12
Jan 11
Are you an exercise loner? I am. What I mean by this is that I feel motivated and confident to get a workout in anywhere, any time, all by myself. I don’t need the energy of a group or a trainer in my ear to keep me moving.
I have to say that I’m in the minority. There are very few people like me.
I’m not saying I’m better or worse than anyone else, it’s just how I am.
This may have stemmed from many years of competitive swimming. I was in the pool from the age of 6 to 18 several hours a day. As it turns out, swimming is a pretty solitary sport even when the pool is bursting with people. I guess I just came to love the time spent in my thoughts while I pushed my body.
For the most part, I train alone in my home gym that’s pretty well equipped. I’ll do high intensity interval training and resistance training with body weight alone some days and on others I’ll go pretty heavy with the weights. I seem to have found a sweet spot in my training routines that keep me fresh and excited while I’ve been able to maintain the same body weight since high school. I like to be in the gym alone so I can hog any and all the equipment, listen to my own tunes, crank the music, sing out loud if I want to and generally dance like no one is watching.
I found it ironic that even though I enjoy this solitude in my own gym, when I decided to go to a yoga class one time I found it frustrating that it was a requirement to stay quiet for the entire 90 minutes. Now that was a form of discipline I’m not able to endure for any length of time. When peeps are around, I just wanna talk, probably the reason why solitude in my gym enables me to have a productive workout!
I wanted to talk about two exercises solutions for you. In this post I’ll discuss some strategies for the person that wants to give it a go at home. In the next post I’ll discuss the merits of training outside your home.
For the ‘would be’ exercise loner:
It sounds great: you don’t have to take the time to drive anywhere, pack a gym bag, heck, you can even train in your PJ’s if you want to.
I wanted to provide three tips for those that may not have really tried training on your own. I highly recommend giving it a go because at some point in your life, you’re going to have to make do and train where you find yourself. You may find that in your busy life, the 30 – 45 min you give yourself for exercise may be the most rejuvenating time of your day.
Exercise Loner Tip #1 – Put it on your schedule – When you train at home, you can always put in a load of laundry or start supper or find some kind of distraction so you need to create time on your calendar and honor it like you would an important appointment. It IS an important appointment!
Exercise Loner Tip #2 – Create a space – Make your workout area appealing. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but clear out some space, give yourself room, get some tunes hooked up, and get your equipment organized in one spot. Imagine if you were cooking up something special, you wouldn’t have half the ingredients in the basement and half in the kitchen. You’d have everything at your fingertips. You need to do the same with your exercise area.
And speaking of equipment: DON’T BUY A TREADMILL! Well, you could, but there’s a ton you can do without investing in a thousand dollar clothes hanger. You’d be surprised what you can accomplish with just your body weight, a skipping rope, a few dumb bells, and a mat. Don’t feel you have to break the bank with fancy stuff. And if you really want a cool treadmill workout, check this blog post out: http://www.femalefatlossoverforty.com/blog/2011/01/05/the-non-treadmill-full-body-workout/
Exercise Loner Tip #3 – Have a plan! – What are you going to do in your time and space? You’ll be more motivated to get to your workout when you know what you’re doing. If you don’t know what to do, get organized. Research. Better yet, get my program to direct you and keep you on track.
Why reinvent the wheel? I’ve spent the last 25 years perfecting the very thing that you need to do. Even if you diligently trained every day for the next 10 years, you’ll never catch up to the knowledge that I’ve acquired and am willing to share.
I often surprise myself with how much I know and as a modest person tend to sell myself short. Lately I’ve been traveling once a month to meet with some of the BEST trainers around the world and to be brutally honest, I know as much or more than all of them. I don’t want to sound arrogant, but you need to know that I’m the best at what I do.
I didn’t get to be 47 years old and look the way I do through genetics alone. Yes, I was lucky to have chosen good parents in my genetic make up, but everyone has some positives where this is concerned. It’s what you do with the genetics over the years that count. I truly practice what I preach and use myself as a ‘ test dummy’ so that all the workouts and nutrition coaching that I bring to you are proven to work.
So, if you’re looking to train at home, even if it’s just on occasion, follow these simple steps above and you’re going to be more successful.
Aaand, do yourself a favor and get my program to support and direct you.
I welcome your comments!
Incoming fat loss search terms:
- fitness calendar
My passion is teaching people how to work fitness into their daily lifestyle in order to improve their quality of life. Let’s work together to help you reach your fitness goals!
I love this Shawna. I’m a workout loner too. Next time I don’t feel like getting in my lonely workout, I’m going to think about you doing yours and it’ll be just like I have a workout buddy :). By the way – same weight since high school??? You’re a machine!!!
@Sara: we can be virtual training partners doing our own thing miles apart. I can feel the good vibes between us already!
Thank you for posting this. I am the COMPLETE opposite. I’m just learning to workout on my own. I run with a group of ladies, I workout in the gym with a friend on weight day, I go to spin class. I’m training for my 1st mini tri and have just starting the swim training – so alone in the pool & will have to bike alone…..well I think you get it. Any thoughts on how to transition from a “groupie” to a “loner”? I did map out my training schedule so I’m using my calendar to ensure I get it done. I’m working on it & it’s forcing me to step out of my box, so to speak….thanks & I really enjoy your posts and workouts.
Thanks!
As usual you are right on! I love having the flexibility to train at home and not having to drive into Calgary or Cochrane to a gym. I also love the 21 day videos that I have from you so on some of my days I am not really training alone. Once a person sets time (make that appointment) to do a workout, its amazing how nothing can get in the way of it. It becomes the most important part of your day. I am learning how to mix up my routines and it keeps me going as everyday seems like something new.
Thanks Shawna for always motivating us all – loners and boot campers.
@Judy: So proud of you for the progress you’ve made and the discipline you have for your home workouts! Thanks for your kind words, please let me know if you need anything and I”ll get it up on the blog for you.
@Nancy: I think you’re on the right track by mapping out your workouts and scheduling them. It’s also great to have a goal and it sounds like you do with a tri event on the calender too. I like to record my workouts so that I always try to beat or meet the work done from each workout. This should help you stay accountable to your goals. Music you love is also a great motivator, but that won’t help you in the pool. All the best to you, keep us posted with your progress or if you have any other strategies to keep you on track.
Thanks Shawna! I log my exercise as well as food intake so I can see calories burned and my calorie intake. I just bought a gymboss interval timer and will start working with it more frequently next week (I’m running in the PF Chang’s 1/2 marathon on Sunday, so trying to rest alittle). This will be a good tool to use to work on raising the intensity of my workouts.
Swam today and can say it was better than my 1st outing alone.
Will be on the bike by myself next week….time to update the ipod! have a great week!
@Nancy: Wow, sounds like you’re dialed in! Keep me posted and inspire us!
I, too, like to workout by myself and am very motivated. I like to work out at 5:00 – 6:00 a.m.! It’s a great way to start my day and if I put it on my calendar for evenings, it won’t get done.
Nice to know there are others out there!
@Roni: You’re not alone in the wee hours…kudos to you! Let me know how I can help!