Home Workouts Done Right: Why I Train at Home (and How You Can Too)

I don’t have a problem with the gym.

For certain goals — strength sports, bodybuilding, or just being around that atmosphere — the gym can be a great place.

But for me, with a tight schedule and goals rooted in adventure fitness, I naturally gravitate toward two environments:

• Outside — in parks with calisthenics gyms: the horizontal bars, parallel bars, and pull-up frames you see in many parks around Toronto. That’s where I love to move — climbing, pushing, pulling, jumping, and training under the open sky.

• At home — bright, airy, and barefoot.

Those two spaces — nature and home — give me freedom, focus, and flow.

You Can Start With Very Little

You don’t need a full setup to train effectively.

If you’re a beginner, here’s all you really need to get started:

• One dumbbell — something you can press overhead with control.

• One kettlebell — 8 kg is usually a good start for women, 12 kg for men.

  You’ll add a second and third over time as you progress.

• A mat — and just enough space to move around it freely.

That’s it. From there, you’ve unlocked an entire vocabulary of calisthenics, kettlebell, and functional-fitness movements.

If you want to expand later, consider adding something to hang from — a pull-up bar across a doorway, a hangboard, or a TRX-style suspension trainer secured to a wall.

I’ll make another post soon about building your own simple, scalable home setup.

Set the Scene for Success

Once you have your gear, the next step is to create your zone.

Take one or two minutes to shift things around — move a chair, roll up a carpet, slide the coffee table aside. Give yourself space to move safely and confidently. Most people don’t realize how transformative that small act can be. You’re literally giving yourself permission to make room for your health.

Then bring the energy to life:

• Brighten the room and let fresh air in.

• Clear visual clutter so your brain can focus.

• Put on music that makes you want to move.

• Slip into clothes that make you feel like an athlete.

  (And if you’ve got long hair — tie it up, you’re in action mode.)

One of the biggest advantages of home training? Barefoot movement.

Feeling your feet connect with the ground trains the stabilizers of your feet, ankles, and glutes — building real, functional strength from the ground up.

And of course, there’s the simple joy of breathing fresh air instead of recycled air and fluorescent lighting.

Nothing wrong with gyms — they just don’t give me that same sense of clarity and energy.

My Own Rhythm

In the summer, I do everything I can outdoors — especially in those calisthenics parks I mentioned earlier.

That’s where I climb, swing, balance, and push my limits.

Whatever doesn’t fit there, I do at home.

As winter comes, my balance shifts — more sessions at home, fewer outside.

But the energy stays the same: bright, organized, and built around natural movement.

The Secret Ingredient: Structure

Here’s what makes home training work: structure.

When you have a clear plan, a timer, and a workload to complete, the session takes on momentum.

That timer becomes your scaffolding — the invisible frame that holds your focus.

It keeps you honest, productive, and fully engaged.

Psychologically, it transforms “working out at home” into a mission — a series of clear intervals to complete.

That’s how you get the same intensity and results as a gym session (if not better).

The Role of a Coach

The next layer is strategy — knowing what to do and when.

That’s where having a trainer comes in.

Even as a fitness professional myself, I rely on structure, planning, and accountability to stay consistent and improve.

Being your own coach is hard.

That’s why I design and guide at-home training programs — customized workouts, progress tracking, and clear routines that fit your life.

And beyond the written program, many of my clients train with me live online.

It’s a one-on-one session over Zoom or FaceTime — just you and me — where I can watch your form, guide every rep, and adjust in real time.

It feels surprisingly personal and effective, and we set up your camera so you can see me clearly too.

No commute, no waiting for equipment — just focused, guided training from home.

It’s how I train myself, and it’s how many of my clients are getting incredible results.

If that sounds like your kind of setup, let’s talk.

You’d be amazed how far a simple, well-designed home routine can take you.