Beware this is a long post! But I’ve included a bunch of things that I hope you find helpful for at-home workouts:
- Things that help me stay motivated to work out at home
- 4 resources for at-home workouts that are mostly free that I’ve used and enjoy (Tone It Up, POPSUGAR Fitness, Lauren Gleisberg and FitnessBlender
- A few of my favorite at-home workout equipment pieces
Over the years, I’ve come to really enjoy working out at home. It first started for convenience and to lose the baby weight, but quickly became part of my routine and for my sanity. 🙂
I love that I can wake up, change into workout clothes (or even stay in my pajamas!), grab my coffee and start my workout. During a perfect morning, I get a quick workout done before my girls are awake and I get to spend a few one-on-one minutes with Alex before the chaos starts.
I think now more than ever these at-home workouts are helping me stay sane and giving me some time every day to focus on just myself.
Also, I know that it can be really hard to stay motivated to work out at home, but there are few things that work for me.
How I stay motivated to work out at home:
- Switch up the workouts. Sometimes I’ll follow an 8-week challenge where all of the workouts are mapped out for me. Sometimes I do my own thing. I find that as soon as I’m getting bored with one way, that means it’s time to switch to something else.
- Work out at the same time everyday. For me, that’s morning before breakfast, before the day starts, the first thing I do after pouring a cup of coffee. If I wait too long, I get distracted with other things (kids :)) and most likely won’t make time for it.
- Plan your workout the night before. When I plan my morning workout the night before, I feel more mentally prepared for it and am more likely to do it because it’s one less thing standing in my way.
- Set out workout gear the night before. I set out my workout clothes and sometimes unroll my yoga mat and set out weights the night before. This all helps me so much because it’s one less thing standing in the way … one less excuse I can use for not doing it.
- Reward myself. I wish I could always be motivated by the feeling after a workout, but honestly I’m not always. So, sometimes I motivate myself with something — a new workout tank top, a new book, a pedicure, a Starbucks coffee. Not after every workout, but after a certain amount of time if I’m finding it hard to stay motivated.
Do you have any tips for staying motivated to work out at home? I’d love to know. Please share in the comment section below. 🙂 Hopefully one of those helps you too if you’re trying to stay motivated for your at-home workouts.
Now on to my favorite resources for at-home workouts.
There are a bunch of programs, youtube channels, challenges, apps, etc. out there but here are some resources that I have used consistently for the last few years:
Tone It Up
I can’t say enough good things about Tone It Up. I first found Tone It Up after my first daughter, Raegan, was born. I was looking for quick, effective, fun and free workouts I could do while she napped. Karena and Katrina are the trainers and they film most of their workouts on the beach, which I love. Most of their workouts fly by because they keep it fun (as fun as a workout can be, haha!) and are quick. Finding Tone It Up is one of the things that jumpstarted my healthy journey.
I pay for their Tone It Up app ($14.99 a month), but they also have a bunch of quick and free workouts on their YouTube channel. (If you invest in their app, there are some really great features like on-demand workouts, workout programs and healthy yummy smoothie, dinner and snack recipes.) Also right now both trainers are sharing free workouts live on Instagram @KarenaDawn and @KatrinaScott.
A few of my favorite workouts on their YouTube channel are:
- KettleToning: I feel so strong when I workout with a kettlebell, and love this workout because it combines kettlebells, yoga and toning.
- Bikini Arms Routine: I have done this workout so many times. All of Karena’s arm workouts are good and effective.
- Any of their HIIT at Home workouts because they’re really quick.
- MaliBooty workout: This is a 9-minute booty workout and was my very first Tone It Up workout I ever tried years ago, and I keep coming back to it. I usually combine it with another video and do it two times through.
POPSUGAR Fitness
There are a TON of free workout videos on the POPSUGAR Fitness YouTube channel. In the Playlists section, the workouts are grouped by amount of time you have, what area of the body you want to work, what equipment you want to use, etc. so it’s easy to find one that fits what you’re looking for.
A couple of my favorite POPSUGAR Fitness workouts:
- 10-Minute Workout to Tighten the Arm Jiggle: I love working out my arms. I feel strong and like seeing muscles forming. This workout a good one to add into your routine because it’s quick and effective. I like to do it two times through.
- 20 Minutes and Done: Full-body HIIT Workout: Quick and effective workouts are my favorite. And I have a love/hate relationship with HIIT workouts because I don’t love doing them but feel really good afterwards.
Lauren Gleisberg
I really like Lauren’s approach to fitness. She doesn’t shy away from using heavy weights and when I tried her 8-week weight training program, I never felt stronger. I also like how honest she is with the results she’s seen from her own workout programs.
You can find some of her free workouts under her Workouts tab on her blog. She also shares her workouts in her Instagram posts @LaurenGleisberg.
A couple of my favorite Lauren Gleisberg workouts are:
- Weight-Training Plan 3.0 (home edition): This one is $14 but so worth it! I did this plan last year and felt so strong afterwards. I’m thinking of doing it again to change things up. Plus, the workouts are half a hour, so totally doable when you’re home with kids.
- Any of her arm workouts on her Instagram page: Working out my arms is my favorite, so any of them are good!
FitnessBlender
My favorite thing about FitnessBlender is that their site is like a workout search engine. You can plug in how much time and what equipment you have, what part of your body you’d like to work out, and the difficulty level and out come a bunch of recommendations.
A couple of my favorite FitnessBlender workouts: Both of these are quick and sweaty 🙂
A couple other workout resource favorites:
Also a few of my favorite workout equipment pieces that I use a lot:
- Dumbbells: I use 5, 8 and 10 pounds depending on the exercise
- Booty bands: If you put one of these bands just above your thighs and squat-walk around- this burns SO good! These bands are one of my favorite things to use for booty and thigh workouts.
- Kettlebells: There’s something so powerful about doing kettlebell swings!
- Resistance band: I like this one because I can use it at a door and work my arms in a different way compared to dumbbells
I hope that you found this post helpful and motivating. I genuinely enjoy working out at home because it really fits with this phase of motherhood I’m in. I also love that my girls see that I make working out a priority and want to join sometimes too.
Do you workout at home? What are some of your favorite at-home workouts? Let me know in the comments below! 🙂
+ show Comments
- Hide Comments
add a comment