions
This is a BIG barrier for me as I always have things that need to get done. But when you tell yourself you'll just grab a quick 10 or 20 minute workout and you have it scheduled into your day (even if only in your head!), then it's pretty easy to stop, bust it out, and get back to one of the trillion things that need doing.
It's a lot easier to make time and stay consistent when you're not relying on wide-open chunks of time and class-time availability! The ball is in your court, boo!
3. It's Not Very Fun
Oh, mama. This is where you have it all wrong! Some ear buds and a podcast full of swear words and grown up content matter is one of my simplest pleasures these days. True crime investigations, cussy comedians, or my old friend who has a podcast where she reads her highschool diary -- these things make me happy.
So finding time for a workout is also the time I get to let my brain go on autopilot and I can just follow along with the workout at hand and listen to something that doesn't involve whining, potty humor, or a tiny human needing something from me.
It's heaven. And the best part is it's not stressful at all - no rushing home, no pushing off things I need to get done, it just fits neatly and easily into my day.
And if the kids are around and you can't put on an episode of Below Deck or a podcast about serial killers, letting them see you have fun exercising while they play or watch some TV is HUGE for how they see healthy living and how they see YOU treating you.
Be patient and remember why you're doing this - stop focusing on the calories you're burning and start focusing on the mental and physical health you're increasing and you'll be a lot closer to that goal weight than when you were stressing about getting to classes ;)
And if you still can't learn to love the time you're carving out for your fitness at home, I'll tell you what I tell my kids when I serve the wrong kind of [insert any kid friendly food that I serve a different brand than they're used to], "You don't have to LOVE everything. Sometimes just not disliking it is good enough to get it in your system. And you may even learn to love it. And if you don't, tolerating something good for you is a good thing, too."
4. No Idea What To Do
Okay , now this is where I have you covered. If you're not a Virtual Gym member or still haven't done my 6 Weeks to Wellness, I still have plenty of free stuff for you to pull from!
And, while there are a ton of free workout videos on the interweb, I can't recommend more highly finding something that is designed to work for you. Hopping on YouTube when you have a quick minute for a workout will leave you scrolling through Ellen clips for so long you'll miss your workout and will have to order take-out for dinner.
So make a plan for your home workouts. Find someone or somewhere you trust to give you what you need. My online courses and coaching is all designed to help you find and settle in to the healthy habits you need to be successful. Just sayin'... ;)
There you have it!
Getting to your favorite class can be something you get to look forward to and not have stress about missing. It's something you can choose to do because you happen to have the time and energy to go and it will add a ton of healthy value to your already healthy week (and life!).