When we were kids, most of us saw little Macaulay Culkin get left behind at Christmas in the movie Home Alone and, let’s be honest, we kind of dreamt of being left at home too, right? I mean, isn’t it every kids’ dream that their parents leave them alone with unlimited snacks, control of the tv, and unsupervised snooping? With covid 19 lockdown back in place, we’re basically living out our childhood dream of all being home alone, so how come it feels…. not as fun as we imagined? For lots of us, the novelty is wearing off as we collectively burrow in for another round of claustrophobic work-from-homing, and along with cooking and getting dressed in real clothes, it can be hard to keep the motivation for working out. However, we know the benefits of working out will work wonders for our at-home blues, so with that being said, here are some tips on finding the motivation to break a sweat at home:
1. Plan it out
The reason we often dragged our butts to our regular 6am class workouts was simple: they were on the calendar, our alarm went off, so we went. Working out at home can be difficult if you haven't actually planned out a non-negotiable time to workout, so do yourself a favor and make a workout calendar. Put a type of workout and a time on the calendar (Barre Body OnDemand
- Tuesday 10am) and then don’t miss the date with yourself.
2. Create a workout space
For some people, you have a whole “recreation” room that’s just dying to be used for a regular workout spot. For others, creating a workout space means clearing some room in the living room for a yoga mat. Regardless of your situation, the same way you’ve made room for your “work-from-home” station, make a regular space for working out that feels good, decluttered, and simple to set up so you enjoy inhabiting the space. We love to see your dedicated workout spots, so if you snap a pic, tag us! @barrebodystudio
3. Join/form a community
If you’re missing the motivation that comes from a class full of workout friends, consider joining our private Barre Body Facebook group and meet up with your workout community virtually. Though it’s not the same as being in the same class, you can totally find a few buddies who are up for crushing one of our OnDemand classes at the same time from the comfort of your own homes. That way, you can send a quick Facebook message (“my legs are mush after that last combo!!”) to each other on a water break, and capture a bit of that in-class pack motivation.
4. Find accountability
Before lockdown, motivation could come in the form of a friend meeting you at the gym; nothing like the shame of copping out to keep you showing up. Though we can’t meet in person, lots of fitness apps allow you to not only log your workout, but follow friends’ accounts so you can send them some encouragement when you see their workouts completed as well. So log that Barre Body Strength + Sweat class for friends to see- it not only keeps you accountable to crush that midday workout, you might convince them to do a class online together.
5. Switch it up
Wake up in bed, breakfast in the kitchen, work in the living room, dinner in the kitchen, back to bed, rinse repeat. The monotony of working from home and covid 19 restrictions can wear on the most meditative-minded, so don’t force yourself to also do the same workout over and over. Barre Body’s OnDemand program has a ton of different types of barre classes to choose from: Barre So Hard, Core + Tone, and Bangin’ Backside are just a few of the varieties available. Switch it up by doing a total body tone up one day, burning your buns the next, and stretching it out on rest days, all from the same handy app, and avoid getting monotony burnout.
Some helpful advice we’ve heard lately is the reminder that the current circumstances are “for now, not forever”. Though we won’t be back in the studio, we look forward to welcoming you back for events when it’s safe to do so. We hope these tips motivate you to join us online at home. In the meantime, we want you to feel healthy and pumped full of endorphins so enjoy this 45 min workout on YouTube with Marlo!