The Top 7 Benefits of Home Workouts
Why you shouldn’t shy away from hitting the exercise mat at the comfort of your home
Due to lockdowns in the past couple of years, many a gym rat was left devastated. More than a few have simply given up on exercise altogether, living under the very false impression that if you can’t hit the gym, there’s no point in working out at all. That’s where they were wrong, as working out at home is nowhere near inefficient or pointless, on the contrary.
Home workouts, when taken seriously, can lead to very gratifying results, as they’ll surely get you fit, toned, improve your overall health and make you look — and feel — sexy as hell.
Here are some of the reasons why working out at home is a great option for anyone, from beginners to more experienced fitness junkies.
1. You can do it anytime, anywhere
When home workouts are concerned, one of the biggest benefits is that literally anyone’s living space can be adjusted to make it all work.
You don’t need an awful lot of space for a basic workout, so there’s no need to get all disheartened just because you live in a smallish flat.
You can make a designated space for exercise in almost any room by simply pushing the furniture out of the way and doing just a bit of clever reorganizing.
The good old saying that when there’s a will there’s a way definitely applies to this one — you just need a bit of inventiveness and readiness to give it a go.
2. You don’t need much, or any, equipment
Having an efficient workout that’s going to really work your muscles hard doesn’t necessarily imply that you must have a whole lot of fancy exercise machines, a bunch of weights and whatnot (although I’d advise getting an exercise mat by all means, as lying on the bare floor isn’t much fun).
In fact, bodyweight training can be as effective — and exerting — as resistance training.
On the other hand, just because you’re working out in the comfort of your home doesn’t by default mean that you can’t use any additional equipment. There’s really no reason why you shouldn’t invest in a set of dumbbells, a kettlebell, or some resistance bands — none of these take up much room, so they’re very small-space friendly.
Moreover, if you are lucky enough to have some extra space, where you could fit more than a set or two of weights, you could always make it into a sort of a personal little gym and get the best of both worlds.
If that isn’t an option for you for whatever reason, you can always improvise. Household items, such as chairs, couches, or even something as simple as water jugs or a backpack loaded with something heavy, can do the trick just fine.
3. You can do virtually any type of exercise at home — cardio, strength training, or HIIT
There are absolutely no restrictions when it comes to types of workouts that are particularly home-friendly, as you can do almost anything you like in the confines of your cozy little room (notwithstanding obvious exceptions such as swimming).
Strength training — bodyweight or resistance one — can be done perfectly fine at home. There’s a bunch of exercises you can do, and the variations are limitless.
And there’s really no need to exclude cardio from the formula, as there are many ways to get your heart pumping and those calories burning off other than running on a treadmill or hitting it hard on the rowing machine. In fact, you can always find inventive examples and ideas of no-jump of otherwise flat-friendly cardio exercise routines all over the web.
HIIT, as a golden combination of strength and cardio training, can also be performed at home. The only boundaries are your overall fitness levels and imagination, as there are routines that can be created, adjusted, or found via our good old friend the internet, that are fit for any and every space.
On a side note, I would strongly advise against taking up HIIT without previously consulting your GP, especially if you’re a beginner or have any underlying health conditions. HIITs are extremely strenuous for your body, so caution is always welcome. Having said that, you shouldn’t do HIITs more than 2–3 times per week tops, no matter how fit and experienced you are, because here more isn’t better.
4. They save your time and money
How many times have you given up on exercising altogether just because you couldn’t make it to the gym?
That’s where home workouts take over, as you can always squeeze in a short, sweet, explosive training in your home or backyard and make it work with your busy schedule. The more time you save on not having to get dressed, start your car while praying to whatever deity you won’t get stuck in traffic, and actually arrive at the gym, the more time you’ll have to invest in a proper workout.
There’s no need to despair over being short on time ever again when you can just get going and sweaty right where you stand. That comes in especially handy nowadays when working remotely has become a common occurrence.
Furthermore, gym memberships can be quite costly, and that can put many people off. Sometimes you just don’t have money to splurge, and it can often feel like gyms — as healthy as exercise is — are not a life necessity.
Here’s where home-based workouts shine at their brightest yet again— you can exercise as much as you like, as often, or as infrequently as you fancy completely free of charge. It’s both budget and health-friendly.
5. You don’t have to share your workout space with a bunch of strangers
Nowadays, due to the ever-rising awareness of the threat, many people crammed in the same closed-in space can pose to one another, many feel less than comfortable going to the gym.
Alternatively, even if you aren’t worried about catching a bug — COVID or otherwise — the idea of waiting in line for your favorite machine or a set of weights, or just not having enough space to do what you’ve come to do, can be rather repelling.
When you work out at home, you’ll face no such issues. Your space is your own.
The only thing you’ll have to worry about is your family or flatmates if you’re all packed in a teeny tiny home, but that’s nothing that compromise, mutual agreement, and making some sort of a schedule can’t fix.
6. The risk of injury is significantly smaller
This one is especially important for all of you newbies out there, who are all too eager to start deadlifting insane weights and whatnot.
Overkilling it is a sure shortcut to injury, so it’s better to take it one step at a time before tackling the really big ones. Starting your fitness journey at home might prove to be a great idea, as you won’t be tempted by huge weights to engage in ego-lifting and consequently break or strain something.
Work on your form and learn to know your body via home workouts, starting out with simple bodyweight and resistance training with smaller weights, before you go all out in the gym.
Additionally, home workouts are an excellent option for people recovering from injury, or those among us that have a medical condition due to which overstraining isn’t really an option.
7. They sure can get you fit and toned
Even though progressive overload — which is necessary for seeing actual progress over time — is more difficult in home conditions, as most don’t have access to a whole stack of weights and machines, it’s far from impossible.
Home workouts can be just as effective as the ones in the gym if you really dedicate yourself to achieving the results you want.
In order to make your workouts more challenging, and as such more adept in getting you the chiseled body of your dreams, you should pay particular attention to the following:
- mind your form — proper form is more than 50% of your fitness success and it also minimizes the risk of injury
- increase the number of your sets and/or reps in time — that way you’ll make your muscles work harder and push them out of their comfort zone, as our bodies are quite masterful at adapting to any strain and effort we put them through
- include supersets, drop sets, pyramid sets, and any other variation you like to spice up your routine
What are your experiences with home workouts? Have you ever tried them? Did you love them or hate them, or something in between?
Feel welcome to hit the comment section hard with your answers.
