Fitness workouts do not need to equate with the idea of torture. Your workout can be fun and there’s ways to turn those endless intervals of pain and punishment into sessions that make you feel invigorated and ready for your day. To achieve your fitness goals you will need to be consistent in your routine. Amid seemingly less-than-ideal circumstances as we’ve seen this past year, it is helpful to learn some tools that assist you in becoming more mindful and positive. These tools will help you to stay present and focused on your goals.

Adopting a positive mindset will empower every step you take towards greater fitness and serves as stable fuel that helps you sustain the structure of your routine. If you seek to utilize mindful strategies within your exercise regimen, here are a few ways to maximize your at-home workouts.

1. Set Your Focus With Intention

Before you begin to exercise, think about your intention first. What long-term goal are you working toward? What do you hope to achieve with this session? By considering your intentions, you’ll center yourself so that you can physically accomplish what you desire to get out of the workout. As we tune into the present and choose what it is we want, it’s far easier to accomplish any task with this practice.

2. Block Out Time

While establishing your new routine, you will probably need to block out time in your schedule. This requires you to commit to your intention and stick with it as if it was as important as any business or client meeting. It’s helpful to establish one time a day that works for your workout so that it becomes part of your routine. A friend of mine never worked out in the mornings but really wanted to get her workout in early as she found she would be too tired at the end of her day and end up skipping it. Now, she has her morning coffee and gets right to it. After about three months of accomplishing her morning workouts, she feels like something is missing without it.

3.Locate Your Spot

Many people are working from home with their kids who are also distant learning. If this describes your current home life, it may be helpful for you to find a spot in your home that works best for your workout. It may be the living room or the garage–but wherever it is, have your space set up with everything you need ahead of time: work out mat, weights (if you need them) towel and water bottle. Having a designated space and time helps you stick with it. It is consistency over time that yields results. With everyone home and accustomed to being in their routine and in their own space, you will have a better time attaining your fitness goals.

4. Challenge Yourself

As I said earlier, it’s really important to choose a workout that’s engaging and fun but also one that’s challenging. There’s so many online workouts available right now. Pick one and then after a time you can change it up. Do your research and choose wisely. I like to do a routine for three to six months and then change it up. It’s important not to get too comfortable and plateau. As you challenge yourself, you’ll see more change.

5. Feel Your Body

Being aware of how you are feeling throughout the whole work out is essential to maximizing each session. Notice, for example, when you need water and stay hydrated. Having awareness of your body sensations is part of being more mindful. Physical sensations act as indicators of your current condition and prime your body to gear up or simmer down. After a great workout, you may wish to reward yourself with a shower, bath or a hot tub. I purchased an infrared sauna to relax my muscles and enjoy other health benefits from the heat.

Fitness is really important and enjoying your fitness regime pays great dividends to your personal vitality in and out of a health pandemic. And, if you’d also like to learn more mindfulness tools to assist you, go here to our mindfulness course: You Can Be Mindful.