Simple Tips to Create Your Own At Home Workout Routine -

One of my main goals as a health and fitness expert is to educate busy working women so they can make the best decisions for themselves rather than be constantly told what to do. That includes figuring out an at home workout routine!

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with following a guided program from a certified personal trainer or getting one on one training. These are AWESOME tools that can help you with your fitness learning and I encourage it.

However, not everyone has access to these programs or coaches. I hope these simple tips will help you feel empowered to take more control of your fitness at home or at the gym. I believe with some basic education and with consistency, you can come up with a workout routine that works for you and your goals.

Let’s get into these tips to help you create your own at home workout routine. You can also grab my free 6 Day Balanced Workout Guide here!

Create Your Own At Home Workout Routine

Choose your goals.

First thing to consider when creating an at home workout routine are your personal goals as this will determine the types of exercises that will be best for you.

Do you want to improve your 5k time? Build muscle? Improve endurance? Do a pull-up? Choose a goal or two and make it SMART.

Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Time bound

You can have shorter term goals and longer term, but it’s good to have a direction you want to aim for to help keep you focused.

“Alice: Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here? The Cheshire Cat: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to. Alice: I don’t much care where. The Cheshire Cat: Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go.”

Here are some examples that might help. If you want to improve your endurance, maybe consider a type of endurance cardio like running, cycling, or swimming. If you want to build muscle, strength training is a must. If you want to improve your 5k times, including specific speed drills can help you reach your goal.

Keep it balanced.

Even when I’m working on a specific goal, I try to include other activities and exercises to help balance out my fitness.

It’s never a bad idea to include some mobility work, yoga, or other cross-training activities as these can all help round out your fitness portfolio and help you become more athletic overall.

For example, let’s say I’m training for a 10k run. Obviously my main workout focus is running and building up that endurance. To balance it out, I’d also include some light strength training (maybe twice a week on the days i’m not running) to preserve and strengthen muscle as well as mobility work and yoga to help keep my muscles loose and prevent injury.

Consider some cardio.

Cardio gets a bad rap sometimes, and although I don’t think you need to overdo it (unless marathons are your goal) it’s always a good idea to take care of that cardiovascular side of fitness because of its many health benefits.

The good news is you can improve your cardiovascular health with something as simple as walking, a bike ride, rock climbing, and even strength training! Anything that gets your heart rate up for an extended period of time will help.

Don’t forget rest days.

Believe it or not, rest days are just as important as workout days.

Your body needs time off to rebuild muscle and for your body to get stronger and adapt. Although exercise is SO important for overall health, it does put a considerable amount of stress on the body. Too much stress can elevate cortisol levels (which leads to added fat storage and adrenal fatigue if not kept in check) and can lead to burn out, overuse, joint pain, or injury.

Consider these facts when choosing which days to rest and recover:

When you’re first starting out with a new exercise routine, you may need more rest than someone who has been working out consistently for 10 years.

When it comes to strength training, it’s important to give the muscles you worked at least one day or 48 hours to recover before working them again.

Age may also play a factor in how often you need to rest and recover. Understanding the female cycle can also help you determine which days may be best to take off and rest.

Rest days can include light activity like walking or mobility work. You’re not required to sit on your butt all day.

As you stay consistent with regular physical activity, you’ll start to pick up on cues and be better able to listen to your body.

Keep it fun!

One of the most important factors to sticking with a regular exercise routine is ENJOYABILITY!

Simply put, if you don’t enjoy it you probably won’t keep doing it.

With that said, please don’t be afraid to try new activities or types of workouts. You may not enjoy them at first, but over time you could come to love them!

For example, I used to absolutely HATE running. But, I was determined to enjoy it because it was easy, cheap, and I knew it would help me stay active and fit. It took me a solid year of running consistently to finally, sincerely enjoy it. Now? It’s one of my favorite activities and I have been a “runner” for over 10 years.

So when you’re planning your at home workout routines, don’t be afraid to try something new but also don’t feel like you’re stuck with limited options. Fitness should be fun!

Wrapping It Up

I hope these little tips and tricks help you feel more confident when it comes to putting together your own at home workout routine. If you have questions don’t be afraid to reach out to a trainer you trust to get some help and answers.