You’ve used every excuse in the book. You don’t have enough time to workout. Joining a gym is too expensive. You’re exhausted from work and can’t bear the thought of exerting any more energy on exercise. Enough excuses. With today’s technology and the World Wide Web, there are more (affordable) ways than ever to workout right in the comfort of your own home. Keep reading to discover seven reasons to consider working out at home and how to do it right!
1. It’s Convenient
This is the number one reason to workout at home. There’s nothing more convenient than rolling out of your bed, into your gym clothes, and directly into your workout space. Working out at home doesn’t require you to get in your car and drive to the gym. In fact, you don’t need to step foot outside your house! (Unless you enjoy road running, which in that case, your neighborhood is your playground!) How many times have you woken up to hit the gym only to look outside and see that it’s raining or check the temperature and see single-digits? Doubt slowly creeps in and before you know it, you’ve convinced yourself not to go to the gym! When your gym is in your living room (or basement, or spare room), it gives you limited time to second-guess your decision to work out and before you know it, you’re working up a sweat and burning calories!
2. Saves Time
Not only do you save time driving to the gym with at home workouts, but they also eliminate all those incidentals in between that you don’t realize cut into your valuable exercise time. Things like finding a parking spot, chatting with the staff at the front counter, changing in the locker room, and waiting for equipment. If those things each only took five minutes, that’s still a total of 20 minutes, plus at least 10 minutes commuting there and back, puts you at over a half-hour of wasted time! That’s the length of an entire workout! So the next time you use time as your excuse for not working out, just think, the amount of time it takes to actually take advantage of a gym membership could be used working out at home.
3. Variety
Are you someone who gets bored easily? Do you crave change and seek out more challenging workouts? If so, at home workouts are the way to go! When you join a gym, you’re limited to the machines they have and the classes they offer (if any). Are you dying to try power flow yoga? Do you love resistance bands or foam rolling? When you design your own at-home gym, you can incorporate the equipment that best suits your needs and find online workouts that cater to your goals and preferences. Need more discipline or accountability? Check out how an online personal trainer program can help you set and crush your health and fitness goals.
4. No Rules (Anything Goes)
If you’re a grown adult, the last thing you want is someone telling you how to workout. While most gyms have rules in place for a reason (safety being the main one), they can still inhibit your workout. For example, certain gyms prohibit specific exercises, the use of loud grunting or dropping of weights, loud music, cell phones, and even certain types of sneakers! In the comfort of your home, you can chew gum, text while working out, go barefoot, and wear whatever you want! This puts freedom and control back into your hands, making your workouts as pleasurable as possible.
5. Limited Distractions
Are you easily distracted? Maybe it’s that big guy lifting weights and grunting (against the rules), or that young girl giggling and flirting instead of actually using the elliptical machine you’re waiting for. Whatever it is, gyms can be distracting! In your own home, you have the ability to get into your “zone”. This looks different for everyone. Maybe you enjoy wearing your Beats and rocking out to country music, while singing out loud. Or maybe you’re like so many others who actually swear out loud while working out. Whatever it is that gets you through, you can do it at home without fear of repercussions. And in the same turn, you won’t be distracted by other people’s strange exercise habits.
6. Stay Healthy
This one may seem like a no-brainer. After all, aren’t you working out specifically to stay healthy? Yes, but the kind of healthy we mean here has nothing to do with your weight or muscle mass and all to do with hygiene. Let’s face it, as much as gym owners may try, it’s impossible to eliminate all the germs and bacteria found in a gym. From the weights and machinery to the locker rooms and mats, people sweat, spit, and leave their germs behind at every turn. The showers are a breeding ground for athlete’s foot and if you’ve ever used a weight bench after a large, very muscular man who neglected to wipe it down, you know exactly what we mean! Your at-home gym will stay as clean as you keep it. This means less germs and less risk of getting sick or picking up an unpleasant infection.
7. Workout Day or Night
Are you a morning person? Do you like starting your day off bright and early with an intense workout before you hit the shower and head to work? Or do you prefer working out at night, as the perfect end cap to your hectic day? The beauty of working out at home is the ability to exercise whenever the mood strikes you. While some gyms are open 24 hours, others have set hours that may not mesh well with your schedule. What about working out on weekends? Some people thrive on their weekend workouts. Not all gyms are open, and if they are, they offer limited hours. When you exercise at home, no one’s telling you when or how to do it!
No more excuses! When you choose to workout at home, getting fit and healthy has never been easier. Trade in that gym membership and strict rules for the freedom and convenience of exercising at home.
Article Submitted By Community Writer
