The Benefits of Working Out at Home
Hey guys, it’s Nate.
Your environment does not dictate the outcome — your actions do.
Training from home with minimal equipment can be extremely rewarding and reap incredible results while contributing to optimal productivity and time management. Unfortunately, it can also present a thorough list of excuses not to stay active.
One of the biggest excuses I hear across the board stems from a “sub-optimal” situation. It seems as though even the “fittest” of humans have become highly dependent on fancy gym machines and equipment. Too often we say things like, “I don’t have/can’t afford enough equipment at home,” or, “When I’m at home, I just get too distracted.” We blame our environment at home for our seeming inability to exercise.
But what really is the optimal environment for exercise? I have seen poor individuals all across the Middle East with very limited resources achieve amazing things athletically. Some of the most impressive weight-lifters and boxers were developed purely through heavy physical labor.
Here’s my point: The equipment you use doesn't decide how fit you can potentially become — that comes from within. In fact, being dependent on certain amenities can make you soft and weak both physically and mentally.
I have spoken many times about the fact that we are not really working out just to work out. In fact, I rarely refer to it as “working out.” It is training — we are training to make ourselves better at everything we do in life, and so it is important to find our motivation from within. There is always a way to create a training effect. The body wants to survive, thrive, and be challenged and presented with stimuli to adapt and grow and evolve daily. And you can do that right at home.
The Four Benefits of Working Out at Home
The truth is, there are many reasons why working out at home is good for you. Today, I’m going to talk through the top four:
#1: Working at Home Is Less Time-Consuming
When you work out at home, you can literally get in a workout whenever and wherever you are. No more commuting to and from the gym. No need to share equipment and maneuver the shenanigans in the gym either. You can stand up from the couch and immediately get into your warm-up. Think of all the time you could save!
This serves a few benefits: Your workouts will be more dense, meaning you get more training done in less time, and we're all about time management around here. You won’t have to wait around for the piece of equipment you want, wasting valuable time — you’ll be able to flow freely from one part of your workout to the next. That kind of consistent movement improves the quality of your workouts and saves you time.
You’ll also free up more time to do other things such as cook, spend time with your spouse or kids, read books, or work on your side-hustle. Either way, time is our most valuable commodity, and you can save a ton of it by working out at home.
#2: Working at Home Creates a Better Space to Hammer Weaknesses
Most of us fall into patterns in the gym — we lean into what we like to do and lean out of what we don’t. If you like running on a treadmill but hate lifting weights, you’re not very likely to force yourself to lift weights in the gym.
Also, who wants to look like a bozo in the gym doing hard stuff that you suck at? Many of us have a fear of judgment, especially when it comes to fitness — no one wants to look too weak or unfit to exercise. We naturally cherry-pick things that we look good doing and that we’re good at because there are other people around watching, and we don’t want them to laugh or judge us.
But as humans, we need variety in our training to function well and be healthy. By doing the same things over and over, we can improve our physical fitness in that one area, but we can’t optimize our overall health without that variety. What have you been avoiding or neglecting that could improve your fitness? Have you neglected any type of exercise because you’re afraid of what others will think if they see you?
A lot of programs play to your strengths and ignore your weaknesses. Often there are weak links in our mechanics that are just swept under the rug by throwing some weight-lifting into the mix. But weaknesses left unaddressed combined with poor movement patterns turn into crappy results and injuries.
I am a firm believer that building up solid FOUNDATIONS by utilizing only our bodyweight — and utilizing it properly — will ultimately instill long-term movement practices that will keep our bodies healthy and injury-free for life. Having all of the eternal stimuli — machines and equipment and such — stripped away in fact creates an awesome opportunity for many of us to bring it back to the basics and challenge our bodies and minds in a different way. We exercise in a much wider variety of ways when we work out at home, and that allows us to build and maintain a much better level of overall fitness. Take advantage of that — you might just surprise yourself with how much fun it is to move your body.
#3: Working Out at Home Allows You to Move Your Body in New and Uncommon Ways
Doing the same old moves and the same old program leads to diminishing returns. Has your training plateaued recently? Have you found yourself leveling out in one area but not seeing improvement in another? You can solve that problem by working out at home.
This is your chance to overhaul your program and challenge your body in new ways. Work with what you’ve got, guys. Get into a fresh mindset and some new and challenging movement patterns — and have fun doing it. The results might shock you.
I have somehow gained muscle mass without lifting a weight heavier than 15 lbs in months. It’s not about doing the same old movements over and over. It’s about getting creative and using different resources to move your body in new ways. I promise — you will be amazed at your results.
#4: Working Out at Home Improves Your Mental Health
Training is just as important for the mind as it is for the body. It boosts your mood and ability to think clearly, lowers stress and anxiety, improves sleep quality … the list goes on. Your structure may look different from someone else’s, and that’s okay. The very act of spending some purposeful time executing the art of moving your body will make you feel a whole lot better.
I would argue it's the most powerful tool at your disposal to deal with uncertain times. Health and fitness are more than a physical outlet for many. They are a mental, emotional, and even social outlet that helps balance an otherwise stressful life for most of us.
When we exercise at home, we make it much easier for ourselves to enjoy those benefits. We can move our bodies in any way we want without leaving the house, and we can easily and quickly lower our stress and anxiety levels, too. That sounds pretty good to me!
WARNING: Sitting Is the New Smoking
It’s a catchy headline that I read recently, and I wanted to use it. It may be a bit misleading, but I’m going to take a stab at this thing because it resonated with me…
A lot of sitting is inevitably linked to a laundry list of chronic health problems. It’s NOT the sitting per-se, but more the absence of movement and physical activity that is the problem.
One of the biggest issues we face when it comes to physical fitness is a decline in our mobility and piss-poor posture. These two go together like peanut butter and jelly, and when stiff, poorly positioned bodies try to exercise, they are generally in for a roller coaster of nagging aches and pains.
This can easily be avoided by injecting short movement breaks into your day — and that’s incredibly easy when you get into the habit of working out at home.
Here’s a handy rule-of-thumb I like to use: “For every hour of sitting, move for 5 minutes.”
Now, when I say “move,” I don’t mean go for a walk to the refrigerator — though I encourage walking as much as possible. When I talk about moving every hour or so, I mean move your joints. Draw big circles with your hands to move the shoulder blades in all directions. Flex and extend your back. Bend your body to the side, and reach the opposite arm overhead. Interlock your fingers behind your head, and crank that gnarly hump out of your upper back. We only get one spine, so let’s take care of it. And don't forget to get some motion in those hips — hell, grab a hula hoop if you got it. We would love to see it.
This simple habit is like spraying WD40 on a creaky door hinge. It will nourish your joints with fluid and hydrate your muscles. This will prevent your mobility from declining over time and you’ll feel so much better and more connected to your body every time you do it. Mobile and flexible muscles are healthy, and healthy muscles can show up to perform consistently.
When you get home after a long day of work, it’s hard to force yourself to go back out to the gym. But it’s easy to stand up and move around a little bit. You can absolutely get your body moving and improve your overall health right at home — it doesn’t have to be complicated or painful, and it will dramatically increase your fitness level.
Working Out at Home Is Simple, Effective, and FUN
The fix is in: When it comes to training out of your home, there is a lot of benefit to be had. You just need the right mindset and execution.
It’s not hard to see that there are a ton of advantages to working out at home. You can save a ton of time and get your body moving in unique and helpful ways you’d never try in a gym. You don’t need fancy equipment — you need to get moving. I promise you’ll be amazed by the results you can achieve at home.
If you’re looking for a little extra structure to make at-home training even easier, I’d encourage you to check out our subscription-based home exercise program, Hōmebodies. Through this program, Remi and I provide you with well-crafted workouts you can do with minimal equipment right in your living room. It’s easy to follow, and it will help you get in a variety of exercises and movements that will help you maximize the benefits of training at home. It’s a great investment in yourself, so check it out!
Thanks for reading this post, guys. I hope it encouraged you — you really can train and improve your physical fitness at home. Don’t forget to follow Remi on Instagram, @rrayyme, and subscribe to the YouTube channel to learn more about tips and tricks to help you stay healthy.
Stay well, move good, feel good.
Nate
