How to Find a Good Home Workout (STOP DOING THIS!)

IÔÇÖm sure weÔÇÖve all seen the latest home workouts promoted by our fitness influencers on social media. It may have you wondering if you can really build muscle and lose fat all from the comfort of your house with no equipment. The sudden surge of ÔÇ£free workoutsÔÇØ is much appreciated in this time of quarantine where weÔÇÖre most at risk of falling into bad health habits. Unfortunately, this chance of opportunity also increases the chances of receiving poor fitness education as well. So is your latest home workout one of the bad apples? Probably so, LetÔÇÖs find out.

Here are some traits of a potential bad home workout:

1. ItÔÇÖs 100% circuit based.

Most home workouts are geared for intensity and look. Our society is sold on if a workout looks really difficult then itÔÇÖll have us looking like the one whoÔÇÖs advertising it.

These workouts are usually a bunch of random exercises put together for no reason and just designed to make you sweat.

There needs to be structure in a good workout program, so the same can be said for an at-home workout program. The exercises youÔÇÖre performing need to make sense for the goal that youÔÇÖre trying to achieve.

2. It has improper rest periods.

Rest periods are abused often in home workouts. It shouldnÔÇÖt like youÔÇÖre basically doing cardio, there should be resistance training as well. Rest is great when properly applied.

3. ItÔÇÖs not phased.

There is a wide range of people performing at-home workouts. There shouldnÔÇÖt be only advanced exercises in the workout. A good home workout needs to be scalable for all levels of fitness. A beginner should be able to come into the workout program and continue to do it as they progress in fitness.

4. There are lots of explosive movements.

These movements are not beginner-friendly. There is a time and a place for explosive movements in a workout program but you have to be advanced. There needs to be a reason why youÔÇÖre doing that explosive movement.

A lot of home workouts will throw in burpees because itÔÇÖs an easy way to raise someoneÔÇÖs heart rate and make the workout hard. 

Now let me ask you, What are you doing burpees for? How is that exercise helping you achieve your goal? What is it youÔÇÖre training for? If itÔÇÖs an obstacle course race where you need to perform better at burpees then okay, that makes sense. Otherwise, question why youÔÇÖre doing it and not any other movement that gets you closer to your goal.

So why is there a huge saturation of bad home workout programs?

ItÔÇÖs because theyÔÇÖre hoping you wonÔÇÖt know the difference between a good and bad workout, but now you know.

At the end of the day, you should feel like you got more of a muscle-building workout rather than a cardiovascular workout.