11 ways to motivate yourself to workout at home

How can you motivate yourself to workout at home?

To help you motivate yourself to workout at home, we asked personal and fitness trainers, and business leaders this question for their best insights. From joining like-minded social media groups to setting a regular workout time, there are several ways to get yourself motivated and stay disciplined to workout at home regularly.

Here are 11 ways these professionals get themselves motivated to workout at home:

Join Like-Minded Social Media Groups
Create a Workout Habit by Using a Current Habit
Start Small
Sign Up for an Online Personal Trainer
Create a Reward System for Yourself
Wear Workout Clothes.
Workout When Everyone’s Out of the House
Use the Buddy System
Designate and Create an Intentional Workout Space at Home
Combine Your Workout With Something You Love
Set a Regular Workout Time

Ways To Motivate Yourself To Workout At Home

Join Like-Minded Social Media Groups

Though many people use social media for a multitude of other purposes, it can also serve as a great tool for motivating you to workout at home. When we make ourselves accountable to others, we feel a responsibility to meet those expectations, and social media provides the platform to create those connections.

Joining community fitness groups, making online pacts with friends and setting goals, or even using social media to find automated exercise trackers, can provide you the motivation you need to workout successfully from home. In using your social media to connect with others who have similar fitness goals, you have a great way to access the accountability you need to turn that obligation into motivation.

Adelle Archer, Eterneva

Create a Workout Habit Using a Current Habit

To make working out at home a habit, it’s helpful to attach it to a current habit. An example would be, if you read a chapter or two of a book every morning, insert working out into that habit. You must workout before you can read your book. Since reading is an already established habit, you are more motivated to workout so that you can continue your reading habit. After a few weeks, working out will also become your habit that you do before reading without thinking about it.

Sylvia Kang, Mira

Start Small

To stay motivated while working out at home, give yourself small goals. Start with 5 minutes per day and then work your way up to 30 minutes or even an hour. Realistic goals are a great way to stay on course. When you’re not in a gym setting, it’s easy to feel a lack of motivation. To combat this feeling, start small so you feel accomplished afterwards. A sense of accomplishment is an excellent way to stay motivated.

Melanie Edwards, Olipop

Sign Up for an Online Personal Trainer

Personal fitness trainers these days also offer community memberships that can help you stay accountable. Some of the best personal trainers will host live education sessions in their memberships about setting small goals, the importance of sleep and stress management, and nutrition hacks that can get you revved up to make a difference in your health. The constant action going on in the community can truly banish your lack of motivation. Seeing others working towards their targets is a great way of pushing you towards yours. After all, nobody loves feeling left behind.

Patrick Casey, Felix

Create a Reward System for Yourself

Self-discipline when it comes to exercise has never been my strongest point, and I have found that practically the only way to make myself workout is the carrot and stick approach. This means that when I manage to drag myself off the sofa and do some weights, I can reward myself. The more I do, the greater reward I can claim. A 10-minute workout earns me a can of soda, 20 minutes means I can have a bag of chips with my soda, and eventually, I hope to earn enough for a beer or two. If on the other hand, I just can’t get off the sofa without a good reason, I force myself to have a salad for tea, or do some menial task that has to be done instead of spending the evening watching football on TV.

Morgan Taylor, Sourcery

Wear Workout Clothes

It turns out wearing fitness gear motivates more people to work out. If you find working out challenging, shop for workout clothes. Clothes will help you distinguish between being comfortable at home in casual clothing and when to be in action while at home.

Workout clothes are also designed to give you as much comfort as possible when working out, allowing for a wide range of motions and will not restrict your actions. This will help you perform at your best and focus solely on finishing your workout routine.

Debbie Meeuws, Nature’s Arc Organic

Workout When Everyone’s Out of the House

Schedule a time to work out when you know you’ll be alone at home. I can feel self-conscious working out in the yard thinking I’m being watched or annoying someone in my family. I like to put on workout videos that have music and require movement that creates some noise. If a family member is around wanting to take a phone call, I might use that as an excuse to put off working out altogether. Knowing for certain I’m by myself at home enables me to go all out and get sweaty without any kind of distraction in my mind.

Monte Deere, Kizik

Use the Buddy System

Whether your workout buddy is next to you in your living room or on FaceTime or Zoom, they will keep you accountable and consistent. Sometimes, I don’t feel like working out. But when my friend is waiting for me to show up, I just can’t let her down. I must go so I don’t disappoint her. Also, working out with a friend is so much more fun than sweating it out by myself.

Lindsay Hischebett, Flaus

Designate and Create an Intentional Workout Space at Home

The best way to motivate at-home workouts is to set a designated, open space to move around and exercise. I like using class videos or yoga flows on Youtube for quick, accessible workouts that match my mood. Without having the space at home to get a full workout in, it is even harder to motivate ourselves to begin a physical routine. To make things easier, clear out space in a room or move light furniture until you can fully extend yourself in every direction. The space and sometimes a mirror help me get in the zone to get the workout I want. The more accessible you can make the work, the easier it will be to take those first steps and begin a routine.

Jason Panzer, Hexclad

Combine Your Workout With Something You Love

One client of mine adores anime. So, he only allows himself to watch it when he is doing cardio. I love reading novels and whole Sunday newspapers. I save the Sunday New York Times just for the bike. If you like podcasts listen to them while you jog. Or, maybe you love video games. Find one you can play on a tablet while you use a Stairmaster. The trick is to deny yourself the treat activity except when you’re working out. This works for anything you tend to avoid or neglect! By combining something you see as an indulgence with something that feels burdensome, you solve the problem. It’s called habit stacking, and it really works!

Amie Devero, Beyond Better Strategy and Coaching

Set a Regular Workout Time

Working out early in the morning or evening has always been beneficial to the exercisers. Create a timetable for the upcoming week and aim to include an hour a day for self-care. It’s simple to remain in bed. You will find that you have more energy and may be more productive throughout the day, but you must set an alarm and take the extra initiative. You should schedule childcare, your workout, and other activities around this hour like you would any other essential appointment you have to keep. Or, to stay on track, employ technology like daily email reminders, exercise diary websites, or apps.

Steve Sacona, Top10lawyers