Great Home Workouts For People Who Hate Exercise

I've always been a fully fledged member of the lazy gals club. My base instinct is to sloth. Give me a phone, a TV or a book and I'll beat records for time spent sitting.

You can therefore imagine my sheer incredulity upon discovering that lockdown has made me somewhat of a fitness fan. I know right?! 

Hear me out.


I've always made an effort to stay active even though it's never something I feel particularly motivated to do. I found exercise I enjoyed like Zumba and swimming and pursued those maybe once a week. When I started my office job, I made the effort to go walks at lunchtime and go to the gym to combat the - frankly horrifying - effects of a sedentary lifestyle.

It's in the last few weeks I've really come into my own though, and I feel like there's a growing tide of people who are having the same epiphany. In the words of a famous Jenner:

I feel like this year is really about, like, the year of just realizing stuff. And everyone around me, we're all just, like, realizing things. 

I've realised that exercise isn't about changing how you look physically or working towards specific 'body goals'. For me, exercise has become an essential mental well-being practice. 

Getting up in the morning is difficult for the most motivated of us, but especially these days, when time is more flexible and bed is so cosy, bed glue has been hitting hard. When I do coax myself up, I'm feeling tired, lethargic and have no energy. I have my weetabix and do a half an hour workout and I am literally transformed. I'm ready for the day. I'm alive. I'm energetic. I'm proud of myself. That's impressive. 

I've always been a night owl. It's an ongoing joke with my colleague that I'm a bit satanic between 8am and 9am when I'm yet to fully wake up. I think exercise is the solution I've been looking for to being my best self throughout the day.

I've also realised I don't need an expensive gym membership to break a sweat and reap the benefits. If anything, I've noticed more benefits from my home exercise over the last few weeks than I ever have in the gym. 

My days in lockdown now start with Joe Wicks P.E followed by a brisk walk around my area. Exercising first makes me feel like my day has already been productive.

The best home workouts I've discovered so far are:

P.E with Joe

Joe Wicks aka The Body Coach does live stream P.E. lessons every day at 9am on his Youtube channel. They are primarily aimed at kids but by Joe (!) they're a challenge for adults too. There's something about his kids TV presenter-like persona which is really motivating too. 

The general format is 30 seconds of exercise followed by 30 seconds of rest repeated 10 times twice with a 2 minute break between each set. The first week my legs were dead. Honestly I could barely get up the stairs and yelped when I sat down. But it was so fun and energising that I didn't want to give up. He changes it up everyday so you never get bored and as the weeks go by we're challenging ourselves more and more. I haven't thought about this until I just wrote 'us' and 'we're' but by doing P.E with Joe every morning with hundreds of thousands of people around the world, you feel part of a community. 

Yoga with Adriene

I've been subscribed to Adriene's Youtube channel since I started doing yoga a few years ago, but I haven't fully appreciated it until now. Yoga With Adriene has over 500 yoga classes of different lengths for everything you can possibly think of from Yoga for Runners to Yoga for Anxiety and Bedtime Yoga. However you feel, whatever you do, she's got a video which will suit you perfectly. Adriene's calming aura projects out of the video instantly and everything is simple and accessible. She talks you through each pose and gives various options. Her videos regularly feature her chilled dog Bengi who is so cute and adds an element of silliness. 

Yoga with Adriene is perfect for when you're feeling a bit stiff after your other home workouts and want to stretch it out. I often do a 20 minute class to calm, focus and centre me before meditating.

The Studio by Jamie Kinkeade

This Youtube channel mainly does short dancealongs to single songs but there are a couple of longer videos of 15-20 minutes which constitute full workouts. I do 'The Most Fun 15 Minute Cardio Workout Ever' and it's awesome. It's really intense but the great music gets me through. It's easy to be motivated to do it too because it's literally only 15 minutes. Honestly though, I workout more in that 15 minutes than I would in an hour at the gym. 

If you're looking for a totally cheesy 80s style dance aerobic workout, this is the one for you. What could be more motivating than an American yelling 'Come on girl, you can do it!!' through the TV screen as you dance to Old Town Road?!

Benefits of exercising at home I've already noticed are:

• It is really quick
• My skin is better
• I feel energised, productive and proud of myself
• I have fun during it
• I feel calmer
• My ability improves each day
• While I'm not focusing on the physical benefits, they're a welcome side effect. I noticed muscle definition for the first time ever and actually started laughing. I spent my teens trying all sorts of 30 day challenges (albeit never fully committing) and now I'm noticing my body getting fitter and healthier without striving for it.

The other benefits, physical and mental, which are going on internally / outwith my consciousness are probably endless. We all know the scientifically proven reasons you should exercise regularly, or can discover them with a quick Google. I'm amazed though about the extent to which I'm seeing and feeling tangible benefits immediately.

What's your relationship like with exercise? Let me know your favourite home workouts in the comments.

The lovely image in this post is by Hatice EROL from Pixabay. Thanks!