As a result of government guidelines working out at home is probably the most practical and safest way of keeping in touch with what you want to achieve at this given moment. Granted, you don’t have the familiarity of your local gym or studio. For instance our racking at the studio has been traded in temporarily for either a field , a garage gym or a back yard. But still we adapt, we move on and grow. We adjust and develop and still bring challenging workouts week on week. This is testament to Body Planners way of training and really does showcase our skill set as trainers.

Using only basic kit that we managed to procure ahead of total lockdown so to  best serve our clients, we have provided at least 6 workouts per week for all.

So there’s obviously benefits and drawbacks to training at home.

The drawbacks are that accountability can sometimes drop because you don’t have the face to face time with familiar faces keeping you going. Outside distractions creep in such as TV, reading or these days gardening. The temptation is to ‘just do it tomorrow’ but that never comes. A big drawback is obviously equipment or lack of, which can sometimes make training feel mundane or dull but we do our best to keep up the variety and ‘keep the body guessing’.

Before all of this, people probably wouldn’t dream of training in their available outdoor space but now it seems weird not to! Whilst training for the Royal Marines every 4th Saturday at 8.30 I did a bleep test in the street. I wasn’t bothered by that, I didn’t care if people were watching or talking about it I was doing it for me, nobody else. In the States outdoor training is a massive thing.

But working out at home doesn’t really give the same experience as going to the gym or studio. I know and understand that there is a social element to fitness. It’s nice to see familiar faces and talk about things from time to time. A thing that working out at home completely removes.

On the plus side, it’s ridiculously convenient. I get up at 6.20, down the yard to the field and set up for 6.30. I’m back at the house for 7.17 at the latest for breakfast before continuing the rest of my day. If you’re still working, then the lack of travel to a facility,  completely eradicates any need to rush about and panic.

Generally working out at home is a solitary thing, you have to have the mental aptitude to push yourself through each session with the guidance of your screen. On the other hand, because when you’re in a group, you can sometimes feel intimidated by others or feel that you’re not as fit as the person across from you. You can also be a motivation succubus and use their energy as a driver to get you through. In this scenario there isn’t that, you are willing yourself on, showing yourself how strong you can be.

Similarly, on the convenience point above, with how we’re doing things at the moment you can do these workouts as and when it’s convenient. In a gym class if you’re not on the class, you’re not on the class. With virtual setup the whole thing revolves and moves around you and your world and this can sometimes be the difference in getting the session done, or missing it out.

A plus I find with training at home and always have to a degree is that, you’re familiar with the surroundings and this can make it so easy to train there.

In honesty, as a trainer and my own personal opinion of working out at home, I don’t think it’s a bad thing at all. I certainly don’t think it is as effective as turning up to a venue and joining in or getting PT but it’s certainly not a thing to be seen or deemed as pointless. All our workouts will challenge and test you and we will keep them varied and interesting for you. The right routine can make all of the difference, if you can, make yourself accountable and turn up to the live workouts (we also host these on zoom so you can see fellow group trainers) and if you can’t make the time, set yourself a time to catch up and stick to it. If you usually train three times a week, then try and replicate this, we have a workout for you each day. Give us a try if you haven’t already.