• 7 am wake up
• 7:15 have coffee
• 7:45 rummage around looking for something to wear  to the gym
• 8:10 unlock the car – if it’s snowing or cold, wait for the car to warm up
• 8: 11 – 8:16 head to the gym
• 8:35 arrive at the gym & drive around for 5 min looking for a parking spot

It happens DAILY. We waste an hour and a half just PREPPING for our workout, only to get to the gym and have to wait in line for the equipment.

Here’s the deal, you and I both know that exercise should be a regular part of our daily lives. This practice alone provides an enormous amount of benefits to virtually every facet of not only our bodies but also our quality of life in general. It gets our day off on the right foot, keeps us healthy, and has become an important part our of life.

But, with all that we have to do during the day, the idea of cramming literally anything else into our daily schedules seems out of the question. Especially WASTING all of that time just getting their.

I am going to propose a solution that serves as a middle ground between knowing that we should exercise and the time wasted: working out in your own home. Fitting in an exercise routine at home comes with a lot of good benefits. Here are 3 examples of how this routine can finally provide you with a way to manage the craziness of day-to-day life, while also keeping your body healthy and fit.

1. TIME, TIME, TIME

As you can see with my own schedule, when it comes to going to the gym, there always seems to be a lot time required in the process besides the actual workout (not to mention the REVERSE on the way home). For most of us, the commute to and from the local gym can often take longer than the actual workout! This is especially true if you are in the habit of working out just before (or even after) work. That morning rush hour really sucks.

I know for me, that this fact alone keeps me from even attempting to establish a fitness routine. Time, especially in our world today, is such a precious commodity. The last thing most of us can afford is to dedicate several hours of our day to workout for, at most, an hour (cough, cough…okay, half an hour).

Working out at home is the best solution to this issue. There is no extra time involved (you’re going home anyway), and you’ll have no time spent waiting for a piece of equipment or rushing to make it to a group exercise class on time. When home is your gym, everything you need is already right there waiting for you any time you are ready!

     2. SAVING, SAVING, SAVING

 While having access to the large array of equipment included in most commercial gyms is great, it is certainly not a necessity required to get an effective workout in. Even without buying a single piece of equipment, you can easily get the job done. I know, because secretly I have been doing a LOT of this for a LONG time….right at home

Your body alone is capable of doing a ton of things. One of these things is serving as your own personal set of weights. You are probably already aware of the usual bodyweight exercises such as push-ups, squats, and burpees. These simple movements alone can whip you into shape in no time. However, there are many more creative exercises you can literally perform in your living room and around your ow neighborhood using alone your body.

Even if you decide some equipment is required, the price you will pay for a few items such as resistance bands, a jump rope or even a couple of kettlebells will still cost you less than a one-month membership at most gyms, and save you so that you can play more golf.

Whether you decide to build a fitness routine around bodyweight exercises alone or pick up a few extra pieces of equipment, working out at home certainly saves money in the long run!

     3. NO JUDGING EVER

 Two common factors that keep a lot of people out of the gym are the annoying gym rats that hog the equipment while they incessantly check social media and the feeling that other people in the building are judging them. You know who I’m talking about, the mirror mavens, the loud grunters, and the ones who simply stand next to the equipment and flex

By making your home the gym, it solves both of these annoyances right off the bat. At home, you are able to enjoy a focused workout in which challenging your body and improving your physical fitness are your #1 priority and not worrying about that guy in the corner who’s a PITA.

I remember it well. I’d go to work and tense up almost immediately. The worst part was that I’d bring all of that stress home with me and take it out on the family. I know that it wasn’t right, but at the time I had no idea how to deal with it. Work can be such a common cause of stress in your life, and it is important that you keep this type of stress low and try not to bring it home with you as I did. It was a difficult, but important lesson for me to learn, not only for my own health but for that of Zippy and Ben as well. The following guidelines are going to be a great start to no longer having work stress that you carry around with you every day.

1. Learn the signs of work stress 

It may seem simple, but I can tell you from first-hand experience, that I didn’t always see it, and the first thing you should do is figure out if and when you are experiencing works stress. Since there are so many different types of stress, it is important to first narrow down what you are experiencing, then try to find the root cause so you can figure out how to best deal with it.

Here are the most common signs of having work stress that needs to be addressed:

• You feel anxious or depressed after the weekend is over
• At work, you find it hard to focus
• You can’t sleep well on nights before you head into work
• You are in a foul mood when returning home from work
• Work is causing you to experience social withdrawal
• You have frequent headaches or muscle tension
• After starting a new job, you have lost your normal sex drive
• You have very little interest in the work you are doing

Figuring out what it is about work that’s “getting to you”

Once you actually figure out that you have stress at work, you should stop and look at the issues that might be causing that stress. It could be anything from the kind of work you do, to being passed over for a better job, loss of passion, or even problems with the people you work with. Start keeping a journal so you can better identify what about your job or work environment is causing you to experience stress. You may find that on days when you have meetings with certain people in management, that you have higher stress, or that you have an increased fear of being laid off. Your journal might also look at your stress simply being from the type of work you do.

Don’t Bring Work Home With You

I have found that one of the most important things to do if you have stress from your job is to not bring your work home with you (unless you actually work at home of course). This makes it harder for you because you feel like you never have a break from the stress. It isn’t always possible to get rid of what is causing your work stress, but if you are letting that bleed over into your personal life, it can have an even worse impact on your life.

A Few Helpful Relaxation Techniques

In order to relieve the work stress, you need to find healthy ways to relax, and for me it was a matter of researching some great relaxation techniques. Remember that we all respond differently, so this will depend on your lifestyle. You can start taking walks or starting a new fitness regimen to release endorphins, you can keep a journal, or you can try things like going for acupuncture or massage and try to do some meditation at home at night (or before work in the morning).

Now that I’m home all day instead of out on the road or in an office, I definitely find it easier as I can take a nap or watch a favorite TV show. That being said, I’m always up for learning new relaxation techniques and ideas.

What do YOU do to relax and de-stress?

Feel free to leave me ideas in the comments!