The Ultimate Guide to Home Workouts

man on a yoga mat - home workout

Was the gym already a beloved part of your life when the COVID-19 pandemic forced everyone to switch to home workouts for more than three years on a stretch?

Well, during that time, a lot of people, and I mean a lot of them, found out that home workouts are actually as effective as using the gym for their fitness needs.

But something else happened: while the mass closure of gyms forced home workouts on many people, at-home workouts are steadily becoming the preferred option even when traditional gyms have reopened and business is back to normal.

My point is that if you are considering ditching the gym to take care of your fitness needs at home, congratulations are in order. 

Yours might not be the case of a pandemic forcing you to reconsider your route to upgraded fitness levels. 

It might be a matter of convenience, privacy, the monetary costs of gym membership or commuting to the gym, or even the potential risk of contracting a communicable disease due to the congested space in the exercise area.

But if you eventually decide to take the route of home workouts, you will soon find out that they are an enjoyable experience, something you never thought you would enjoy but will now want to stick with for as long as possible.

The guide you are now reading is designed to arm you with all the information you will need about home workouts, from the benefits to how you can get started.

You will learn about the mistakes most people make when they are transitioning to home workouts and how to avoid them. 

In this guide, I will also show you how to fix a common problem with home workouts that arises with any self-guided venture— staying motivated.

Even if you’ve already started working out at-home , you will gain a lot of value from this article. In the end, you will discover the guidance you wish you had before starting out your home workouts.

Continue reading to learn more or use the table of contents below to quickly skip to your desired section.

Why home workouts?

woman on a yoga mat - home workout

Even though they may lack the high-level equipment and structured environment of traditional gyms, you will find that-home  workouts often one-up these facilities in more ways than you might expect.

Convenience is one area in which home workouts are hard to beat. You don’t have to adhere to strict schedules and routines like gym opening and closing times, nor do you have to wait for your turn to use gym equipment.

Instead of all that, you can make your workout routines part of your daily schedule. You can do some pushups early in the morning after waking up and before showering. When cooking, you can lift some weights while you wait for your meal to get ready.

That also means that you are not restricted to doing all of your daily exercises in one go. If interruptions in your schedule come from non-negotiable obligations like house chores or sudden calls from work, you can squeeze in small bouts of exercise in the short free moments between one engagement and the next. These little efforts add up to considerable wins.

Stress is not the only thing that a home gym saves you from. Making your home your workout base also saves you a lot of money. Remember that you no longer have to spend money commuting to and from the gym. Add up the savings over a year and see how much that gives you.

Gym membership options can also be expensive. With home workouts, you can cut off one extra expense from your monthly budget. 

With stress and monetary costs out of the way, comfort and privacy concerns are the next factors to take the exit door when you bring the gym to your home.

For one thing, with a home gym, you don’t have to share a space with anyone if you get freaked out when others invade your immediate space.

Also, you can wear anything you are comfortable in without fear of any awkward stares at your body. This is especially important in hot climates where you might be sweating out seriously and would not want any clothing that would block the free flow of refreshing air around your body.

Still, on the comfort part, you can personalize your home gym with the lighting effects, sounds, and temperature that get you in the exercising spirit. The options here are only limited by your imagination.

How to get started with home workouts

man on a yoga mat - home workout

Before getting started with any home workouts that might shake up your present routine in drastic ways, it would be wise to consult with your healthcare provider. He or she is in a much better position to access your current health metrics and recommend the safest exercises for your goals.

That brings us to an indispensable part of the prep-up process for any home workout: defining your goals.

Goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely help you keep focused and stay accountable, according to Peloton Tread Instructor Kirsten Ferguson.

Even more important, your goals should speak to what you really want. They should reflect an underlying need that you are passionate about addressing. That’s because involving your emotions makes it much harder for you to quit on your resolve even when the going gets tough.

Say you want to run 1,000 miles in a week (even if it were achievable); that’s just some number on a scale. Are you doing it because you want to see yourself as someone who pushes your limits or simply because you read that running more is good?

The extent to which your fitness goals connect with your intrinsic needs and values determines whether your efforts will be about short-term behavior solutions or long-term behavior changes.

Some goals you might consider include but are not limited to walking your dog for up to 20 minutes each day after breakfast, stretching for 10 minutes every day after waking up, or taking a fitness class this coming weekend after cleaning the house.

You can even set the goal of going to bed 15 minutes earlier every day in order to increase the amount of rest you get from each night’s sleep.

Whatever your fitness goal is, make it obvious by marking off time in your calendar, lower the entry barrier by pairing it with an activity you already enjoy doing, and make it rewarding by celebrating small wins. 

As a precaution, avoid scheduling your workouts when you are likely to feel tired, as you would struggle to motivate yourself to exercise. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that you schedule physical activity for times in the day or week when you feel energetic.

What if you fear that you don’t know which workout you might enjoy doing? Again, use your realistic goals as a North Star. Set reasonable daily and weekly goals that align with your schedule, lifestyle, and fitness levels. Identify what health or fitness metrics you are trying to improve, whether it’s lowering your cardiac risk factors, losing weight, and/or building muscle mass or core strength.

Watch YouTube videos from fitness channels to get as many ideas as possible of fitness workouts you can start engaging in. You will surely find some great suggestions for your fitness level.

You can try different types of workouts over a week to see which ones you prefer. It could be lunges, squats, running, yoga, trampolining, or something else.

Another easy way to get started with home workouts is to integrate them into everyday life by using them to replace more convenient actions. For example, you could take the stairs instead of the elevator. Or you could walk to your office from the gate instead of driving. You can also add 30-minute walks during your lunch break to meet the federal guidelines of 150-minute moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity each week.

Types of home workouts

man doing squats - home workout

It’s hard to resist both the logic and the allure of getting the gym experience from the comfort of your home and saying yes to that could very well be one of your best decisions yet.

The good thing is that there is an amazing variety of home workouts that are open to nearly everyone. All these exercises could fall into one or all of the following categories: bodyweight exercises, cardio workouts, strength training, flexibility and mobility exercises, and the list goes on.

Let’s discuss them in more detail:

Bodyweight exercises

Bodyweight exercises, as the name implies, use only the body’s weight for resistance and do not require any weights.

However, don’t let the absence of weights fool you into thinking that bodyweight exercises are not as effective as their weighted counterpoints. Spoiler alert: they are just as effective.

The truth is that bodyweight exercises aren’t missing out on the core requirements—challenging the muscles under tension repeatedly and for long periods of time—that any workout must meet to build up muscle strength and endurance.

Bodyweight exercises like pushups and situps task the muscles to overcome fatigue by working against the combination of your body weight and powerful forces of gravity. Engaging in these workouts is sure to earn you those tear-your-t-shirt muscles we all crave.

Pushups, reverse lunges, mountain climbers, bodyweight squats, and situps are just some bodyweight workouts you can start trying right now.

Cardio workouts

Cardio workouts, also termed aerobic exercises, are so named because they work your heart and lungs. There are many benefits, but the most prominent among them is improved blood flow and oxygen supply around the body.

Cardio workouts should be part of your exercise programs at-home  as they are great for improved cardiovascular health, endurance, and muscular strength and are among the best fat burning exercises. 

These exercises are high on the list of workouts you should definitely have in your home regimen. Just like bodyweight workouts, many cardio workouts do not require any equipment.

They are also not affected by the weather (they are totally indoors) and can be adapted to accommodate any fitness level. However, don’t be in a rush to take on cardio workouts at a high intensity. Get used to the movements of your chosen workout first and then gradually increase the intensity.

Also, it would be a good idea to plan your workouts in advance so you can stick to their timing without getting distracted—a major possible con with home workouts.

Some cardio workouts include jumping jacks, jump squats, burpees, mountain climbers, high knees, et cetera.

Strength training

Strength training is a special form of exercise that focuses on building muscle mass and increasing bone density. These body metrics are so important that the Department of Health and Human Services physical activity guidelines recommend training all major muscle groups at moderate or greater intensity two or more times a week.

There are several types of strength training, such as weight training, resistance training, and bodyweight training, amongst others. If you are surprised that bodyweight training makes the list, it’s because any strength training move you execute with weights can also be done without them. Remember what we said in the body weights section of this article?

Strength training at-home  is great for various reasons aside from the muscle-building part. It improves your heart health as your cardiovascular system now has to work more to supply more oxygen-rich blood to your growing muscles. And few workouts can rival strength training for the level of mental endurance as well as physical stability and balance that it provides.

While strength training workouts can release feel-good hormones known as endorphins and bring a deep sense of satisfaction from watching your body grow stronger, you shouldn’t rush into the weight-lifting part from the get-go.

In fact, it is recommended that you start with bodyweight exercises first so you can improve your strength and balance. From there, you can move on to light weights and get comfortable with those as well. Also, I can’t overemphasize the importance of taking long rest periods after your muscle workouts.

After every strength training workout, you should rest for up to 48 hours before your next session. This is because muscles get tiny tears in them when strength training, and these tears, though not bad, need to be repaired for the muscle to grow stronger.

Strength training exercises include but are not limited to squats, push-ups, dumbbells bent over rows, triceps dips, and more.

Flexibility and mobility exercises

Flexibility and mobility exercises play a vital role in enabling you to execute quick, athletic movements like catching a ball or responding to an opponent’s serve in tennis. They include back exercises at-home  and also free you up to easily perform everyday actions like turning your body, bending, or stooping over.

Exercises like stretching, yoga, reverse lunges with side bends, and more make the muscles less stiff so that they have a wide range of motion, decreasing the risk of strain and injuries. In fact, exercises like the ones mentioned above (apart from stretching) are usually used as warm-ups before the main workout routine or after as a post-workout cooldown.

Freeing up tight muscles for agile mobility has been shown to improve the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the muscle. It also enhances your balance and flexibility, which in turn can significantly improve your posture and keep you from slouching.

With better balance, older adults also have better protection against falls and fractures compared to those who don’t do stretches and twists.

According to the American College of Sports Medicine, older adults should do flexibility exercises on the same days as aerobic or strength activities or at least twice a week.

Balance Exercises

We generally start off with good balance, but as we get older, the power of our brain systems for maintaining steady balance whittles, and we might start having problems staying firm on our feet.

Though not to be overlooked by any age group, balance exercises are especially beneficial for older adults in their 60s and up as the risk of falling becomes more prolonged from then onwards. Those with neuromuscular problems (e.g., multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease), amputees, and the obese, et cetera, are another section of the populace that can’t get away with ignoring their power of balance.

Nevertheless, even younger people or those free from severe muscular deficiencies would do well to incorporate some form of balance training into their complete home workouts, as ideally, an all-rounder workout routine would comprise balance training, strength training, and aerobic (cardio workouts).

The good thing is that any workout that strengthens your core and your leg muscles, such as push-ups, mountain climbers, etc, also has the side benefit of seriously improving your balance.

 However, if those workouts are too strenuous for you, here are some balance-specific exercises you can try.

  • Weight shifts: in an erect stance, try slanting your body while you lift one leg off the floor and hold the position for as long as you can. By doing so, you are transferring the weight of your body to one leg.
  • One-leg balance: similar to the above but without requiring you to slant your upper body. Simply try to, as you are standing straight, support yourself on one leg and hold for as long as you can.
  • Biceps curls for balance: while standing straight, do biceps curls but keep one leg lifted off the ground and bent at the knee 
  • Do sideways walking but without dropping your hips as you step
  • Attempt walking sideways by crossing one foot over the other and then bringing the other to join it. This is also known as simple grapevine 
  • Walk upright in small, tight steps by bringing the heel of one foot directly in front of the big toe of the other foot 

However, in case of any serious deformities or conditions affecting your balance and general fitness, see your physiotherapist for a balance training regimen tailored to your specific issue. 

How to set up your home gym

Set up your exercise space

I so much agree with Cleveland Clinic’s statement that (I quote) there is no one right way to set up a home fitness center.

In addition to that, my best advice is to get started with the space you do have instead of waiting till you change your residence to some apartment with a yard as big as an acre or something like that.

Your fitness space could be an exterior area like your back or front yard or an interior space like a spare bedroom. It could be your basement, your garage, or a corner of your living room separated from the rest by a wall.

Whatever form it takes, capitalize on the fact that there are endless ways to set up a home fitness center by tailoring this space to your taste. Make it inviting enough for you to do your workout there.

When it comes to adding a splash of your personality to your workout base, the options are only limited by your imagination. Here are some ideas to create your complete home gym 

Add a full-body-length standing mirror so you can monitor your body shape and workout form. This kind of mirror will also make your space look bigger, which is a rather welcome illusion.

Stock your workout area with water bottles (for hydration) and towels (for cleaning sweat). Add lighting effects that get you in the mood for exercise, plaster motivational posters on the wall, and blast off some killer music with a Bluetooth speaker.

Choose the right equipment.

While your home workouts can be entirely equipment-free if you choose bodyweight exercises, you may soon find that you need real equipment to increase the amount of resistance you deal with or simply to make your home gym feel more like a conventional gym.

In that case, choosing the right workout equipment can mean the difference between sticking to your workout routines or giving up after a few tries.

Just like with any other piece of equipment, there are several factors that go into picking the right gym equipment for your needs.

Budget and size should, of course, be top considerations. Consider buying second-hand equipment if the price of the brand-new one is on the high side. Just make sure that the quality of the fairly used item is still top-notch.

As for size, your fitness gear should be able to fit into the available space. At least the workout area shouldn’t be overcrowded, so you can have plenty of space to move around.

It also helps a lot to select workout equipment that can be used in a variety of ways. These versatile gear can be used for a full-body workout at-home  that trains most or all of the six fundamental human movement patterns. So you might want to skip the leg press machines and the triceps press machine in favor of something like adjustable dumbbells.

Aside from budget, size, and versatility, you’ve also got to screen the quality of the item. As a general rule, avoid workout gear made of plastic even if you are on a slim budget, as this kind of product has a hard time enduring the rigors of regular use.

Quality gym products are not just strong; they are also made of quality materials that won’t irritate sensitive skin or discolorize when you sweat.

Now that you’ve gotten a clear idea of what to look for in your home gym products, it is best to go to a physical store and test them yourself before buying instead of shopping online for them. This will drastically reduce the risk of buyer’s remorse from realizing that what you saw on the page is different from what was delivered.

With all of that insight in mind, here is the home gym set you will most likely need.

  • Adjustable dumbbells: for squats, weighted lunges, crunches
  • Barbells: home gym weights for bench presses, overhead presses, squats, deadlifts
  • Kettlebell: swings, lunges, deadlifts, and more 
  • Resistance bands: upper and lower body strength exercises like single arm biceps curls, lying chest presses, overhead shoulder presses, front squats, leg extensions, glute bridge, split squats, et cetera 
  • Stability/abs wheel: targets core muscles in your back and hips, and can be used for high-impact abs workout at-home 

You can also check out VerywellFit’s article on the best budget home gym equipment.

Home workout programs for every fitness level

man doing push ups - home workout

The workout programs below are designed to meet you at your current fitness level. They are mainly focused on strength training to help you build muscle mass through resistance.

For each one, you can try doing two sets of 10-15 reps before going out of good form.

Beginner

  • Push-ups

 A very popular workout even in the military, push-ups task, amongst other muscles, your triceps and your shoulders and should be a part of your beginners workout routine at-home .

You can start with the easiest variants, such as the knee push-up or the wall push, where you assume the normal push-up position but face the wall rather than the floor.

  • Squats

By toughening up your hip muscles and giving you a stronger core, squats help you improve your stability and balance for both strenuous and everyday tasks. 

In its most basic form, it mimics the movement of sitting down and standing up straight with your hips shoulder-width apart.

  • Lunges

Lunges make for excellent leg and knee strengthening exercises at-home  and make everyday movements such as running, climbing the stairs or walking much easier due to their emphasis on working the muscle groups of your hips, knees, and ankles. 

If you are having trouble gaining your balance at first, try supporting yourself with a chair or the wall.

  • Planks

Planks help you build a strong core by firming up your abdominal muscles and those of your back. Planks can be tough to master, though, as you have to hold the position without getting destabilized. 

To ease things up a bit as a beginner, you can do a modified plank where you drop your knees to the floor and hold your position. 

Intermediate

  • Plank raises

The plank raise is the next level if you’ve mastered the basic plank workout and want to kick the difficulty a notch up. 

Start in a top press-up position and stretch your arm straight in front of you with locked elbows. Then lower it (without touching the floor) and raise it back, repeating the movement until out of good form.

  • Resistance band squat press

First, plant your feet shoulder-width apart on one end of the band and grip the other end with your palms facing out and up. Do this while in a squat position, then stretch the resistance band as you push yourself up, stretching the band above you with fully extended arms.

  • Burpee

For this, do a push-up, and after getting to the top position, jump your feet forward under your belly as if executing a frog jump. Then, stand and quickly jump up, land with knees bent, get into the push-up position, and repeat the process.

Due to their high intensity, burpees are among the best fat burning exercises you can engage in without equipments.

  • Biceps curls

For your at-home  weight training exercises, you can’t go wrong with biceps curls.

Grab two dumbbells, one in each hand, assume a straight posture with feet shoulder-width apart, raise the weights towards the shoulders, and lower them, making sure you bend your elbows in the process. 

Increase the weights as you get used to the previous ones.

  • Lateral raises

We are using two dumbbells here, too, one in each hand (palm facing inward). Your posture remains the same except that now you will be lifting the weights with your arms stretched straight sideways. 

Raise the weights to shoulder level without bending your elbows (or else the weight is too heavy) and lower them slowly.

  • Triceps bench dips

This exercise can be done with the aid of a stable table or chair or the edge of your bed frame. Attempt to sit straight up on the edge with both your arms pressing straight on it behind your back. Keep your legs together while bending your knees. 

Now, lower your body until your elbows are at 90°, and then press back up to straighten your arms.

Advanced

  • Side plank

Much more difficult than the usual plank position, this workout requires you to support your side with your forearm bent at the elbow and your hips, legs, and feet piled on each other and following a straight line from your neck to your feet. 

That way, you challenge your oblique muscles as you will then have to hold the position until you can’t continue without spoiling good form.

  • Hollow-body hold

Planks are great core workouts at-home , but hollow-body holds are even more brutal. It goes thus: lie straight and flat on your back with your legs together and your arms extended in a straight, continuous line with your body. 

Now, lift the key players—arms, shoulders, and legs—at the same time off the ground while keeping your back straight and flat on the floor.

  • Burpee pull-up

The burpee pull-up is no funny upgrade to your standard burpee. This extended version requires you to perform a burpee under a pull-up bar so that when you jump up, you have to grab the bar and complete a pull-up.

Then, when you’re done, return to standing (all of which, mind you, counts as one rep) and repeat the whole process.

  • Stability ball push-up

In this version of the push-up, you support your upper body under the stability ball and execute a push-up. This workout plays on the extra work you have to do to avoid getting destabilized due to the unstable nature of the stability ball.

  • Banded side-step

Loop the resistance band to your feet so it forms a circle around them. Now, step to the side with your right foot and bring your left foot to join it. Depending on the space you have, do a number of steps to the right and then to the left. Rest and repeat for up to four more sets.

  • Diamond press-up

The diamond press-up takes a classic spin on the traditional press-up (also called push-up) that this time around, works the triceps more instead of focusing on the chest.

To do the diamond press-up, reduce the gap between your arms until your forefingers and thumbs can touch to form a diamond shape.

Staying consistent and motivated

man holding a kette bell - home workout

It’s important to address the issue of staying consistent and motivated in your home workouts because lack of motivation and self-discipline are the major downsides of at-home workouts.

In a commercial gym, you have little choice but to abide by the opening and closing hours and follow the strict regimens. Also, exercising with a lot of other people can really spur you to keep going.

Here are some ways to avoid losing steam even while being your own boss in your home workouts. 

You could join free or low-priced fitness classes to make it feel like you are exercising as part of a group, or you could let your friends join you in your workout routines via Skype or FaceTime.

Another way to motivate yourself and also get really competitive with yourself is to join fitness challenges via fitness apps. Trying to beat other people’s records, getting virtual medals, and comparing your current performance with your previous best are sure to ignite the exercise spirit in you. 

Fitness apps, in particular, can help you keep a record of your streak with glowing words of praise and encouragement. Looking at your streak can give you some strength to push yourself to exercise, even on days when you have zero motivation, as you wouldn’t like to break your streak.

It also helps to get an accountability partner, as it is in our human nature to fear disappointing others more than we fear letting ourselves down.

Common mistakes to avoid

man holding a kettle bell - home workout

Pushing yourself too hard too soon

If you are new to home workouts, the promise of sculpted chests, chiseled six-packs, sturdy legs, and so on might make you so thrilled that you start exerting yourself to meet unrealistic expectations.

When you are just starting, proceed at a pace that would allow your body enough time to acclimatize to your new routine while it slowly responds to your efforts. Trying to lift all the weights at once or do all the push-ups to compete with the likes of Nate Carrol or Daniel Scali isn’t going to exponentially increase your body’s development rate.

So, let your body develop at a pace it can handle without getting to its breaking point.

Sticking to one workout routine for too long

As your body gets used to a particular workout routine, consider ramping up the intensity or switching to a new workout routine.

If you stay too long with a particular workout, you run the risk of stagnating your body’s progress as you would be depriving it of new challenges.

At the same time, introducing new challenges into your workouts or attempting an entirely different one will ensure that you are paying attention to different muscle groups, thus guarding against neglecting any part of the body.

Ideally, your entire workout program should include cardio, strength training, and stretch exercises. Another expert tip is to make sure that as you train one muscle group, you also train the opposing one.

As you go from beginner to intermediate, consider adding workout routines that train alternate muscle groups, such as pull-ups and bent-over rows (chest and back), squats and Romanian deadlifts (legs and abs), overhead presses and triceps press downs (shoulders and arms), et cetera.

Skipping warm-up

There’s a reason why every fitness coach or expert will tell you that plunging straight into your workout—at-home  or anywhere else—isn’t the best idea.

Warmups prep your body for action in a manner similar to how warming a car in freezing weather before revving the engine makes the car perform at its best 

Warm-up exercises help loosen stiff joints, increase blood supply to the muscles, raise body temperature, and prepare the mind for the training session. 

A word of caution: stretching is a common warm-up exercise, but beware of static stretches where you hold a position for up to a minute, as leaving a muscle stretched for a long time can cause fatigue to set in, leading to reduced performance.

Also, make sure that your warmup exercise fits the activity in question, or else it won’t be effective. You can do the less rigorous version of a workout as a warm-up before the more demanding version.

For instance, do pushups on your knees before doing the standard one, or do a bodyweight squat as a warm-up before you add weights. You could stretch out your arms sideways (while standing erect) and rotate them in alternating forward and backward circles as prep for lateral raises.

Overlooking form

A good form for a particular workout is the correct posture for that workout that allows you to target the right muscles and minimize the risk of injury.

If you’ve not mastered the technique for a workout, you would be committing the error of using the momentum of your body weight to work against load, and you could even get a hernia in the process.

Before performing any bodyweight exercise or lifting any weight, it is important that you learn the correct form for that workout. If in doubt, watch tutorials on YouTube to master a particular exercise or follow this guide on Menshealth for various home workout plans.

Neglecting rest

Rest is non-negotiable when engaging in any kind of home workout. After working out intensely and exhausting yourself, it’s advised to take a day or two off for rest.

Not resting well after a workout could do you much more harm than good. This is because your sore muscles need time to repair themselves after strenuous exercise, and depriving them of that could really heighten the risk of injury and other problems.

Being permissive to distraction

It’s very easy to get distracted when working out at-home  compared to working out at the gym.

That’s because, unlike the gym that is dedicated solely to exercise, the home is meant for all sorts of things that don’t help your workout goals, such as snoozing, watching the latest episode of Bridgerton,… should I go on?

If you are not careful, even an innocent break from a tiresome workout could deteriorate into a binging session of your favorite shows. Hence, there is a need to keep your workout space clutter- and distraction-free, possibly in a spare room that doesn’t have much stuff in it.

And since even your smartphone can exert a serious distraction pull, stepping up your crackdown efforts by keeping it far away will be well worth the effort.

Working out without a plan

They say, ‘failing to plan is planning to fail,’ and that adage is definitely worth its weight in gold when it comes to workouts. 

You see, without a plan for your workout, the decision fatigue that comes from having to contemplate what to do and when to do it can sap your energy for the activity itself, causing you to give up before you even start it.

A workout plan also prevents you from exercising without any clear goal or target in mind. Having a clear idea of what an effective workout looks like can help you push yourself to just the right degree—neither too hard nor too light.

Taking too little water and nutrients

Frequently passing out dark yellow or brown urine means you need to rethink your hydration game. 

You can’t afford to skimp on water as it plays a myriad of vital roles in the body—many of which are connected to making your workouts more effective—such as boosting energy levels and burning fat.

If the tastelessness of water puts you off, try adding drops of citrus juice for a dash of more palatable sweetness. To ensure you don’t forget to hydrate frequently, carry a bottle of water with you all day long.

Also, take care not to neglect your nutritional needs. It’s advisable to start off your day with the whole grain version of your favorite cereal-based foods, fruits, veggies, and lean protein instead of going for refined grains and high-sugar snacks.

It’s not uncommon to feel very hungry after a workout, and that’s when the temptation to snack on refined carbs and fast food options is at an all-day high. To avert that urge, try to plan your meals for the week ahead of time so that when you finish your workout, you will already have nutritious food on hand.

Also, please, and please, don’t begin workouts on an empty stomach.

In Conclusion

If you are thinking of moving your workouts to the comfort of your home due to monetary costs, time constraints, personal convenience, privacy concerns, or something else, you are not alone.

With more and more Americans choosing to ditch traditional gyms in favor of a home alternative, home gyms are here to stay.

And you don’t have to worry that your home workouts will somehow be less effective than what’s obtainable in a commercial gym. Exercise is rarely about the location and more about the intensity and regularity you invest in it.

By following the numerous home workout tips and strategies baked into this article, you will succeed in replicating the stimulating conditions and competitive conditions that are tailored just for you instead of forcing yourself to fit into the high-pressure environment that a traditional conventional gym forces on everyone using it.

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