January can act as a great motivator to form better fitness habits, but it is also important to live an active and healthy lifestyle all year round. Instead of setting unrealistic fitness goals that are likely to be abandoned mid-January, why not create more convenient exercise routines that you can tackle from your own home?
To help you create fitness habits that stick, RE/MAX of Southern Africa shares the tips below on how to form workout habits from home:
Subscribe to online fitness classes
Instead of paying gym fees, minimise the excuses of traffic, expensive fees, and overcrowded equipment stations by subscribing to an online fitness programme of your preference so that you can workout from your living room. There are a wide variety of paid and free programmes available, either via an app or on YouTube. “Health and wellness are the most important aspects for leading a successful life. To help make it more accessible for our agents to form healthier habits, we created our own MAX/Fit wellness program that offers free online workouts to both our agents as well as to the public. You can watch these workouts for free on our YouTube channel,” says Regional Director and CEO of RE/MAX of Southern Africa, Adrian Goslett.
Incorporate exercise into daily routines
If a full exercise routine seems too daunting, start off by incorporating short bursts of exercise into your everyday routines. Perform a set of squats while washing the dishes. Challenge yourself to complete a set of crunches while you’re watching your favourite show. Do some jumping jacks every time a commercial interrupts your entertainment hours. Basically, try to include something manageable that gets your heart rate up and can be easily included in your daily routines.
Join your neighbourhood walking group
Accountability can greatly help when attempting to form new exercise habits. Find out if your suburb has a local walking group you can join. You could even start your own by making friends with your neighbours and checking if anyone would be interested. If you’re not sure what exercise groups exist within your suburb, chat to a local agent. As area experts, real estate agents are usually well connected to the local communities they serve and are likely to know of a group you could join.
“Sometimes, the home itself might be hindering your ability to embrace healthier habits. If you enjoy outdoor activities but face grid-lock traffic every time you head to your nearest greenbelt, perhaps it’s time to find a new home closer to walking or hiking routes. Why not make this the year that you minimise all excuses by exploring what other options you can afford? Chat to your local real estate agent for some free advice,” Goslett concludes.
Writer : Kayla Ferguson