Many people purchase home exercise equipment (cheap and expensive) and it winds up dusty and unused. Some people feel that this unused equipment becomes a monument to their failure! Wrong! Let’s explore some factors that can make using home exercise equipment more enjoyable. The list below can help you assess what things you could try that might improve your experience. Experiment with some of the suggestions below to find out if it changes your experience with your home equipment. If you have more than one type of home exercise machine, choose one to use with this check list.

Exercise equipment can be one tool you use when the weather is bad or just to add some variety to the other physical activities you use.

Try many of the suggestions below to make your experience more enjoyable, at least, more palatable:

The equipment is in a room you enjoy being in

The equipment is by a window where you can watch people or animals passing by outside

You don’t have to move the equipment at all, or very little to have it in the place where you get on it

You listen to music that makes you want to dance while exercising on your equipment
(And preferably change it with a remote when an “uninspiring” song comes on.

You multi-task at the same time (Some would argue this subtracts from the experience.)
-watch TV (news, your favorite program…)
-read a book or magazine you enjoy (might need to get larger printed texts for this.)
-talk on the phone
-visit with someone

You feel confident and relaxed while using the equipment (This is very important. Often, dislike of home equipment is really due to a sense that we are not doing it right. We can find people to teach us.)

You do intervals (e.g., 1 minute of higher intensity and 3 minutes of less intense, repeat, this makes the time go very quickly.

Don’t feel that you have to exercise intensely for it to “count”. Do the pace that is most appealing to you. Toss out the gold standards! You won’t do things for long that don’t’ fit into your needs and personality.

You vary exercising on the home equipment with other physical activities on a weekly basis (Although some people enjoy working out only on home equipment.)

You give yourself permission to get on your machine for only 5,10,or 15 minutes when you really don’t feel like exercising (This will truly help you remain consistent.)

Your purpose for using the equipment is to claim an Opportunity to Move or give yourself a “gift”