Working Out At Home: How To Begin

Life isn’t always predictable, but you can still find time for your next workout — using just your bodyweight or some simple home gym equipment, you can do an effective workout just about anywhere!

Working out at home can help you create a healthy routine or keep you moving towards your fitness goals — and the best way to achieve results is by consistently showing up. 

When life is constantly changing, you might need to consider some options to get a workout done at home. Here are some of the benefits of working out at home, and tips to help you to get started.

Benefits of working out at home

There are many benefits of working out at home, including:

• You can create and stick to a healthy routine

• You can do workouts at a time that suits you

• You can set up your exercise space so that it’s perfect for your favourite training style

• You’ll have privacy to practise exercises you are still mastering

• You can try workouts of different durations, depending on your schedule

• You don’t need to wait for equipment at the gym 

Whether you are just getting started with working out or simply want the flexibility and convenience of working out at home, here are some tips to help you to get started.

How to start working out at home

Preparation is key to nailing your first at-home workout — you’ll need a space that’s big enough for a yoga or fitness mat, and ideally, you’ll have at least half an hour without distractions.

Set up your workout space

Creating your own home gym doesn’t have to equate to lots of gear. All you need is space for a yoga mat and a few basic pieces of equipment. You'll be surprised how many household items you can substitute in: Think water bottles and cans of food!

Some basic home gym equipment includes: 

• A mat

• Dumbbells 

• Skipping rope, and

• Chair.

As you form a consistent workout routine, expanding your home gym can enable you to add variety to your home workouts. 

If you don’t have access to equipment, you can use calisthenics exercises to get an effective home workout using just your bodyweight — Sweat has a variety of no-equipment workout programs you can do in small spaces.

Take photos or videos to track your progress

Photos or videos can be an important tool to help you to stay motivated when you feel like you’ve reached a workout plateau. 

Progress photos can capture changes in your body, such as increased muscle, and videos can help you improve your exercise form when you watch them back. 

You can snap your progress photos directly within the Sweat app — set yourself a reminder to take new progress photos approximately every four weeks to track your progress over time. 

Learn the correct technique for bodyweight exercises

Learning how to complete bodyweight exercises with correct form can make it easier to get your workouts done — and working out at home will give you time and space to practise them. 

If you’re using the Sweat app, you’ll find both written instructions and videos of each exercise to demonstrate the correct technique, making it easier for you to follow along. 

Bodyweight exercises, such as push-ups and burpees, can help you increase your strength and fitness without the need for equipment, and you can modify bodyweight exercises to make them more or less challenging — whether that’s by doing push-ups on your knees or making them harder by elevating your feet using a chair.

Find a workout style you enjoy

You are more likely to exercise consistently if you enjoy your workouts — and when you follow a progressive training program that gradually increases in intensity and complexity, you can continue to achieve results and work towards your health and fitness goals. 

If you are looking for at-home workout options, there are a range of different programs and on-demand workouts available on the Sweat app. Here are some of the training styles available: 

No equipment

You can choose from a number of different training programs on Sweat that require no equipment — making it easier than ever to work out at home. These programs include High Intensity Zero Equipment with Kayla (formerly BBG Zero Equipment), PWR Zero Equipment, FIERCE Zero Equipment, Bodyweight Strength with Anissia and Low Impact HIIT with Samantha.

These programs use bodyweight as resistance and can be done in small spaces, indoors or outdoors. They range from heart-pumping high-intensity interval training (HIIT) to low-impact workouts that are easier on your joints. There are even express workouts available for the days you’re short on time!

Strength training

If one of your goals is to increase strength, these muscle-strengthening Sweat programs can be done at home using only a small amount of equipment: High Intensity with Kayla (formerly BBG), PWR at Home, FIERCE at Home, Strength & Cardio with Marilyn, LIFTING at Home, Low Impact with Kayla, High Intensity Strength at Home with Cass, and Low Impact Strength with Kelsey.   

These programs offer a range of training techniques to help you build muscular strength and endurance, including powerbuilding, hypertrophy training, supersets, trisets, and circuit training. Some of these programs combine cardio and strength exercises to help you improve your speed and skill — which means you’ll never get bored!  

Pilates and barre

Pilates with Sara combines traditional and contemporary Pilates designed to help you to build core strength and full-body muscle definition, increase your flexibility, and connect your mind to your movement.

You can get started with Pilates with Sara using minimal equipment — including a mat, hand weights, a resistance band, a chair, a small towel or slider, a towel and a skipping rope.

Barre uses elements of ballet, but you don’t need to be a dancer to try it. Barre with Britany is suitable for all levels of fitness, and is designed to progressively define and strengthen your body with challenging, low-impact classes.

Yoga 

The Sweat app has three different yoga programs available. If you’re new to yoga, Yoga with Phyllicia is a good place to start your yoga journey — it includes slower flows that allow you enough time to find stability in each pose or posture. Phyllicia’s classes are 20-35 minutes long, and the only equipment required is a yoga mat. 

BAM (Body and Mind) by Sjana Elise will help you increase your flexibility and strength without equipment, and if you’re a more experienced yogi, Yoga with Ania is an athletic practice that will help build confidence in your ability and sense of balance. This program uses a yoga block, bolster and blanket, but if you don’t have these, you can use household items instead 

Resistance training workouts include Vinyasa-style yoga, and you can find your inner bliss with the yin yoga recovery sessions. 

Post-pregnancy

For those women who’ve had a baby, there are two post-pregnancy programs available on Sweat to help you to rebuild core strength and resume exercise postpartum: Kayla’s Post-Pregnancy and PWR Post-Pregnancy. The workouts in both programs are short, so you can fit them into the limited time you might have as a new mother. 

Prior to completing any new program post-pregnancy, it is always recommended you seek guidance from your health professional and obtain clearance before you begin.

No matter where you train, you can be part of the Sweat community 

When you train at home, you don’t have to train alone. 

As part of the Sweat Community, you’ll be training alongside thousands of women worldwide. Whether you are just starting your fitness journey or you are a true workout warrior, take the time to connect with the community and inspire others to make health and fitness a priority — and keep moving to feel good!