Can you get results from home workouts?
When the pandemic hit, gym-goers were forced to work out at home if they wanted exercise. Now, with gyms back open, many are wondering if they should ditch the basement setup and sign back up for their local gym.
It's a tough choice! Can you still get the same results without all the equipment? Are you able to train as hard without the environment?
In this article, we will go into detail on the advantages and disadvantages of working out in the comfort of your own home. We will also leave you with some tips so that no matter where you train, you can feel confident that you're getting the most out of it.
The benefits of working out at home
Convenience: Who doesn’t love the convenience of waking up, walking out to their living room, and getting straight to work? You don’t lose any time commuting to or from the gym! You can get your workout in at any time of day, or even split the session up between calls and chores. It almost makes it too easy not to do it.
Cost-Effective: If you are watching your spending, you don’t need to sacrifice your workout routine. Not having to pay for a gym membership, parking, and other hidden fees can save you money. Many people will be able to see results using their own body weight; there are tons of minimal equipment home workouts that are super effective. If you do choose to invest in a few pieces, however, building a home gym doesn’t need to cost you thousands of dollars. Click here for some of the pieces we would recommend.
Time-Effective: When you are in the comfort of your own home, chances are you're not waiting for equipment to free up, or going from one end of the gym to the next between sets.
Privacy: For a number of reasons, some people just do not feel comfortable in a gym. Working out at home gives the privacy of being in your own space to dress however you want, listen to your own music as loud as you want, work through your sets at your pace and not having any sort of interruptions from other people in the gym. You get to stay completely focused in your own space!
Potential drawbacks to training at home
Lack of Equipment: While there are many minimal equipment programs out there, building and adding to your at home equipment will eventually become necessary. In order to continue to improve, you'll need to add weight so you can achieve progressive overload and constantly challenge yourself. Sometimes bodyweight just isn't enough of a stimulus, or people don't want all their workouts to be 20-30+ rep sets.
Limited ways to target certain muscle groups: With working out at home we still want to be sure that we are able to work all of our muscle groups and complete a variety of movement patterns. For instance, targeting your back muscles with pulls in the vertical plane (i.e pull-ups) are difficult to do at home. While we can do this with limited equipment, there might not be a big variety leading certain aspects of your routine less exciting.
Hard to track progress: If you want to progress in your strength or aesthetic goals, you have to apply progressive overload to your training. Put simply, you need to do more over time. The simplest way to apply progressive overload is by adding more weight/load to your given exercises. Gyms have a large selection of weights, while limitations at home can stall and plateau your progress.
Lack of Motivation: Being alone without anyone to push you or make you do the work may make you feel like you can cut your workout short. Motivation is never going to be there all the time. You must find the dedication in yourself and remember your WHY! Why did you started in the first place? Don’t cheat yourself! Make it a competition: You yesterday VS. You today. If you are lacking motivation check out this post on what may be causing it and some tips to help you find it!
5 tips to make your home workouts more effective
designate a time and place
Set an alarm on your phone and block off time on your calendar at the same time each day. This will help build a habit of exercise being in your regular routine.
In addition, dedicate a specific place to work out in your home that will eliminate distractions and interruptions so you can stay in a zone.Follow a structured program
You don't want to have to guess which exercises to do each session. Instead, Ladies Who Lift offers several programs that will ensure you're hitting each muscle group, achieving progressive overload, and seeing results over time.
track your progress
Whether it's in a physical journal, notes on your phone, or an app, make sure you're tracking your performance. Keep an inventory of the weights you used each week and how many sets and reps you did. This way you can see which exercises you're making progress on and which you need help with.
Another great way to track progress is by taking videos to see if your form is improving. progress.push yourself
When working out at home, a potential challenge can be that you don’t have a wide range of weights. We want to take your sets and reps to failure adding in higher reps and working in tempos or pauses that will challenge you with those lighter weights.
hire a coach
A coach can provide you with the accountability that may be tough to come by when training from home. A coach can also help you to identify any potential limitations you may face and help you to navigate those. Find a coach who can customize at an home program to your fitness goals based on the equipment you have. You can learn more about how online personal training works in our article.
try this total body at home workout!
You can perform these with dumbbells or with body weight. We want these reps and sets to feel challenging and like we are working, use your best judgment to make sure you are doing that!
1A. Goblet Squats (3-4 sets of 12-15 reps)
1B. Single Arm Dumbbell Row (3-4 sets of 12-15 reps/side)
Superset the two exercises above (no rest in between movements)
2A. Reverse Lunges (3-4 sets of 10-12 reps/side)
2B. Dumbbell Floor Presses (3-4 sets of 10-12 reps)
Superset the two exercises above (no rest in between movements)
3A. Dumbbell Glute Bridge (3-4 sets of 15-20 reps)
3B. Resistance Band Lat Pulls (3-4 sets of 12-15 reps)
4A. Dumbbell Plank Pass (3-4 sets 8-12 reps/side)
4B. Incline Push Up (3-4 sets 10-12 reps)
gym vs home workouts
Whichever way you chose to get your sweat on and work on that strength, Ladies Who Lift has you covered. We offer both custom and non-custom training options wherever you decide to train. Our custom programming also comes with nutritional guidance, a Facebook support community, and exclusive content to help you reach your goals.
About the author
Coach Brittany is an ACE Fitness Certified Personal Trainer and additionally holds a specialty Certification in Pre/Post Natal Training. She has experience as a group fitness coach and trained 1:1 both in-person and online.
Brittany started her fitness career several years ago, and has loved it every step of the way! Watching clients continually putting in the work towards achieving their goals and enjoying the process has been a driving factor in Brittany's coaching. Brittany started strength training a few years ago and has loved the impact it has made both physically and mentally in her own training. When not training you can find Brittany traveling to anywhere that has a beach and an ocean. She also loves enjoying a glass of wine and catching up on her trash tv
