You may be wondering if it is possible to workout at home and lose weight. It is! However, it takes a lot of hard work and responsibility. Whether you don’t like gyms or don’t feel comfortable in them, a workout at home is still a great way to get exercise. Let’s take a look at some of the ways you can workout at home and make a change.

Before you get started

There is an important point we need to make if you are just starting to workout at home. Abs and a healthy body are made in the kitchen. Don’t set yourself up for failure if you start to workout at home, but don’t see results right away. You cannot outrun a bad diet. If you are new to working out or losing weight, in general, you need to set yourself up for success with your diet. However, we do not recommend quitting junk food or sweets cold turkey. Eating things like fast food can be born out of necessity due to a time crunch or cheap pricing. Take this process slow and start adjusting your diet slowly. Nerd Fitness has a great article on how to substitute food and how 200 calories of broccoli looks much different than 200 calories of pizza. Because you are not using a trainer, start to measure your success by how much less you are eating. 

General Rule for creating a healthier diet:

• Eat lean meats
• Start having sides of vegetables
• Eat healthy carbs like rice
• Instead of eating darker meats so often try substituting fish
• Cut back on sodas or sugary drinks
• Try to cook meals as often as you can
• Track your calorie intake with an app  like myfitnesspal

Starting out with little to no money

If you want to start tomorrow and workout at home, you can! If you can squeeze it into your budget, try buying a yoga mat or thick workout pad. A mat is not necessary if you can find a blanket or pillow that you can stretch on the floor with. Stretching is also important to do before every exercise. Make sure to stretch in order not to catch a muscle cramp or injure yourself, especially if this is your first time to workout at home. Next, without any workout equipment, you will want to do workouts that use your own body weight. There are multiple YouTube workouts you can follow and workout apps that can help you. Personally, I recommend using the Nike Training Club App.

The app offers hundreds of workouts you can do based on your skill level and access to equipment. You can browse by muscle groups, workout types, equipment, and timed workouts. There is also a premium section that you can pay for that will allow you to access trainer-led classes. I like this app so much because of all the options it gives for free workouts. It will make you sweat, but it’s perfect for those who want to workout at home. 

Here are some general bodyweight workouts:

• Squats
• Push-ups
• Planks
• Jumping Jacks
• Sit-ups
• Burpees
• Lunges

All of these attack different muscles and require no weights. Also, when you do acquire weights you can include them in some of those workouts. Whether you do or do not have the equipment, track your progress. Write down the day-to-day results when you workout at home. How much you have eaten, the time you worked out, and the workouts you did. This can help you by planning future meal times, workouts, and the progress you made. 

Workout at home with weights

Even if you do have the money to buy weights, keep your investment low. Start with purchasing some dumbbells. You don’t need to start out with adjustable dumbbells as that is usually in the $100 dollar price range. Most people buy expensive products first and then start working out, only to quit within a couple of weeks after spending several hundreds of dollars. Don’t be like them. Instead, invest in better food such as lean meats or wheat bread. Until you can cut back on bad eating habits, don’t splurge on workout equipment.

For cardio, invest in some jump rope or workout steps. This is a cost-effective way of adding cardio into your daily activity. Don’t hesitate to mix these weights in with body workouts as well. If you can get out of the house, start running around your block. Before you invest heavily in machinery or clothes, focus on consistency. After you have added these to your workout routine, the next item you can buy is a bench. A workout bench will help you with new positions and areas to workout. Again, work up to this investment. Don’t spend money unless you know for a fact you will use the item.

Switch up routines every other week to not get complacent. When you know that you can steadily workout at home, that is the right time to invest in pricer equipment such as a treadmill, adjustable dumbbells, and other home workout equipment. 

Baby Steps 

Don’t expect you to be able to workout at home multiple hours at a time. You set yourself up for failure doing that. Instead, start by performing 30 minutes of workouts three times a week. Separate each activity by a time limit. For example, do 10 minutes of pushups, 10 minutes of squats, and 10 minutes of lunges. Adjust to your workout routine. In the end, it’s about making progress and building up to the next level of your fitness goal. Take things slowly, especially if you have not worked out in several years. You don’t want to damage any muscles or break something

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