When you first make the effort to get fit, it can seem overwhelming. There’s a lot to do and there’s also a lot to know. And the nonexistence of overnight transformations is extremely off-putting and super inconvenient.
Fitness is an all-encompassing effort and it takes time before you start seeing results. This doesn’t mean it has to be difficult or draining, but when you decide to get fit, it involves a lot more than just hitting the gym a few times a week.
Here are 5 reasons why fitness starts at home and ends at the gym.
1. Healthy Eating Contributes to Overall Fitness
A commitment to fitness truly begins with nutrition. If weight loss is part of your goals, you are going to want to cut back on calories. But that alone doesn’t equate to good health.
Fitness is about being healthy and in prime physical shape, so you may need to cut back on calories, but you’ll definitely need to make an effort to consume more whole foods. Up your intake of fruits and vegetables at home to boost your fitness efforts.
Not only will you feel better, but your body will also be better equipped to handle anything, including intense workouts at the gym. This is also why nutrition and addiction recovery are so often tackled together. The body needs the right tools to handle any stress that may come its way.
2. Healthy Habits Start at Home
When it comes to following through on fitness goals, everyone has different ideas of what that looks like. So many people enjoy going to the gym, but even those people must have alternatives at home for days when they can’t find time to travel.
Find something you can do at home for those days when you aren’t motivated to leave the house. For you, it may be an exercise DVD, a stationary bike or a treadmill. This way, you won’t fall off the fitness wagon if you take a little time off from the gym.
3. Gyms Offer Accountability You Don’t Get at Home
While there are definite perks to at-home fitness, there are benefits to getting out of the house and heading to the gym. Just showing up somewhere else can help you feel a sense of accountability. After all, you’re not going to the gym to watch television.
Once you get there, you’re going to feel a sense of responsibility to workout, which is part of the draw of joining a gym.
4. Hydration is Key to Fitness
Your body runs on water, and when you’re working out, you’re losing water more rapidly than you would otherwise. The body excretes water through sweat when you work out, and you have to replenish what you’ve lost. Most people know this and will bring a water bottle to the gym.
But what happens when your body doesn’t have enough water to begin with? If you work out while dehydrated, you won’t produce as much sweat. And this may sound like a good thing, but remember that sweat is your body’s way of cooling off and releasing toxins. So, when you don’t get enough water, your body won’t function as well.
This is why you should start your fitness routine at home by drinking enough water. Try drinking half your body weight in ounces of water every day. This is a good start, and you can always increase your intake as you see fit.
5. Avoiding Bad Habits is a Full-Time Effort
There are plenty of habits that are considered normal by society’s standards that will detract from your overall fitness. Drinking alcohol is a big one. Alcohol is a toxin and your body treats it as such.
When you consume toxins regularly, you are forcing your body to work harder to clean the system. And that can detract from your fitness efforts. Alcohol is also dehydrating, which can make you feel weaker and less capable at the gym. Avoid bad habits like drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes, especially when you’re committed to fitness.
It’s true that fitness starts at home. And it’s possible that fitness can stay at home, but many people find it much more rewarding to end a day committed to their health at the gym instead.
