Ensure your home exercise space is clear, this means you need to forward plan what sort of exercises you will be doing, and ensure you have a space big enough that is clear of any slip, trip and fall hazards such as toys, pets, rugs, children, furniture etc.
Ensure your home exercise environment is right for you, this means the temperature should be not too cold, but also you ideally don’t want the heating to be on whilst you are exercising as you may feel too warm.
The recommended temperature for exercising indoors is 20-22.2 degrees Centigrade or 68-72 degrees Fahrenheit.
Also check that the lighting is not too dark or too bright, and there isn’t any kind of glare in your eyes from the television, or from the sun outside.
Wear loose comfortable clothing, don’t wear anything too restrictive as that is likely to make the exercises uncomfortable to do and might mean that you can’t complete the exercise to the full range of movement required.
You can lose around one and a half litres of fluid for every hour of exercise, so drink water before, during and after a session.
Have at least one recovery day each week to rest, mild soreness over one to two days is normal but acute bone or joint pain that does not subside with time means you are doing something wrong.
Also make sure you have had any medication that you might normally take.
Warm up before, and cool down afterwards, a warm up takes place before the main exercise session starts and should be for a minimum of five minutes and should include light intensity cardio exercise such as marching on the spot to gradually increase your heart rate as well as some mobility exercises to get you ready for your workout ahead.
Be careful what you watch online, whilst there is a lot of great video content available online, unfortunately there is also some content which shows incorrect technique and instructions which may lead to you having a poor workout, and worse, injuring yourself.
Make sure your equipment is safe to use, if you are using any equipment such as resistance bands, dumbbells or an exercise ball make sure you have ordered it from an approved fitness equipment provider, and it appears to be in good working condition.
Always read any instructions before you begin.
Check your technique and follow the teaching points, if you aren’t sure about whether you are using the right technique try and do the exercise in front of a mirror, or ask someone to watch you whilst you do it.