How I Learned To Enjoy Working Out At Home

Hello, lovelies! Today, I’m going to talk about how I learned to love working out at home during quarantine. I was not a gym person until college. I don’t think I actively exercised after taking P.E. in ninth grade. Then college came, and I became a total gym nut. My favorite things to do were the free workout classes. I went to the gym almost every weekday in my freshman year. Through those classes, I learned how lift weights and exercise on my own without feeling embarrassed around all the buff people. I even got a gym membership during the summer so that I could keep taking classes or exercising on my own.

The one thing I could never do consistently was work out at home. I disliked it so much. I think there was one winter break where my mom and I worked out together at home for a few weeks, but neither of us kept it up because we prefer the accountability that comes with going to the gym. When quarantine started, I had to learn to exercise at home. It took me awhile to get into it, but I eventually created a routine that I love.

//I took a break from exercise the first three months of quarantine

I did not work out the first few months of quarantine (March-mid-June). I just really didn’t feel like it. Sure, I was busy with school, but I could’ve exercised if I wanted to. I simply didn’t have the motivation to do it. I had access to some workout equipment. I used our elliptical the few times I did work out, but I never broke a sweat.

And I was perfectly okay with that. I let myself take a break. Though in hindsight, my lack of exercise certainly affected my mood. I’m always more energized the days I work out. It does wonders for my mental health, so not exercising definitely didn’t help at the beginning of quarantine.

In the moment, I didn’t really worry about it. I’m very healthy. I don’t have a body goal or check my weight. I made sure to move and took walks every day. I genuinely didn’t even think about working out unless someone brought it up.

//I started with the workout I enjoyed the most and only did that for a few weeks

I knew that the only way for me to build up the habit consistently was to specifically do workouts I enjoyed then build off of that. I knew how to make a full encompassing workout routine with cardio, leg day, upper body, etc. but I wanted to start by just moving enough to sweat every day.

So I did dance workouts.

Every day for about three months.

//I did short workouts initially so that it wouldn’t be overwhelming and they eventually got longer

I only worked out for 20-30 minutes each day. It made it easier to cross off my to-do list because seeing “work out for an hour” every single day would make it more overwhelming than it needed to be. I would’ve ended up skipping days if I thought it’d take too long.

Instead, I would wear my workout clothes right when I woke up, ate a banana, then worked out for that short amount of time. Eventually my workouts got longer and longer. As long as I work out at least thirty minutes, I’m good, but I typically work out 45-50 minutes now. It also helped me build up my endurance.

//I found YouTube workout channels that I love

This is definitely the hardest part. There are many different fitness channels, but not all of them will click with you. I’m subscribed to several channels, but I typically only stick to two or three. My favorite dance channel is Kyra Pro. It’s more of a workout channel with music because she incorporates things like standing ab workouts, lunges, squats, etc. into her dances. The moves are simple, but you’ll be sweating and sore by the end of them. I actually pay for her membership because her channel specifically made me love working out at home and her dance workouts aren’t monetized due to copyright. I do at least one of her videos every day. I also really enjoy The Fitness Marshall and Teagan Dixon‘s dance workouts.

It took me awhile to get into Chloe Ting‘s workouts. I know her workout programs have been popular during quarantine, but I personally haven’t followed her workout plans because I just don’t want to do ab and butt workouts every day. It’s just not sustainable for me. I did her Get Fit challenge because it was a full body workout program with weightlifting, but I didn’t follow her schedule because I got bored. Now, I incorporate one or two of her videos a few times a week because I like them, without constraining myself to her schedules. Here are some that I do regularly:

//Once I got into a routine of enjoying home workouts consistently, I added more variety

Once I built up the habit of dancing every day, I added more exercises. I started lifting weights again. I tried that Chloe Ting workout program to incorporate other exercises. Recently, I felt like stretching, so I did a flexibility video. Because I looked forward to working out every day, I knew incorporating new exercises wouldn’t stop the habit altogether.

//I put it on my to-do list the same way I did when I went to the gym

Pre-quarantine, I would write “go to the gym” on my to-do list along with all of my school assignments. It made the task just as important as my school work and a part of my daily schedule. Writing “work out” on my to-do list does the same thing. It reminds me to go downstairs and exercise the same way I went to the gym before.

//I don’t feel guilty about skipping workouts

I am this way about most things. If I’m busy or don’t feel like working out for a day or two, I don’t. In the beginning, I pushed myself to do it every day even when I didn’t feel like it to build the habit. Now that it’s been many months, I don’t feel guilty about skipping because I know that I’ll do it the next day. I’m honestly more likely to skip reading over working out on busy days because I have so much more energy when I exercise. If I’m on my period or feel too sore, I skip without guilt.

//I don’t restrict myself to my routine. I do the type of workout I feel like doing each day. The goal is to just move.

Next year, I’ll start structuring my workout routine. For now, I just exercise in whatever way I feel like. If I want to dance for 45-minutes straight, that’s what I do. If I want to lift weights and stretch for 30-minutes, I do it. It genuinely depends on my mood. I could easily go a week without doing an ab workout, but I don’t really mind because I don’t have a body goal. I work out more for the mental health benefits and I want to make sure I’m enjoying what I’m doing. It keeps it fun.

That’s pretty much how I got into working out at home after hating it for years. My main advice is to start small and work your way up. I hope this blog post was helpful. Until next time! 🙂

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What are your favorite types of workouts? Do you have any fitness channel recommendations for me? I’d love to try them.