Welcome back to this week’s edition of 2-Minute Tuesdays where we are talking about one exercise topic for two minutes and giving you three reasons why you should follow our advice. Now this week, we’re talking to those of you who workout at home. You’re not fans of the gym. You don’t go to the gym. You get it all in at home. What things do you need to make sure to do in order to maximize your workouts at home.
1) Include Resistance Training
Tip number one – make sure you are still including slow and controlled resistance training for all of the joints of your body and all of the muscles of your body. This is really important because, often times when we workout at home, we think, “Quick, to the point, I’m not going to the gym…”. Your workouts can still be quick and to the point, but do not sacrifice the quality of your workouts.
Action Step: Make sure to include at least 2 days of moderate to high-intensity resistance training each week in order to improve the health and function of your brain. If you aren’t sure where to start, check out our free ebook, “The 5-Minute Mobility Check” for guidance.
Related: 3 Reasons Why You MUST Do Resistance Training
2) Add In Intervals
Tip number two – add in some interval training. Examples would be exercises like running up and down your stairs or getting a stepper and doing steps quickly up and down on that. You want to include exercises to get your heart rate up and then let it recover. Consider using a framework of short bursts for 30 to 60 seconds followed by 60 to 120 seconds of recovery. Add those in instead of the longer, slower runs or bike rides.
Action Step: Download the free app “Interval Timer” to help you keep track of your work time and rest time. Try adding in an interval workout where you are working really hard for 30 seconds and resting for 60 seconds instead of going for a longer run.
Related: Maximize Your HIIT With These 3 Tips
3) Set A Timer
Our last tip is to set a timer. When you are at home, it is easy to become distracted. It is easy to do the laundry or start cooking dinner in the middle of your workout. Because of this, we recommend that you set a timer for the duration you want to exercise for. For example, if you want to workout for 30 minutes, set a timer for that length of time and dedicate that time completely to your workout. Once the timer goes off, then you can get back to the other things on your to-do list.
Action Step: Break out your phone time and set it for the amount of time you want to workout for. Then, put your phone on airplane mode so you cannot be disturbed during that time. Once that timer goes off, you can flip your phone back on and move on to the next thing in your day.