"Now is the perfect time to start something new." Home workout tips from Shaun Stafford

Lockdown has changed all of our daily routines – but perhaps the single biggest shift has been the way we exercise. 

Banished from the gyms, and with outdoor activity limited, staying fit and healthy now involves working out from home. 

Of course, for many people this will be easier said than done. It can be tough to find the motivation to commit to regular solo exercises in your living room. 

However, you're not going through this alone. We spoke to fitness expert Shaun Stafford for his tips on staying healthy during lockdown.  

(Feel inspired? Check out our guide to the best home workout equipment on the market.)

Routine is crucial

Just because the place where you are has changed doesn't mean your routine has to. If you're used to training in the morning first thing, there's no reason why you can't keep up that level of routine, in terms of dedicating that time to yourself to workout, as you would if you could still go to the gym.

If you're used to training at, say, 7am, still set your alarm, still get up, still find a programme to do at home or in the garden, and get on and do it. A lot of people come unstuck when they treat this as a long weekend holiday. 

Everyone's got to maintain a level of productivity, and that's the same when you're working from home, as well as when you're working out from home. Put that dedicated exercise time in your schedule every day, and then commit to doing it.

Don't fight the new reality – embrace it

We're naive to think that the landscape and our day-to-day life hasn't changed significantly. A lot of being positive and maintaining that positive mindset will be based around embracing a change and making a change.

Whatever goals you were working towards pre-lockdown, they're likely to have to shuffle slightly. You haven't got the same access to gym equipment, you haven't got the same access to trainers – all that sort of stuff. 

Now would be the perfect time to find a home workout plan and start something new, so you can create this new energy and new enthusiasm toward your training from home. Make it specific for being at home.

It's about finding something that will motivate you and work you towards a goal – you've just got to be realistic about what that goal looks like in the new environment.

Set yourself goals

Everybody should be training for a reason. It's good to crystallise that reason and make sure it's affirmed in your own mind. 

Whether it's you want to lose a certain amount of weight, whether you want to do a certain number of push ups, whether you want to run a 3k in a certain time on the treadmill... There are a lot of quantifiable things that you can do. 

Making a commitment to a specific target or goal, and working towards it, is amazing for motivation. 

There are countless online classes – use them! 

There are lots of things going on online. Joe Wicks and his YouTube PE lessons is a perfect example. Regardless of what you're looking to achieve for a home workout, chances are there will be somebody putting that content out online to follow along with. 

Personally, I put out one or two workouts a day; my gym [City Athletic] is running Instagram Live classes twice a day. Most of the major gyms chains are doing live classes with their instructors.

If you're used to doing classes, and you're used to having somebody tell you what to do when you train, you can jump on Instagram Live or YouTube and see the exact same classes, the exact same people, telling you what to do – only this time it's been adapted for your home. 

Working out with kids

There are two ways of doing this. One is to get the kids involved. For example, you could put the kids on a bike with you, take them for a run, maybe even kick a football in a quiet corner provided the park's not too busy. Get out and get active with the whole family. 

The other way is through teamwork. My wife and I do shifts: when she needs to go for a run, I'll take the boy, and when I need to exercise, she'll look after him for an hour. Tap in, tap out – it's a tag team.

No equipment? Not a problem

There's a plethora of body exercises. Getting your body to move is probably the best thing you could be doing right now, whether it's push ups, squats, burpees, crunches, yoga.

There are a billion different body weight exercises you could do, but it's all about getting to that stage where you're following some progression over time. You can do a phenomenal workout using zero equipment.

Your smartphone is your friend

Everyone's got a smartphone, right? The first thing you can do is be proactive and find a resource which is going to help you for ideas and training routines.

Whether it's following people on Instagram or downloading apps – there's so much content available, it's just a case of engaging with that content and discovering what's going to be motivating for you. And it's all available on your smartphone.

For more workout tips, see shaunstaffordfitness.com