Having your own home gym and spending your hard-earned money for it is unfortunately not a guarantee that you'll be using it faithfully everyday. If you want your home gym to help you achieve your fitness goals, you need to have the right motivators working for you. Here are a few to get you started and help you on your way to physical fitness.
Design it the way you want it.
There were sure to be a few things that you didn't like in your old gym but had no power to change, weren't they? But now you have the chance to do things your way! This is your very own home gym after all so whatever you say goes. This is the time to make all the necessary changes to ensure that your home gym is the best place you want to exercise at!
Invite your friends over.
Unless you've built an extremely small and literally one-man home gym, surely what you have now can accommodate a few of your friends? There's nothing more enjoyable than exercising with your friends. Misery loves company, after all, and you definitely won't mind sweating blood and tears at the treadmill if you see your best friend experiencing the same thing over the weightlifting area of your home gym. After that, celebrate with a delicious but health-friendly meal and you just might have given birth to a new routine for you and your friends.
Read a new book.
You definitely won't mind working your guts out in your own home gym if you're reading a new book. Since every page commands your attention, you probably won't notice how long you've been exercising. If you can't buy a new book for your home gym session, drop by the library and buy a new one.
Watch a new movie.
Head over to the video rental store and borrow any old movie you haven't seen yet but you've always been interested in. Just like a new book, a new movie can make you temporarily forget the physical torture you're enduring and focus instead on the story unfolding in the screen.
Monitor your progress.
Hang a calendar on the wall then cross out every box corresponding to the dates you've exercised. Seeing all those crossed out boxes are guaranteed to make you feel extremely proud of your achievement and at the same time motivate you to keep up the good work.
Regularly check your weight as well because nothing, and yes nothing, can make you feel better than seeing for yourself that your weight's slowly decreasing.
Pat yourself on the back.
In other words, don't forget to give yourself a reward for a job well done. If you've just attained a considerable feat then don't hesitate to treat yourself because this can only encourage you to work out even longer and harder in your home gym. Don't cheat though! If you do, the rewards would soon lose its meaning and significance and you'll be forced to go back to square one.
Consequently, it's important that the other end of the coin is considered as well. If you've reneged on your word, punish yourself accordingly. For every day of exercise missed, you should compensate it with twice as much exercise on the next day.
Have a role model.
Choose someone you'd like to be or look like with the help of regular exercise at your home gym. If you've chosen one already, have a life-size photo of your role model made then post it in your home gym. Every time you're feeling lazy, just look at that photo and remind yourself that you need to exercise if you want to look like him or her.
Get things right.
Last but not the least, make sure your home gym has all the necessary equipment to give you a fun and complete workout. You must have exercise equipment that can help build your stamina, flexibility, and strength. Make sure they're also easy and comfortable to use.
Your home gym must also be regularly cleaned because no one would be inclined to work out if they have to do so in a pig sty - or something close to it.
But ultimately, the motivation will still come from you. If you're truly serious about your intentions then you'll just a reminding nudge once or twice to get you back on track.
Design it the way you want it.
There were sure to be a few things that you didn't like in your old gym but had no power to change, weren't they? But now you have the chance to do things your way! This is your very own home gym after all so whatever you say goes. This is the time to make all the necessary changes to ensure that your home gym is the best place you want to exercise at!
Invite your friends over.
Unless you've built an extremely small and literally one-man home gym, surely what you have now can accommodate a few of your friends? There's nothing more enjoyable than exercising with your friends. Misery loves company, after all, and you definitely won't mind sweating blood and tears at the treadmill if you see your best friend experiencing the same thing over the weightlifting area of your home gym. After that, celebrate with a delicious but health-friendly meal and you just might have given birth to a new routine for you and your friends.
Read a new book.
You definitely won't mind working your guts out in your own home gym if you're reading a new book. Since every page commands your attention, you probably won't notice how long you've been exercising. If you can't buy a new book for your home gym session, drop by the library and buy a new one.
Watch a new movie.
Head over to the video rental store and borrow any old movie you haven't seen yet but you've always been interested in. Just like a new book, a new movie can make you temporarily forget the physical torture you're enduring and focus instead on the story unfolding in the screen.
Monitor your progress.
Hang a calendar on the wall then cross out every box corresponding to the dates you've exercised. Seeing all those crossed out boxes are guaranteed to make you feel extremely proud of your achievement and at the same time motivate you to keep up the good work.
Regularly check your weight as well because nothing, and yes nothing, can make you feel better than seeing for yourself that your weight's slowly decreasing.
Pat yourself on the back.
In other words, don't forget to give yourself a reward for a job well done. If you've just attained a considerable feat then don't hesitate to treat yourself because this can only encourage you to work out even longer and harder in your home gym. Don't cheat though! If you do, the rewards would soon lose its meaning and significance and you'll be forced to go back to square one.
Consequently, it's important that the other end of the coin is considered as well. If you've reneged on your word, punish yourself accordingly. For every day of exercise missed, you should compensate it with twice as much exercise on the next day.
Have a role model.
Choose someone you'd like to be or look like with the help of regular exercise at your home gym. If you've chosen one already, have a life-size photo of your role model made then post it in your home gym. Every time you're feeling lazy, just look at that photo and remind yourself that you need to exercise if you want to look like him or her.
Get things right.
Last but not the least, make sure your home gym has all the necessary equipment to give you a fun and complete workout. You must have exercise equipment that can help build your stamina, flexibility, and strength. Make sure they're also easy and comfortable to use.
Your home gym must also be regularly cleaned because no one would be inclined to work out if they have to do so in a pig sty - or something close to it.
But ultimately, the motivation will still come from you. If you're truly serious about your intentions then you'll just a reminding nudge once or twice to get you back on track.