Home training became a lot more popular in 2020 for the wrong reason- Covid.
When gyms and leisure facilities shut, you were either left devastated or not really that bothered at all. Essentially, we were all left with 3 options. Scramble to get as much decent kit for at home as possible for an extortionate price, do bodyweight and banded workouts, or go for a run/walk once a day.
For those of us who usually train with weights, I’m sure most of us panicked and tried to find any kind of dumbbell or barbell that we could get our hands on. Some of you may have been a little more relaxed thinking its only going to be a month at max, I’ll switch up my training and do some bodyweight stuff for a few weeks, only to find yourself on push up number five thousand three months later. For the cardio bunnies out there, it wasn’t so problematic. You were allowed outside for your one bout of exercise; it really was a runner’s world.
Covid has had a funny effect though. Home workouts are now more popular than ever and even though the majority of people were excited to get back into a gym, there was a percentage who realised they can get everything they want out of exercise by doing it at home. And no one can blame them! Take a look at some of the benefits of training at home.
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It’s convenient. You don’t even have to train in gym clothes if you don’t want (although I still recommend it)
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You are going to save money. At least in the long run, and this is if you even spend any money on equipment!
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You will be forced to learn. If you aren’t very fitness savvy, I guarantee you are turning on YouTube to copy a workout or reading online ‘best home workout’
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You have more time to train. The gym is in your house! No more travelling to and from.
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You feel more comfortable. Gyms can be intimidating places.
- You don’t have to worry about catching anyone else’s germs. I don’t think I need to explain the importance of this one!
Now, I wouldn’t be able to complete this article without giving some of my own advice on how to workout at home now, would I?
It’s a little difficult, as I don’t know how everyone likes to train, so I’m going to attempt to appeal to the masses (boring, sorry) by writing down a list of the best exercises to perform at home, and letting you perform them as a circuit. You can choose the order, the reps or time, number of rounds and the amount of exercises you do so it suits you.
An example would be 5 exercises performing 10 reps on each and completing 5 rounds. You would rest 1 minute between rounds.
There are of course, hundreds of exercises that you could choose from. The above will just give you a little more bang for your buck. Try the above in a circuit style but feel more than welcome to find exercises that you enjoy and connect with better.
Home workouts are here to stay and will be one of the industries biggest focus points for the future. It’s a good idea to have a plan of action and get familiar with them if the fitness industry is forced into a closure again. Who knows, if they didn’t convert you the first time, maybe next time they will.
