Don't Lock Down Your Fitness, Exercising At Home No Motivation Required
If you think it is necessary for you to go to the gym to get in shape you are mistaken. While the gym can be a great atmosphere and motivational tool for getting in shape it is not an absolute requirement for better health and a fit body. With the lockdown's from the Big Bug affecting people's work life, home life, recreational habits there is no wonder depression is on the rise. Community and health go hand in hand as people naturally are less physical in isolation. It's almost as if the Big Bug lockdown's were intentionally designed to weaken people mentally and physically. Mindset plays a huge part in how you move throughout your day and physical action can dictate your mindset. Most people have an understanding that solitary confinement goes completely against being mentally and physically healthy.
Your mindset has a great deal to do with how you feel physically. If you sit around all day doing little to no physical activity it is likely that your outlook on the world is going to be more negative. While on the other hand, if you get out from behind that computer screen and do a few pushups and squats your body responds positively. When you workout and get the blood moving you will feel better. Working out elevates your physical state and by de facto your mental state, hence your outlook on life can be more positive. Think about working out like starting a car engine on a cold morning. Starting the engine warms the car liquids allowing the car to operate better than if it were cold. Fluids in a car engine move more freely once warmed by the collective friction of the parts in the cars motor.
How long does it take to get your workout engine moving? Less time than you would think. Many people don't workout at home because Getting Started is always in the way. Let that statement sink in a bit... Sometimes it isn't the procrastination by itself that stops you from working out, it's the actual thoughts of where to begin. You want to workout, and already understand fully that once you do get started you'll begin to feel much better, but that damn first step. Well getting started with a workout can be easier than you think. And guess what? You don't even have to be motivated. Motivation never trumps habit when your action or physical movement isn't reliant upon whether you want to exercise or not.
I know you're thinking what the heck? Isn't working out all about being motivated? True motivation plays a part in getting yourself to begin a workout schedule but it is not absolutely compulsory. Remember earlier when I briefly mentioned mindset playing a part in how you navigate your day? Well there are ways to trick the mind into not only physical movement but even going a step further into working out. Weird right? Stay with me and I'll explain how this works. It's actually very simple to trick your mind into a workout without the "Getting Started" roadblock. Tell yourself that you are going to get in a good workout during the day no matter how busy or lazy you feel. Whether you want to workout deep down or not is irrelevant. Just keep saying it over and over again...
Okay Here's The Trick...
Simply turn everything, every movement into a tiny exercise. EVERYTHING! All exercise is, is movement. If you want to go a bit deeper in thinking about exercise it is repetitive movements. Well you can change anything you do around the house, because that's what we're talking about here, home workouts, into a repetitive action. For example when you get up from behind your computer after the Skype, or Zoom meeting stretch. Going to fix that cup of coffee in the morning do a couple squats. Right before you shower do one or two pushups. Drink lots of water and when you need to walk to the bathroom do so while performing a few knee raises. You may think this approach to fitness is completely odd at first. However over time you'll be performing hundreds and then thousands of repetitions.
I perform all kinds of exercises throughout my normal day in the wasted spaces of moving from one place to another in my home. There are so many little blocks of time just out there for us to use for a few workout repetitions. A minute here while waiting for breakfast to warm in the microwave, a few seconds waiting for the shower to heat up, a few reps while text messaging. You've come accustom to texting while driving, so why not text while exercising. It's far less dangerous. Hell there's at least 10 minutes packed in the time it takes to download something from the internet. All of this time that most people waist waiting can be used to move. The great part is these small blocks of time don't cost anything, and you never have to be concerned with "getting started" because you are always started. In a ancient past all we did is move because our survival depended on it. Now we use every excuse not to move, locking down our excitement for natural physical movement.
But No More... Now it's time to move again!
Article by: Michaelson Williams, TSX
