When you think of fitness, you immediately think of joining a gym. However, not everyone can afford gym memberships and personal trainers. Hitting the gym also requires time, especially if it is located far away. If you decide to go during rush hour, then the traffic itself will take away all the motivation you have for the workout. Accordingly, not only does it cut your time, but it also costs a lot. If you are looking for ways to kickstart your fitness journey, here are some of the best ways to stay in shape without going to the gym.

Watch Videos For Home Workout

Remember those DVD videos of aerobics or full-on body-building workouts that even had encouraging commentators screaming ‘burn that fat’? Some even featured celebrities! You can still rent out DVDs, but it’s easier to just look for home workout videos on Youtube.

There are so many home workout videos for free out there, especially since the pandemic. Explore and follow the workout and fitness channels you like on Youtube. Ensure that you use the keyword home workout to get results applicable to your home set-up. Most of the trainers on Youtube explain each and every step in their routines that you can easily follow. So, find the best ones and keep switching among them to keep yourself motivated.

Work On Your Nutrition

Trying to stay in shape means you have to ensure that you have a well-balanced diet. Skip the junk food and embrace home-cooked nutritious food. You can go with healthier carbs and healthier fats. Don’t think of starvation; think of healthier carbs like whole grains and healthier fats like vegetable oils.

Try to incorporate all the food groups in your diets and ensure you take daily requirements of all the vitamins and minerals as well. When you think of home workouts, look for multivitamins and energy-boosting supplements on online supplement stores to ensure you don’t just burn calories but get the right nutrition for your energy needs too. A well-balanced diet with even light workouts usually keeps you fit enough. So, make weekly meal plans, and try to stick to them!

Utilize Free Fitness Apps

Without a personal trainer or a coach, you can easily lose your motivation. The best way to motivate yourself is by letting the most used thing, your smartphone, tell you that it’s time to work out.

There are many free fitness apps out there; a quick search on app stores will give a list. Even some social media-inspired fitness apps let you share your progress with friends. The best way to go about it is to create your workout goals, but first, find an app that’s best for that. For example, for quick no-equipment workouts, you can explore apps like the 7-minute workout; for running, you can use tracking apps.

Invest A Little

Some exercises do not require any equipment at all, like yoga, running, jogging, or routines with squats, pushups, lunges, and jumping jacks. You can also try resistance training, muscle-building workouts, as well as strength exercises at home. You can get creative with household items like water bottles as weights (remember to fill them equally). However, at one point, for these types of workouts, you may need some equipment; you can begin with dumbbells and then work your way up to a home gym if you want.

Plan And Schedule Your Workouts

Whether you take inspiration from your videos or fitness apps, plan your workout around your daily routine. Depending on your fitness goals, decide the repetitions and sets, and finally, set a specific time for your workout. When it’s time, get in the mood with a protein shake! This way, you’ll stay motivated.

Walk

Whenever possible, choose to walk—going for coffee or lunch? Choose a closer place and go on foot. Most smartphones have internal health apps that give you a step count, or you can download a tracking app. Set a higher step count goal like 15000 steps daily, and try to achieve that. When you have a goal, you begin to plan around it; you’ll want to park further away so that your step count will increase both times when you leave and come back!

Take The Stairs

If your office is on the 10th floor, sure, take the elevator, but if it is just two or three floors up, better take the stairs. You might start to go by stairs to that 10th floor when you realize that climbing stairs burns way more calories than per minute of jogging! It’s the simplest exercise that people just ignore in their daily life. It is absolutely free and only costs you the calories burnt.

Staying fit doesn’t require gym memberships and expensive equipment. All it requires is your motivation and determination to achieve your fitness goals, and the rest is easy. Whether you choose yoga, running, a complete at-home workout, or just decide to achieve a set step-count, you’re on your way to stay fit. So, choose your workout, plan it out, and then get in shape!