We all know that we should get regular exercise, but the daily commitment of 30-60 minutes to workout is often one of the first things we trim from our schedule when life gets busy.
That nice chunk of time you devote to working out is an attractive place to steal extra time from when you need just a little more time to run errands or get some chores done around the house.
I’ve found that by doing quick and easy workouts at home first thing in the morning and/or at night after I’ve got the kids in bed, I actually look forward to the energy boost and mental focus I gain from the physical activity and am less likely to skip them.
Quick & Easy Workouts at Home
You don’t need to invest in a lot of expensive equipment in order to get in a good workout at home. If you have equipment (e.g. a treadmill, hand weights, bands), you’ll have more options when it comes to what types of exercises you can do, but you can easily work up a good sweat without any equipment at all. For example, my Wakeup Workout can be done right beside your bed, first thing in the morning.
Of course, if you get bored easily (like me), you don’t want to do the same workout every day. It’s also better for your body if you vary your activities. One of the easiest ways for me to find new workouts is to pull up videos on YouTube or On Demand on television. On YouTube, POPSUGAR Fitness is one of my favorite channels for quick and easy workouts. Here is their 10-minute full body workout.
I love to dance, so On Demand I search for dance workouts. Or, I’ll plug in the Wii and play Just Dance
.
For variety, I sometimes do my Martial Arts Inspired Workout.
I also keep this Exercise List handy so I can make up an impromptu workout that I can adapt as I work through it. I just choose an exercise, perform it until I can’t do it anymore (or I’m bored with it) and then choose another one from the list. I can exercise for as little or as long as I want and only do activities I feel like doing that day.
Fill in the form below to get the free printable exercise list.
Printable FAQs
Fill in the form above. After you submit the form, you’ll receive an email from “Wondermom Wannabe” with a direct link to the printable. If you do not see the email in your inbox within a few minutes, check your spam folder.
The most likely place will be in your computer’s Downloads folder. You can also select “Downloads” in your browser menu to see a list of your downloads, then simply select “Show in folder” below the file name to see where it is stored on your computer.
You’ll need a program that supports PDFS, like Adobe Acrobat (which is free). Open the program, click File > Print. Select your printer and set the number of copies you want to print. Double check your print preview, then click print.
If these workouts above still seem like too much of a commitment, check out my posts Everyday Fitness and Sneaky Exercise. They give you ideas on how to work exercise into your daily activities so you don’t have to make time for an official workout in your busy day. You might also like my Couch Potato Workout that helps you sneak in exercise during commercial breaks.
How to Stay Motivated
When you are trying to get in shape, it seems to take forever. One day of working out doesn’t make you noticeably stronger, faster, or more flexible.
So, even though we know we need to be consistent, it’s hard to stay motivated to do so when we aren’t seeing tangible progress. I’m very visual, so I need to SEE things to keep me on track.
That’s why I like to keep inspiring images and quotes posted in places I will see them every day. If you’re the same way, print off one or more of these Fitness Motivation Quotes and put them up somewhere they will inspire you.
I’m also a list maker. I derive great satisfaction from checking off things from my Things To Do list. If that’s what inspires you, you might like this Fitness Calendar. I simply check off each day that I exercise. Since I like to check things off, sometimes this is enough to motivate me to sneak in a workout at the end of the day just so I don’t have to leave a square blank.
Thank you so much for posting this, this really helped me a lot in motivating myself for a home workout.
Oh good, I’m glad it helps! Thanks for commenting.
Like you, Corinne, I’m a list maker, so your Fitness Calendar is perfect for me. Thanks for giving me a little kick start (pun intended).