Tag: at home fitness

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Five Ways to Stay Fit at Home

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5 Ways to Stay Fit at Home

There are plenty of ways to stay fit at home, but here I am going to dig a little deeper to the how of it!

You might be asking yourself, can I really be successful at staying fit when I’m working out at home?

The answer is, yes. Let me show you. It is indeed possible. I did it for 6 years, alone, as a mom of 5, and without more than a couple sets of dumbbells, a yoga mat and portable pull-up bar. Annnnd bands. Gotta have bands.

If there were ever a time when home workouts were abundant, now is the time. They are literally everywhere!

The Coronavirus gave plenty of people a great opportunity to give in to desired excuses.  For some, it provided motivation to start making up all sorts of weird and interesting workouts. For others, it was a convenient excuse to quit working out altogether.

What is it that makes a home workout work vs. not though? Is it the actual workout or is it something deeper?

I have already talked about working out from home in my article,  Working out at Home.  I point out a very specific thing that you must have if you are going to work out at home. (For suggested home DVD workouts, please visit that article).

One must be self-motivated and have a strong drive to be self-committed if you are going to succeed at staying fit at home. 

Working out at home is easier now than ever. Resources are at our fingertips. You don’t even need equipment. What you do need is motivation. Commitment. People, and it never hurt anyone to have a little extra frill to accompany that home workout. A little extra energy, perhaps? Maybe a new pair of shoes or outfit?

So let’s dive right in.

stay fit at home

STAY FIT AT HOME TIP 1

People.

When we are working out at home, it helps to have people to look up to. I am going to name three of my favorites here.

One is vegan IFBB Pro League competitor, Nimai Delgado. I will let you explore more about him on your own, but he inspires and motivates me nutritionally and physically. On his Instagram page, he has several short at home workouts and great vegan meal suggestions.

Another is Jim Gurtner, a vegan bodybuilder/powerlifter. I will be including an interview I had with him soon, so please keep a look out for that in the near future! He also has a book that covers everything from plant based recipes, muscle building techniques that I promise you, you’ve never heard of before, and so much more.

The last I will mention here is a female that I follow on Instagram.  Alexia Clark has a lot of great at-home workouts that she came up with during the COVID pandemic that are simple, they work, and you don’t need any equipment. Plus, she’s just positive, cute and fun.

All of these people are great people to have in your pocket when you’re looking for people to inspire you while stuck at home.

stay fit at home

STAY FIT AT HOME TIP 2

Motivation.

At times, motivation can be a tough one. How do you get motivated, where can you go for motivation? This isn’t always an easy fix.

Sometimes motivation just isn’t there and you have to go straight to the core and dig up that raw inner strength. We all have it. It just likes to hide deep, deep down.

The number one thing that I find that motivates me is how I feel. And when I don’t feel good, I get cranky. The more I work out, the better I feel, the happier I am, the stronger I feel, and the more motivated I become. You have to get on a regular schedule and get past those first 3 weeks before you start to really feel that natural motivation. Until then, you’ve got to dig deep and harness your inner will power and just do the do!

Another motivating thing for me (and this is going to sound weird) is a treat. I sound like a puppy now, but I love my energy drink and protein shake, and want it all the time, but I only allow myself to have it when I work out. So I pre-mix it, stick it in the fridge, and have it there in the morning to grab and go. It’s like my own personal dangling carrot in the a.m.!

Axio by LifeVantage ~Specially formulated to give energy to your mind, not just your body.

Everybody finds motivation in his or her own way. It can be weird or common or simple or complicated, it is your choice and you have to decide what motivates you. If it is a picture, a song, a role model, a pair of shoes, a pet, a child, a family member’s health issue, (or your own perhaps,) or your own inner will power that drives you, use it, focus, and push yourself to keep your eye on the goal. Daily.

For help with how to set lasting goals, check out Six Steps to Setting Goals that Last, here!

This woman is total motivation for me. If at 70 years old she can accomplish this, then I can at 40 and so can you.

Joan MacDonald from Ontario, Canada

STAY FIT AT HOME TIP 3 

Regularity.

It is easier to work out at home when you are on a regular set schedule and also when you have great sleep. Your energy level is going to be best in the morning, and will be much higher on a regular schedule.

It takes a few weeks to get on a routine schedule, but our bodies thrive on regularity. Once you settle on a schedule, your body will begin to do a lot of the pushing for you. For example, I wake up at 5:30 every morning on my own without an alarm. (I always set one anyway, in case!) My body knows it’s time to get up and move. I also find that when I skip a workout or two, my legs become crampy and whiney and I can’t be still. So I have to go workout in order to appease my body’s demands. I will admit though, this does not usually happen when I am not on a set, daily program.

Axio

STAY FIT AT HOME TIP 4

Energy.

I don’t know about you, but when I can’t go to the gym, I find that I tend to be less energetic. There’s just something about the lights, the sounds, and the energy in the building that hypes my personal energy level to the next level.

Energy is necessary when you’re about to hit the weights (or weight-less routine), whether it is in a gym or at home.

Working out produces energy naturally. The more you do it, the more energy you will have. That being said, sometimes a little boost is just what we need. As I mentioned earlier, I love my energy drink, and the reason I like it, is because it is formulated to give energy to your mind, not just your body. And since I am a 5:30am girl, I appreciate that brain wake up in the a.m.!

The best part about this particular drink is that it is not a caffeinated, high-energy, pre-workout type of drink. It just basically clears away the brain fog and gives just enough of a boost that you feel awake, not jittery. It’s plant based. Gluten free. All natural. No sugar . . . And I love it! If you want to try it out, go here! If you’re visual, here’s a cool vid all about how it works, what it’s made out of, and all the fun facts! (FYI – my favorite flavor is grape).

STAY FIT AT HOME TIP 5

Ask questions.

If you do not know where to begin, what to wear, how to hold your body, what to eat, what to drink, how long to work out, how far to push your body, when to work out, etc., etc., ask questions. The more you ask, the more googling you do, and the more “networking” you do, the better you become at the task at hand.

Learn. Practice. Set goals, and believe. Working out at home is just as doable and possible, and can be just as rewarding, as working out in a gym.

It is not the gym that makes you successful in your fitness journey, it is your mindset. 

 

Please feel free to comment below, contact me on social media and follow me here! I love hearing from my readers. 🙂 I am on Facebook, Instagram, E-mail, Twitter, Pinterest and balance8life.

Definitely hit me up or email me and let’s chat!

 

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Working out at Home

Working out at Home

Working out at home is how I got started, but I’ma let you know right now, that it is a 100% self-motivated and self-commitment sort of undertaking. If you’re down for that, keep reading! This is how I did it for 6 years, alone, with 5 kids.

Always remember:   #MomLife happens!

I started my fitness commitment when I was 30, a couple years after I had my last kiddo. I didn’t have a single clue what was about to happen. I didn’t have money or time for a gym membership. (I lived in the boonies, 45 minutes from the nearest gym). But I was determined to get this baby-body back to a pre-baby body. I knew it would have to take crazy self motivation, because I didn’t have fellow gym goers to creep on me, or a partner to support me, and I definitely had the excuse of crying babies in diapers to keep me down.

In this situation, it’s easy to say, “I’ll wait until they grow up.” But trust me, it doesn’t get easier. Waiting for the perfect time will keep you on wait for life. 

I had one set of 3Lb dumbbells and I invested in a yoga ball and a yoga mat. I didn’t know how to use them or what to do with them, and I didn’t have anybody to ask.

My routine was lame and looking back now, I definitely didn’t know what I was doing.

Starting, committing, and figuring it out as you go is all some of us can do.

I want to share with you some of what I did that got me to where I am now.

1. DECIDE AND START

I knew for a fact that I had to start somewhere. So I decided to go for it. I’d been in a gym a time or two and knew a few basic things, so I started with what I did know. I set 30 minutes aside every day, to do something.

I did curls, (sat on the yoga ball and bounced?) Used my yoga mat and did a few crunches, turned around and did pushups, and did a few squats.

2. FIND A FRIEND

I lived too far away to have friends pop in and join me, so I called one.

My friend Jon ended up being the toughest, most consistent, motivating, and hard to hide from, kind of friend. We committed to getting in shape together, 2,000 miles apart from each other, and report (over phone) on the daily!

You don’t have to have a buddy at your side. Someone to check in with and be accountable to is all it takes, whether that’s a phone call, snail mail, a text, or someone personally there with you. Anything can work!

3. RESEARCH

I decided my butt was way too flat, so I started researching what I could do from home, and I discovered Leandro Carvalho’s Brazil Butt Lift and lucky for me I had a birthday coming up and requested it for my birthday.

Today, with so many things available online, within minutes, you can find all sorts of workouts for free, or that are worth paying for. Just do your research and try something! It’s all about trial and error.

The above mentioned workout works wonders, by the way, and I have actually since found it on eBay and Amazon for a very low price!

4. COMMITMENT 

I received Brazil Butt Lift from my sister as a birthday gift, and whoa! It hurt. And it’s easy to quit when you’re at home with nobody watching; when the pain is real! It hurt so, so, so bad! I had never done anything so intense in my entire life! I quit after… 3 days?

2 weeks later, after I could finally walk again, I decided to give it another go, and I stuck with it. Pushed through the pain, and within 8 weeks I saw a 2 inch increase in my butt and a 2 inch decrease in my waist!

Results don’t happen if you don’t commit. Commitment and consistency is key to seeing results, whether you’re alone at home or at a class at a gym!

5. SCHEDULING

If you’re a mom at home with a kid, or a bunch of kids, it takes scheduling to actually make things possible! Fortunately, I already had my kids on a very regular nap schedule, so I was able to pop in the DVD and go for it at nap time. If your kids aren’t on a regular schedule, boss up and tell them it’s mommy time. Mom’s can’t be their very best if they don’t take care of themselves!

After doing this for several months, the kids learned that this was a routine. I talked to them and explained that they needed to stay out of the area while I worked out because I didn’t want them to get hurt. But they watched and sometimes joined in.

This is where actions speak so loudly! None of my kids have ever seen me skip a workout for more than a day or so, (unless, of course, the times I’ve had a broken bone or hurt myself). When I miss more than one day, they begin asking me why. It’s a habit and it means something to them that I do it! They actually don’t like it when I miss for too long. It’s become a routine which in turn equals security and “knowing what to expect from mom”. Kids like it when their parents take care of themselves.

6. LOVE AND WILL POWER

Love yourself! Some days are a real struggle. Some days are easy. I was so over the top committed to this workout plan, that I was determined to let nothing get in the way. On days when I wasn’t feeling so into it, I put the DVD in and put on my workout clothes before I was actually ready to do the do. Just the sound of the music and the pictures of those nice booties really motivated me enough to get my butt in gear. (And of course, knowing that Jon would be calling me to get a report gave me that extra boost!)

It really is simply deciding whether or not it is important to you. If it is, you will find the time to do it, and figure out how to do it.

Working out at home is a lot easier now than it was even back when I started. The options and abundance of workouts online, free or paid, are endless.

I personally loved the Brazil Butt Lift because it was focused on the booty, plus, it worked my full body. But I have also done Insanity, P90X, Hip-Hop Abs, T-25, and plenty of others. I did these interchangeably for 6 years. Some of these use more equipment than others. I’d start with Brazil Butt Lift ’cause it comes with the bands you need and the only thing extra you need is a mat. I got mine at T.J. Maxx for $9.00!

When you’re a stay-at home mom, (or dad), I highly suggest and recommend doing a DVD program because they teach proper form to those of us who know nothing abut working out. And they usually come with a calendar and a meal plan. They’re simple, and you can fit the work out in to your own schedule.

Just remember that sleeping in happens. Set backs happen. Cramps happen. Losing motivation happens. Perfection, on the other hand, happens in tiny increments, for a second or two, but it’s never something that is reached and maintained on a steady basis. It’s that “do and do again” kind of thing. Accepting when it is, and accepting when it isn’t, and understanding that it isn’t going to be a place that you get to and get to park yourself at. It’s an on-going process of riding life.

As Dory says:  "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming, swimming."

If you have any other questions on how to work out from home, I’d love to hear from you! You can message me anywhere you’d like. I am on Facebook, Instagram, E-mail, Twitter, Pinterest and balance8life, so wherever you like to communicate best, you can reach me!