3 Simple Tricks To Elevate Your Home Workouts
Our gyms may look different, but our routines shouldn’t
Let's be honest, working out at home doesn't give us the same satisfaction as working out in the gym.
Whether its group classes or pushing dumbbells, the gym offers something intangible that home workouts don’t. An environment with intensity.
So what can we do to best replicate this when we are working out at home?
Music, Music, Music
Music is the best way to up the intensity of a home workout.
Let's face it, if we arrived at the gym without our earphones, to then find out that the sound system is down, we would be disappointed. This disappointment can feed into our work and have a negative effect on it.
When doing any aerobic exercise, such as running, skipping or cycling, research has found that music enhances work output.
Songs between 120–140 beats per minute have been shown to have the maximum effect on moderate exercisers. This can be so incredibly beneficial for working out when it may feel like you're not giving it your all. There are some great 140 bpm playlists on Spotify to get you started.
As well as improving your heart rate whilst you're exercising, listening to music can elevate your mood. For people who are using exercise as an escape from the current coronavirus crisis, pairing it with music can only be beneficial. No matter what the latest news is, we can use music to help us escape and rejuvenate our workout.
Listening with headphones instead of speakers is something that I have found valuable to feel the full effect of this. The isolation provided by them can make the music feel more immersive, which will help to take our home workouts to the next level.
Pre-Workout
When it comes to home workouts it can often be hard to motivate ourselves in the same way we would for a gym session or class.
Having a cup of coffee, or a pre-workout energy drink before a workout can make it feel like we’re setting ourselves up for a proper gym session. Even energy-boosting foods like a banana can act as our pre-workout.
Pre-workout that contains caffeine has been shown to increase energy and focus- the two things that we may struggle with during our home workouts.
Pre-workout is not always for everyone, and we definitely should not start consuming two cups of coffee before each workout. It is best to save pre-workout for the days where you are feeling super drained and unmotivated
Shorter Rest Periods
Without the luxury of working out in a multi-complex gym, the intensity of our workouts may be limited. However, by reducing the rest time in between our sets we are giving our muscles less time to rest. This will feel like we are working them harder.
By accompanying this with a high number of reps in our workout, we will be making our muscles more resistant to fatigue.
Tiring our muscles through exercise is key for muscle growth. By limiting rest periods to about 30 seconds between sets of strength training exercises, we are doing just that.
Think about like HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) but for resistance workouts.
Ultimately, this is one of the best and easiest ways to up the intensity of our home workouts.
The Coronavirus continues to cause disruption around the world, as well as uncertainty over when gyms will eventually reopen and under what circumstances.
In the meantime, incorporating these three simple tricks into our workouts bound to up the intensity as well as our motivation.
