Motivation is a funny thing. Sometimes you have it, and sometimes you don’t. One of the best ways to get motivated is to keep yourself open to plenty of options to workout.
Today, we’ve put together 17 hacks to give you the motivation to workout at home even if you “don’t have the time” to exercise.
We believe that working out is important for a lot of different reasons. However, not everyone likes going to the gym, especially when it’s blowing a 100 mph gale outside like it is right now.
By the end of this article, you will know how to overcome the lack of motivation to exercise and even how to motivate yourself to work out when depressed.
In fact, you should be able to avoid a lack of joy completely.
Contents
Choose a Schedule That’s Easier to Stick to
When you’re super busy, the last thing you want to do is plan your workouts. So, don’t! Instead, choose a schedule that’s easier to stick to.
For example, if you work from home and your schedule is constantly changing, or maybe you have children involved in many extracurricular activities, sticking to a strict workout routine can be challenging.
But if you just try to work out a specific number of times per week, it becomes much more doable. And you’ll likely find yourself doing more than you planned because it’s easier to fit into the rest of your life schedule.
Make a Playlist You Love to Workout to
This hack is for you if you love music, primarily when you work out.
Create a playlist of your favorite songs, and make sure to include some of your favorite tunes that you enjoy the most. This is so important because listening to the playlist will get you excited and motivated to work out.
You can easily create a playlist on Spotify or Apple Music. If you don’t have access to these platforms, search YouTube for your favorite songs and create a playlist.
Do Exercise in Front of the Mirror
If you want to get the motivation to work out at home, you need to try this hack. This is one of the best hacks that has helped to work out. Do exercise in front of the mirror.
If you’re like me you might find it a bit uncomfortable at first…
…but you should soon get used to it.
The mirror motivates you because it reflects your body and how it changes with each set you complete.
It also allows you to see yourself when you are at your weakest points to draw strength from within and keep going.
And finally, it allows you to concentrate on your technique which you can see improvement over time.
Post Your Goals on Social Media
If you’re like most people and are always looking for ways to justify your existence on social media, then this hack is for you.
Again, like the mirror thing, you may shun such an outrageous idea of posting yourself in action on social media.
Set your goals, whether it’s weight loss, building muscle, or toning up your glutes, post it on your social media with a photo of yourself, and set the date by when you want the goal accomplished.
Seeing yourself every day will remind you what your end goal is and possibly shame you into getting off the couch and doing some exercise.
And posting on social media makes you accountable: If you tell people what you want to achieve, they will ask you how it’s going. They will track your progress and follow up with you.
They will be happy for your success and cheer you on when things get tough. Best of all, they’ll be there to celebrate with you when you reach your goal.
And you may become a huge hit with a million followers and a powerful influencer.
Exercise With Friends – It’s More Fun!
Well, the best hack to get the motivation to exercise at home is to have someone else with you. That way you will motivate each other and have a great time together.
It may be a like-minded family member or a good friend with whom you can share a similar journey. Whether it’s a losing weight goal or just getting fitter. Try to make it a measurable goal.
Schedule it in Your Calendar
It can be frustrating to make it through the day and realize you didn’t get to your workout. Try adding a workout to your daily calendar or to-do list as a way to hold yourself accountable.
Having your exercise routines scheduled has been shown to help create the environment for actually doing the workout.
That way, when the time comes, you can just get up, put on some workout clothes, and get going without having to think about it.
If you can’t find time, pick an hour you know is open in your schedule consistently. It may be early in the morning before work or right after dinner.
You don’t need to devote hours each day either. The American College of Sports Medicine suggests 150 minutes of moderate activity per week for adults, about 22 minutes each day.
Smile and Have Fun!
I don’t know about you, but it makes me feel good and happy when I smile, so why not give it a go? The next time you feel like quitting or taking a break, force yourself to smile for 30 seconds, and see how you feel.
Everyone likes a smiler.
You might find yourself feeling good and ready for a session!
Start Small and Build Up
It can be overwhelming when starting a new exercise routine. The lure of high-intensity workouts that promise the world in 30 minutes is hard to resist, but it’s more effective for most people to start off small and light.
Then build up their levels of exercise and fitness over time. And talking of building it up. Start each workout by warming up. Quite often a routine you find will have a warmup section at the beginning with a stretching session at the end to cool down.
Research shows that doing a few minutes of intense exercise per week can significantly improve your health. If you’re starting from zero, then just 5 minutes is a great place to start!
You could try starting your exercise regimen here.
You could do jumping jacks, burpees, sprints, or sit-ups — whatever works best for you!
Once that becomes easy, add another minute and continue building up until you feel comfortable adding an extra day (or two) into your week!
Create a Workout Routine Where You Know What You’re Doing
One of the most significant issues people face when starting an exercise routine is feeling overwhelmed by the number of exercise options available to them.
The good news is that there are plenty of beginner-friendly workouts that you can follow on freely available videos. I love Fitness Blender which has hundreds of free video workout routines.
If you consistently stick with these routines, they will quickly become a habit and won’t feel like a chore.
Don’t Over-Think It, Just Do It
If you want to get strong, healthy, and fit, you have to do the work. You need to be consistent with your fitness goals if you want results.
When it’s time for your workout, and you don’t feel like going, just go anyway. Doing something is always better than doing nothing… no matter how small, no matter how intense.
Purposeful walking as exercise is a great place to start.
One of my favorite motivation to workout quotes is: “Don’t over-think it, just do it.”
In fact, that could be applied to a lot of things in life!
Get Sweaty With a Dance Video!
When you’re in the mood to sweat, dance videos will get your heart pumping and your muscles moving without leaving your living room.
Plus, you’ll find that these exercises are great options for days when you’re more motivated to dance than to do a typical workout.
Or what about some other, maybe even crazy exercise ideas that might appeal?
Ignore the Scale
While using the scale as motivation can be tempting, especially when you’re just starting, it can often have the opposite effect and make you feel discouraged.
Even if you do not see the number drop on the scale, you may still lose inches and tone up. And if you’ve started weight training, muscle weighs more than fat, so your weight may even go up while your measurements are going down.
The best way to stay motivated is through body composition changes. Take progress pictures and measurements every month or two and watch as your body changes!
You will feel better after some time.
Get Enough Sleep
Before your workout, make sure you are rested sufficiently so that you have enough energy to fire up the cylinders.
If you do wake up groggy and tired, working out will feel as if it will be much more challenging than if you wake up well-rested and ready for the day. Motivation is gonna be down. Having the motivation to exercise when tired is going to be tough.
Make sure your bedroom is calm, dark, and quiet (use earplugs if necessary). If you want, set the alarm for bedtime so that you remember to go upstairs when it’s time.
Waking up feeling fresh and ready for the day can be motivational in doing your training I found that a groggy start to the morning can be totally turned around after a good 30 minutes of medium intense exercise. Try it.
And as for grumpiness generally, exercise seems to be the answer for helping our overall mood.
Apart from anything else sleep and exercise benefits are positively intertwined.
Pump Up the Tunes
According to one study in the Journal of Exercise Physiology, research has shown that listening to fast-paced tunes can help increase exercise intensity.
The researchers found that participants ran faster during their treadmill workouts when they listened to music with a higher tempo than when they didn’t listen at all.
Plus, another study in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise revealed that people who listened to music during their workouts enjoyed them more than those who didn’t.
Write Down the Obstacles That Prevent You From Working Out
It could be a lack of time, energy, or motivation. It could also be that you don’t know what to do when you’ve got all kitted up. Or maybe you don’t even get that far.
Think about how you can change these obstacles.
What can you do to make more time? Can you find a way to make your workout more fun? Could you set aside a proper space at home instead?
Could it be as easy as making sure your workout clothes are already laid out and ready for when you get home from work?
Or is there something else that is stopping you from being active? Try finding a way around it or changing the problem completely.
This will help you stay motivated to work out.
Use Rewards to Keep Yourself Motivated.
This is really one of my favorites – I should have put it at the top.
Use rewards to keep yourself motivated:
This can be in the form of either short-term or long-term rewards. For example, if you want new jeans and are trying to lose weight so they’ll fit better, then saving up money for those jeans can be your reward for exercising regularly at home over time.
On the other hand, if you just want an incentive today (but not tomorrow), then buy yourself some post-workout ice cream or smoothie!
Every time I work out, almost always in the morning I indulge in an orgiastic breakfast. Sounds rude, tastes amazing!
Make Your Workout Area Comfortable
Everyone likes to feel at home when working out, but this is true when exercising in your existing home. No one wants to look at bare walls or crappy furnishings when they’re struggling with their burpees.
So why not make the space more welcoming by putting up some motivational posters and artwork? It will help give you something else to look at when you’re doing those final sets.
Summary
I hope these hacks will give you some ideas to help you stay motivated when working out at home. Whether working out alone or with a friend, they should help you reach your fitness goals faster. Good luck.
