21 Nov 4 Motivating Ways to Stay Active at Home

In a world of remote work, it can be a struggle to get off the couch or stray away from your daily routine most days. While the world is still questioning the safety of regular public activities and work environments, all of this has resulted in people being home more often. Maintaining an active lifestyle has not been an easy feat for a lot of people recently, but with the right mindset and motivational tools, it can become second nature.

Being inactive in our daily lives can quickly take a negative toll on our overall health, not only physically, but mentally as well. It’s important to look at your activity level when evaluating your own health and emotions. The key to staying active at home is to keep yourself motivated. Here are some ways you can feel encouraged to get up off your couch and move around every day, all while staying safe at home.

1.        Follow a Regular Routine Each Day

Sometimes we get easily stuck in a rut, especially when working from home. Changing your daily routine can have a major influence on setting yourself up for success. This could be as simple as taking short breaks occasionally by stretching, going for a short walk or even having a dance break; these are all enough to improve circulation and wake your brain up. Taking your daily vitamins and supplements to help you stay healthy can also give you an added edge when you want to make sure you’re in good enough shape to keep up a regular exercise routine.

Finding a convenient time to exercise in your daily schedule can help make it a habit you look forward to. Choose your workouts in advance with any exercise you find enjoyable. When your day doesn’t entirely go as planned, be flexible and find alternative ways to include exercise. For example, you may decide to walk to your destination instead of driving. Or opt to take the stairs rather than taking the elevator.

2.      Create Your Own Motivational Space

When you can’t go to the gym, bring the gym to you. If you find yourself constantly crunched for time or you simply prefer the privacy, a home gym set up can be the perfect motivational environment to keep you going. Plus, you won’t have to worry about distractions so you can fully focus on yourself.

Your home gym doesn’t have to consist of the most common equipment, but instead whatever works for you and your interests. Take your favorite exercise and create an inspirational room around it with equipment that will be worth the investment.

A home refinance can help you figure out how you can design the space for optimal functionality, while also fitting all necessary equipment expenses into your budget. This also offers a great opportunity to lower your monthly house payment, giving you extra money to add to your set up and cover costs of training subscriptions. Or cash out equity from your home to provide you with everything you need for a quick start.

3.      Connect with Others for Support

Staying in touch with others who have similar interests is an inspirational way to help you reach your goals. By measuring your performance in community groups, group chats and apps like Strava, you can quickly make friends and keep each other accountable and motivated.

This is where you can discover new ideas while seeing what other people do, ask questions and get advice if you’re unsure of an exercise, and post your scores and goals for some friendly competition. Even having the chance to post pictures from your run can be a great way to motivate others and be proud of yourself.

Personal trainers are also a beneficial plug of support. If you decide to hire a professional, you can get the experience of a one-on-one fitness program adjusted exactly to your needs. This way, you’ll be guided to achieve your goals every step of the way.

4.     Keep Track of Your Progress

Staying active can undoubtedly be frustrating if you don’t feel like you’re making any progress. Making an exercise plan or having a training diary as a physical reminder of what you’ve accomplished can help push you further to hit higher goals. We all must start somewhere, so take the time to recognize your improvements. Celebrate them and give yourself rewards along the journey in ways that are meaningful to you.

This could be treating yourself to a massage, getting new equipment, having a day at the beach and so on. Once this becomes a habit, you’ll make the activity itself feel more rewarding in the long run. Motivation levels fluctuate, so it’s completely normal to experience brief setbacks or periods of time where you simply don’t feel like exercising. Think about some strategies you can do to overcome certain obstacles that cause this and pick up where you left off. As you find ways to keep yourself motivated, you’ll find it easier than ever to stay active and healthy right at home.