By Thomas King, MSc, CK, CSCS

Given the situation in the world right now, there is a good chance that gyms in your area are either shut down completely or operating with limited capacity meaning you can’t always get a workout in.

This doesn’t have to be the end of your fitness goals though! Working out at home can be an excellent alternative. While this may not be ideal it is the reality and so presented below are my top 5 tips for staying motivated while training at home!

1. Keep the Same Workout Schedule

Never underestimate the power of keeping yourself on schedule. Did you previously get up early to exercise before work? Then keep doing that! It’s likely that you train at this time because it works best for your schedule. As a bonus, it may mean that you end up having your workout completed before your partner or kids are even awake. The same goes for you night owls out there. If you previously trained in the evening/night, keep doing that! Don’t feel like your training regime needs to change just because your other routines have.

2. Choose Your Favourite Music

This is an important one. Choosing your favourite music can be the difference between feeling motivated and feeling like nothing is working quite right. Several studies have found that when participants listened to music they enjoyed, their rate of perceived exertion (read: how hard they experienced an exercise) was lower than when they listened to music they didn’t like. The bottom line: pick music you like when training at home.

3. Check in With Your Trainer/Coach (us!)

This is a great way to stay accountable and any coach worth their salt should be happy to help with this. Just feel like you need that extra accountability? Email your trainer to tell them what you done for your workout, how it felt, exercise/technique tips, anything! While we can’t train in person right now, our world is more electronically connected than ever and your coach is just a couple of clicks away (*hint hint* let us know you’re still getting your workouts in!!)

4. Make it a Family Affair

Kids won’t leave you alone long enough to workout? Make them part of your training! Workouts can be great family time. Kids are an endless source of energy so having them burn off a little taking part in your workout can serve a double purpose of helping you complete your workout and making them a bit tired. Try doing some lunges, jumps, push-ups, whatever! As long as their technique is appropriate kids are more than capable of doing these exercises.

5. Accept Progress May Stall

Unless you have a home gym set-up exactly like your gym, you may experience a plateauing or slight decline of your progress. This is normally and totally okay! Unless you plan to train for the World Powerlifting Championships, no one is going to care that you lost 20lbs on your max deadlift. Besides, a little break will likely do your muscles, joints, and nervous system some good. When you get back in the gym again, you will be refreshed and ready to train hard and that 20lbs won’t be very long coming back.

The Wrap-Up

Hopefully some of these tips will help you remain motivated to train even when you can’t get in the gym. In an ideal world, we would all be back in the gym doing what we love and improving our lifts. For now though, that is difficult for most and training at home is the next best thing. So take these tips and use them to keep yourself motivated to keep going, gyms will be open again soon!

~Thomas 🏋️‍♀️

WANT TO ENSURE YOU’RE BEING EFFECTIVE IN THE GYM AND GETTING THE MOST OUT OF YOUR WORKOUTS? WE CAN HELP YOU WITH YOUR FORM AND PROGRAM DESIGN SO YOU CAN MAXIMIZE YOUR RESULTS.

CONTACT US HERE.

Tara Rector-Whelan

Personal Strength Training by Thomas King

I started at JKC after a good friend recommended it to me. She had been coming for about a year and I was envious of her great results. I felt sluggish after failing to motivate myself with various home workout routines. I love the fun and relaxed atmosphere at JKC. It’s such a comfortable gym space and I enjoy knowing so many of the people I work out with. Jon and Thomas make an effort to introduce everyone to each other and with all the joking around,  it starts to feel like a family. Not to mention the awesome results. I’ve always liked to run on a treadmill but I’ve never had the drive to lift weights on my own. Going to JKC makes me accountable which was what I really needed. I feel so much stronger and healthier than I did 4 years ago when I started.

Astrid Billfalk-Kelly

Personal Strength Training by Thomas King

I wanted to add strength training to my cardio, but have always felt gyms to be a bit intimidating, and was worried I would hurt myself without some supervision and help. JKC was highly recommended by several work colleagues. Thomas and Jon are both fantastic, making sure that everyone gets a highly personalized work out in a very supportive environment. The attention to detail and professionalism are second to none. The groups are very small, but very supportive and make the workouts even more fun. Since getting pregnant (36 weeks as I write this) I’m so happy that they continue to help me get stronger while always being safe.

I chose JKC because I was looking for something different. I’ve seen and done the trendy workout programs before, I was looking for something that I knew I could see myself still doing a year from now! JKC has a lot of clients that have been going for years. That was a huge motivator for me! The small group coaching sessions are great and I really enjoy the format. It’s nice having 2-4 people working-out with you during your session. The camaraderie is great, everyone is very upbeat and positive – zero gym judgment!

trap bar deadlift

A few of my wonderful friends and colleagues recommended JKC. I was told by one colleague that “It’ll be the best thing you ever do for yourself” and she was right! To be honest, I didn’t have much experience in any gym setting. And NO prior weight training experience. It was always so overwhelming! But from the first day, nothing was intimidating about JKC. Each workout is set up just for me, and with my specific skills and goals in mind. There are no stupid questions, you learn as you go, and what I really love, I always feel included and important, regardless of my skills/experience.

I saw an article in Men’s Journal that quoted Jon in about 2018 while traveling and was impressed that someone in St. John’s made that international magazine.  Jon spoke about an exercise called the Farmer’s Walk and I started working that into my routine at the YMCA. I tore that article out of the magazine and kept it, meaning to make contact, but got busy. Then I had lunch with an old friend Bruce Dyke. I hadn’t seen Bruce for a while and I remarked that he looked super healthy and fit. He told me about his, and his son Cas’, experience at JKC and then I remembered the Men’s Journal article! No coincidences!

The experience is unique on many levels – great people, camaraderie, passion, purpose, and dedication. Jon and Thomas are attentive, precise and understanding.  Their teaching has unlocked a new perspective for me with what our bodies are capable of. I still appreciate the YMCA, wonderful place, but I can’t imagine working out without Jon and Thomas now.

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