When I first heard that the gyms were opening back up after quarantine, I was ecstatic. I’m sure all you gym lovers out there were too. Working out at home was definitely a challenge, but it wasn’t the worst thing in the world. It brought out my creative side and made me think of new ways to challenge myself and my body everyday without being able to be in the setting of the gym. Fortunately, I’ve been able to get back into the swing of things and start up my daily gym routines. But, recently I’ve heard news about states shutting down again, especially in my home state of New Jersey. This news was very upsetting because this means that the gyms would close and I’d have to go back to working out at my home. I know for many this is bad news and makes them upset. Don’t worry though because through my experience of working out at home and having to become creative, I am going to guide you through how to deal with gyms closing and give you tips and workouts to do to keep you on that journey you’ve started. 

Starting off, I want to say that being at home can make us lazy and unmotivated. I know for me that was a huge issue because my bed was right there for me to choose to lay in instead of getting up and exercising. But, just think about your goals and how far you’ve come, or even if you’ve just started, how far you want to go. I highly recommend writing down your goals and motivation on a sticky note and placing them around your house, especially on your mirrors. I know this might sound dumb, but it helps more than you think. Everytime you look in the mirror, you’ll be reminded of your goals and accomplishments so far, and that will then help to motivate you to get up and be active. Or, when you’re going to reach for that cookie or potato chip to then go and sit down on the couch, you’ll see that reminder and it will make you think twice about it and give you motivation to not give up on your goals. I know this sounds cliche, but I promise it will go a long way in helping you in the long run. 

You might be thinking what kind of workouts you could even do without being at the gym. Let me help you with that. I was left without weights during quarantine and was left to do exercises all with body weight. It was a lot easier than I thought and I actually had some fun with it, being able to come up with new and fun ways to spice up my workouts. Starting off, I recommend following youtube videos that can give you exercises and are easy to follow along. One youtuber that I highly recommend following is Sydney Cummings. Her workouts are always challenging and I feel as if I pushed myself during the whole workout. Along with that, she’s super supportive and motivates you throughout the whole workout, while also doing it with you. None of her videos are chopped and edit, so it’s very personal and you watch her struggling with you, which I find very helpful to see someone else enduring the pain (good pain though) with me. There’s also many other youtubers out there that are easy to follow and can help to motivate you to get out there and exercise. If you’re not into the whole youtube workouts, then I highly recommend looking at my previous blogs about workouts to do, especially the HIIT workouts. I found myself doing HIIT workouts quite often during quarantine and I enjoyed doing them the most since I was always able to customize them and switch them up whenever I wanted to. There’s so much you can do with workouts at home, it all just takes a bit of imagination and patience with figuring it all out. 

The last thing I want to touch upon is making sure to stay consistent. Being able to go to the gym definitely helps me stay consistent and keeps me in a routine. It was very tough to try and keep up a routine from the comfort of my home, since I tended to become very lazy. I found that setting a time for when I wanted to workout that day and setting aside an hour and a half to two hours a day for myself to go and get that goal achieved helped a lot, and setting an alarm helped me to make sure I was staying on track. 

I know the gym is a place that people go to escape and spend time for themselves and to be alone, but I promise you being at home and working out can be just as nice. If you put in the effort and be patient with it, I promise you will learn to love working out from the comfort of your home, and might not ever want to go back to the gym! 

Here’s a link to Sydney Cummings’s page if you’re interested! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVQJZE_on7It_pEv6tn-jdA