The Key to Making a Home Workout Routine Stick
Getting fit in your home is great. No stinky locker rooms, no self-conciousness, no waiting for machines, and no membership fees! But, the one down side of a home workout routine is the lack of accountability. While someone may learn to expect your face at the gym or people close to you might know about your trips there, typically your home workout routine is your business and yours alone.
For whatever reason, when we are only accountable to ourselves, we are less likely to follow through on something. Having others expect something from us makes us more likely to do them. Perhaps that is why with any fitness routine but especially home workout routines, it is so easy to let that initial determination fall off.
Finding ways to stick with your home workout routine, then, is key. Think about those things in your life that you are dedicated to and ask yourself what makes you stay dedicated. More than likely those are things that you feel you don’t have a choice about. For instance, you are likely dedicated to your job because you need a paycheck. You may be dedicated to your family but for the majority of us, not being dedicated to them just isn’t an option. Dedication to a long standing hobby may now feel like a part of your life, and stopping could seem out of the question.
In order for a home workout routine to really last, you must not make it an option. It has to be a constant, something that is a part of your life. Fitness has to be a necessity for you rather than an option! Schedule it on your calendar and let the family know what times you will be working out. In other words,plan for success.
They say it takes 21 days to build a new habit. If you are just beginning a home workout routine, give yourself 21 days. Make a promise to yourself or anyone that will listen that you are going to workout, diligently, and enthusiastically for 21 days (don’t forget a few days of rest in there!). If you can get past these 21 days, seeing fitness as a true fixture in your life won’t seem like such a long shot.
Don’t give yourself a choice when it comes to your home workout routine. Follow through with your workout just like you pay your bills, go to work, or feed your family. See it as a permanent component of your daily schedule and it becomes much easier to make it happen.
Hi,
I just started on the P90x workout routine a month ago. I absolutely LOVE the program!!!! I am going to be 40 years old and I have started to see muscle definitions on my abs and arms!
I have a quick question. Currently, I am having a hard time doing the Superman workout. (I can do Banana fine.) I cannot lift my body up with my arms outstretched in front of my head. I have to place my arms on my sides in order to lift my body off the ground.
Is there an alternative for Superman exercise I can try until I can build up my core strength?
Thanks.
Hi Meg,
The Core Synergistics workout can be tough to transition into for any P90Xer, and the Superman pose can definitely be difficult if you are still building core strength. I think you are modifying accordingly by simply lifting less of your body into the air (placing arms at sides). Another method may be to lift your legs and arms off the ground just a bit, just enough so you get a little “air” between you and the floor. Don’t attempt to curve your body quite as much in the beginning. And, if you can’t engage your arms right now that’s ok. Little by little up the ante. Sounds like you are doing a good job of modifying already and it’s just a matter of slowly increasing your performance. Good luck Meg, you’re doing just fine!
-Matt
Staff
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