Everything You Need to Know About Working Out at Home
Exercising at home doesn’t necessarily pose any greater risk of injury than you’d run into training somewhere outside the home. But if you’re working out in an exercise class or with a trainer elsewhere, there may be someone watching you and correcting you if your form is off or you appear to be training in a potentially harmful way. At home, you’re on your own.
Injuries happen when you don’t use proper form or you overstress any one muscle group (or overdo it with any one type of exercise), which can contribute to muscle imbalances and overuse injuries, says Prentiss Rhodes, a master instructor and manager of live events with the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), who is based in Scottsdale, Arizona.
To keep risks to a minimum, it’s important to dial in and focus just like you would if you were in the gym or working out under the watchful eye of a personal trainer, says Cordelia Carter, MD, director of the Pediatric Sports Medicine Center at NYU Langone in New York City.
For instance, before beginning any new exercise, Dr. Carter recommends watching instructional videos from qualified trainers. The YouTube channels of certifying fitness organizations such as the American Council on Exercise, NASM, and National Strength and Conditioning Association are great resources for mastering exercise technique.
Working with an online trainer — a certified expert who can design customized workouts and help you improve your form by watching you and coaching you via video — can be another great move for reducing the risk of injury. Virtual trainers can also help you modify exercises to take into account existing aches, pains, injuries, or other limitations you may have. (Tip: Before reaching out to any online trainers that you find via Google, social media, or YouTube, run their name through the U.S. Registry of Exercise Professionals to verify they are certified by a respected organization.)
An added benefit of choosing online workouts is that you could review the workout before doing it and research a move that you may not be familiar with in order to get more familiar with its proper form. This can also save time, as you will know exactly what equipment is needed, can set it out ahead of time, and make any adjustments, such as substituting for equipment that you don’t have with something that you do have in your home. Also, researching alternate exercises that may hit the same muscle ahead of time can make the workout go smoothly.
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One of the most important components of exercising safely at home is creating a training routine that’s right for your unique body and not someone else’s.
Make modifications if you’re following an online workout or class to make the workout appropriate for you, just like an instructor would have you do in a live class. For instance, if you’re new to strength training, substitute plyometric and jumping exercises for nonexplosive variations, recommends Caroline Juster, a personal trainer certified by NASM, who is based in Chicago.
If you experience knee pain with lunges, split squats or single-leg glute bridges might be more comfortable for training your quads, she says.
Once you have your program ready, give it your best shot, and give it your full attention. “The main reason I see people get injured from at-home training is because they don’t concentrate on what they’re doing,” Rhodes says. Resist the urge to multitask with chores, other at-home tasks, or conversations. “Let your family members know to respect your workout time,” he says. “For example, my daughter knows when I go into my space that she is to let me train.”
You can also consider scheduling workouts for times when interruptions or distractions are less likely, such as before other family members are up or when they are out of the house.
To evaluate and constantly improve your form, consider setting up your phone to record you doing a few reps; it’s a great way to check and improve your form from various angles, Carter says.
