Some people don’t like the gym because they feel self-conscious there or find the atmosphere less than pleasant. For those people, a home workout seems to be the next best option.
IN THEORY this does sound nice – no one is there to judge you except maybe your pet hamster if he’s feeling particularly elite. BUT – even on the homefront, the excuses can arise. A recent popular trend was the PX90 videos. These videos suck for a number of reasons:
1. They are unpleasant
2. Your couch is really not that far from you when you’re working out
3. Why is this stranger telling me what to do in my own home?
4. Pushing the “play” button is so easy, yet so hard. Would you rather be watching South Park?
5. No one is ACTUALLY holding you accountable
6. Did you do that pushup correctly?
7. There is probably wine on your coffee table
Isn’t this so much nicer to look at than a sweaty person barking orders at you?
As a former gym-fearer myself, I get the idea of trying to commit to a crappy workout video instead. Just make sure you are actually keeping up with the commitment.
If you find yourself struggling with this, take time to build small victories in your day to day life to get that esteem up and get you feeling good.
1. Weather permitting, a walk in the park will advance you to jogs in the park which is likely to even lead to running in the park. (Pro tip: enjoy this with your dog, not your sassy hamster)
2. Take the stairs every time — not the elevator or the escalator
3. Walk to places you normally drive to
4. Park your car super far away in the parking lot
5. Don’t put 84789471874 bags on your arms and cut off your circulation to save yourself the extra trip to bring your stuff into the house
6. Take your bike out
7. Ease yourself into workout classes: maybe not XTREME boot camp the first time around, maybe some slow-flow yoga just to get things going. I guarantee that once you start feeling good and collecting gym buddies, your fears will be magically washed away.
Related to numero siete (#7), the most effective way to stay active is to have a buddy and/or support system.
..I bet the PX90 guy doesn’t even know your name and that’s not very encouraging. If he does know your name, you should probably ask him to take you out for a nice (yet healthy!) dinner because I’m sure that guys loaded.
If you can manage to commit to these workout videos, good for you! I wish I had your style. But for the rest of us lacking in motivation, we need to keep at it to find better ways to stay on track.
If staring at the TV is what got us into this mess, it may not be the best way to get us out!
Over and out,
Fat Girls Fitness 