7 Ways To Improve Your At-Home Training Experience
As we head into our ninth month of COVID-19 related lockdowns and restrictions we‘ve all been undoubtedly forced to adjust our daily health and training routines. Whether that means we’re training at a distance, outside, online or not at all we’ve all had to adjust to a “New Normal” when it comes to health and fitness. While I don’t think any of us are thrilled with our change of circumstances the fact remains that we must make the best of a less than ideal situation.
So, rather then throwing in the towel and and becoming a victim of our circumstances, why not search for some upsides during this tumultuous time?
Given the extreme risk COVID poses on people with lifestyle related disorders it’s more important now than ever that we prioritize our health and fitness. If you feel stuck or unmotivated with your at-home fitness routine give some of these idea a try and see if it helps to jumpstart your training.
1). Hire A Coach: If nothing else positive comes from 2020 it has at least improved our accessibility to coaches all around the world. While online training options were common before COVID, they have exploded in popularity since, with many coaches relying on it as a necessity to survive while their gyms are closed. Take this opportunity a coach or small business while also helping you stay on track with your health and fitness routine. Whether you have years of training experience or you’re a newbie to the gym hiring a coach to provide an outside perspective can do wonders to for your training. (Pssst.. MBSC has some great coaches who can train you via Zoom or using our Train Heroic Platform.)
2). Invest In Equipment: You can’t exercise using random objects from around your house forever. A small investment in equipment can make a world of difference in the quality of your at home training experience. My short list of equipment that you can acquire for under $300 would be:
1 Large Kettlebell (Think Deadlift/Swing)
1 Medium Kettlebell (Think Squat/Lunge)
1 Small Kettelbell (Think Press/Row)
1 Superband
1 Set of Gymnastics rings
All of this is available from Perform Better here: https://www.performbetter.com
3). Have An Accountability Buddy: A large benefit of going to a gym comes from being a part of a community that can lift you up and keep you accountable. If you’re not working virtually with a coach, you can still create community and accountability by setting up weekly workout appointments with a training partner via Zoom to help you both will stick your routine.
4). Set Goals For The “New Normal”: After 9 months I think that it’s vital that we switch our mindset from “This is just a short blip on the radar” to “This is the way it’s gonna be for awhile.” This is less to be a pessimist and more so that we can mentally set ourselves up to be as successful as possible given the circumstances. Don’t have access to a Trapbar at home? Well, then we should probably stop kicking the tires on the deadlift goal and find a new target to focus on.
Some good at-home goals that don’t require much equipment: Max Push-ups. Single Leg Squats. Max Chin-Ups.
5). Increase Your Outdoor Aerobic Activity: One thing we can prioritize while still minding health concerns and state restrictions is outdoor aerobic activity. There is boat loads of research demonstrating the power of outdoor exercise to improve everything from immune health to anxiety so I think we would be remiss not to prioritize making walks, bike rides and running a part of our weekly routine.
Be conservative and set a weekly goal of time or milage to complete and use Strava to track and keep you accountable.
6). Put Your Energy Into Lifestyle Modification: Even if equipment restrictions are limiting your ability to chase PR’s in the gym that doesn’t mean you can’t have health goals the other 23 hours of the day. Look at this as an opportunity to put your energy towards improving your lifestyle habits. Build a daily checklists of behaviors to focus on and develop healthy habits that you can carry with you the rest of your life.
Ideas: Logging your Meals on MyFitnessPal, 7-9 Hours of Sleep, Reading for 15 minutes, Drinking 1/2 your BW in OZ of water/day, 30 minutes of walking. (Psttt… Vinny Talluto has a program to help you do this)
7). Just Do Something: Perfect is the enemy of done. Find a way to check the box each day and just do something even if it’s as little as 15 minutes per day. Recent research has demonstrated that is little as 12 minutes of exercise can begin creating acute metabolite changes in the blood chemistry. A quick circuit of BW Squats, Planks and Push-Ups for 15 minutes is better than nothing at all and will help you stay mentally engaged with your daily fitness habits.
– Kevin Carr
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