When it comes to working out at home, the key factors to success are different from working out at the gym. 

You might want to have a buddy to push you to the limits at the gym.

At home that’s different – usually people decide for the home gym for factors like comfort or time, that are so much more better at home. 

Whatever your reasons are – having the home gym right there has one big pitfall: It is so easy to go there, so it is also so easy to procrastinate or to simply say no. 

I bet most home gym machines are just lying around as well meant christmas gifts, never having been used. 

So to make the home gym work, you really need to make sure to stay motivated. It is the center of all home gym activities. 

Here are my 5 secrets to stay motivated working out from home. 

Quick side note: I am talking about concepts here, categories. Many people will tell you about their 15 tricks but those might just be watching a workout video, eating the right meal and getting into the right mindset, which all fall under the category of preparing well. In this article I hand you the most important 5 categories of continuous motivation. 

Secret 1 – Invest in your home gym 

This is a psychological, mental hack. 

Shawn Lattimer, a popular power lifter took building his home gym so far, he learned how to wield in order to be able to build up his home gym. 

If you invest the time into building your home gym, you will likely use it more.

It’s that simple, after putting in all the sweat and work, you will feel like you owe it to yourself to work out. 

And this doesn’t mean you have to spend thousands of dollars on your equipment.

Your student home gym consisting of free weights and a pull up bar could maybe use a nice little stand for the weights or a corner to store everything.

It has the same effect.

Of course, when you put in a lot of money, you are going to feel inclined to work out more, don’t get me wrong. 

My father recently bought himself a multi-function machine, and it took him forever to build it up, but since its standing he is working out on it on a regular basis. 

Secret 2 – Create a space to have your home gym

Having your own dedicated space at your home gym will help you stay motivated. 

I wonder how this is such a thing for many people.

Sure, if you are a student it might not be possible.

But having a home office in a dedicated space, preferably its own room, seems to be such a self-explanatory thing. So why not for a home gym? 

Creating your own space is essentially creating a piece of mind only dedicated for working out.

When you enter the room, you will feel obligated to work out. 

In addition, the room will be mostly free of distractions and you can decorate it with whatever things motivate you.

For me it would probably be a bluetooth box to listen to my favorite music and a poster with a motivational message or so.

You can take this even further – put something up on the outside of the door, like a white sock in college (if you know what I mean), to let your family or flatmates know to not disturb you in this moment. 

Secret 3 – Get some accountability

Many people know what makes them accountable, others don’t (yet). 

No matter which side of the spectrum you belong to, getting some of the best way of accountability that works for you is good and will help you to keep at it and get motivated. 

This might be a dedicated time in your calendar, or it might be promising yourself some sort of treat after the workout.

If you are anything like me, you might get to the home gym with your partner or friends, and that will totally fire you up and get you motivated. 

Whatever of the literally countless possibilities it might be – make sure you do it and follow up on it. 

It might be that you are a generally lazy person (like me) or have a period of laziness.

Combining some of those makes it more effective. I love to block a time in my calendar and work out with my partner. 

Secret 4 – Prepare Your Workout session

In Germany they say preparation is everything. And while it’s probably one of the most german things to say, it is also correct. 

Similar to Secret 3, find what is right for you.

You might like to go through your workout plan once again or fire up your fitness app of choice.

You might also love getting the perfect pre-workout meal in or watching motivational YouTube videos. 

Whatever it is, doing it, and doing it the right way almost obligates you to follow up on the workout.

Eating a pre-workout meal without the workout is just horrible, therefore you will simply work out afterwards (or feel bad the rest of the day, your choice). 

This feeds into creating your routine – if you repeat this step again and again before every workout, you will start working out almost automatically after you will do this for a while. 

Secret 5 – Put on your workout clothes

This should usually go without a saying. But this is some sort of a last resort tactic, when you really really really don’t want to work out. 

It is very simple. Go to your closet or dresser, and put your workout clothes on. 

Your family or flatmates will do the rest for you.

If you run around in this for 2 hours or more without actually working out, you are better preparing yourself for a load of judging comments. 

I’ve been through it and it wasn’t nice. 

Summary

So these are my 5 secrets to motivation for the home gym. It is your special place, so make sure to use it as much as you want and can.

By following the secrets of investing in the home gym, creating your own space for it, getting some accountability and preparing well, and by keeping your last resort of motivation for putting on your gym clothes I am confident that you will work out more. 

These step helped me to get to a regular schedule and so I am confident they will for you. 

So without any further ado, get going and get into your next workout!