I used to exercise in classes and at the gym but fell into the well known trap of paying for membership but not regularly attending.
I realised I was giving myself so many excuses, weather, journey length, how busy it was. I needed to do something which rid me of these excuses, but I was worried that if I was left to motivate and do my own thing, it would end very quickly.
I relied on group classes to show me what I needed to do and keep me motivated. I was worried that I would not commit to my fitness journey if I didn’t have a gym to go to.
Now, I exercise at home. I follow workout programs which have schedules and nutrition guides. I also do workouts which just need my body weight and enough space for me to get around.
Most of the programs I have done only have 30 min workouts (max). One I am currently doing is only 20 mins a day. I workout for shorter periods, 6 days a week.
For me to do this I get up in the morning (if I hit snooze, game over) take my pre workout energy drink, stay on my feet while it kicks in then press play. But 20-30 mins later, I’m sweaty and ready for the rest of my day.
It was a tough slog to get into the habit of this, but I had to commit to getting up and doing i. It’s no longer a matter of fitting it in - exercise is a vital part of my day.
It gives me clarity and the boost in confidence I need to be the best person for my job, friends, partner, family, dog, everything. It’s become such an important part of my life, it is now my business.
For me to do this I get up in the morning (if I hit snooze, game over) take my pre workout energy drink, stay on my feet while it kicks in then press play. But 20-30 mins later, I’m sweaty and ready for the rest of my day."
Here are a few exercises I done to build my strength and stamina at home:
Burpees
At first I stepped into a burpee rather than jumped and used a chair to elevate my torso)
Power jumps
Pull in that core jump as high as I can and lift those knees to my chest – at first I went from squat to one knee up, keep on foot on the ground.
High-knee jog
I alternate wide and narrow stances to increase my heart rate and work different muscles. I started off with stepping and concentrating on getting my knees as high as I could.
Standard push ups and tricep push ups
I started on a chair, went to my knees and now on the toes
Doing these in 30 sec – 1 min intervals and for three rounds helped me to add the element of HIIT, doing a light jog in between, and made it easy to fit into my day.
Mindset is a massive factor in my commitment to exercise. Most of all I tell myself positive things like ‘this is tough but you are strong’, ‘take a second to breath, but don’t quit’ and ‘failure is where I get better’.
If you’ve been inspired by Tracey’s story, take a look at some more exercises you can do at home.
