How to get the BEST Virtual Gym Experience
With gyms still closed in many places around Canada and the US, many of us are craving that experience we got from going to the gym. Not being able to go to your gym can have negative effects on your experience and motivation - especially when you become so accustomed to your routine. How can we create a virtual gym experience that can help us feel like we are back at the gym from home?!
Virtual Community
A ton of us enjoy going to the gym because of the sense of community it gives us! Going with friends, getting to know other gym goers, class trainers and other staff. How can we recreate this feeling of community?! With leansquad’s 30 day summer challenge, we created a virtual community! Through our slack group, you can post about your journey, 
how your workout for the day was, or you can simply post a red face selfie to show all the other Squadies your gym face! If you are not big on posting, you can simply follow along, read other peoples posts and get to know the other Squadies on the lean journey with you! You also have access to the lean team and Phil, where you can ask us any questions you like! Having a great and positive community to be a part of is an awesome way to make the virtual gym experience feel more REAL. Having a sense of connection with the lean team and the rest of the community can be a great help in keeping you accountable and motivated as well - which leads to our next point!
Motivation
Motivation is probably one of the most important things to have when it comes to your fitness journey. Without it, it can be easy to skip your workouts, not push yourself as hard as you can go, or can even bring your fitness journey to a halt all together. For some of us, it can be hard to find motivation when we are home, without access to our gym or lean buddies. That’s where the 30 day challenge comes in! First of all, the slack group mentioned above is a great way to stay motivated and accountable. If you are feeling unmotivated, just click into the slack group and check out some of the posts from your fellow Squadies. You can also post accountability photos to help keep you on track and to remind yourself why you began this journey in the first place! Another great source of motivation is the workout videos themselves. Since they are sent to you on a daily basis and you are doing the same workout along with hundreds of other squadies, it can really help get you pumped and keep you going strong. Phil’s high energy throughout the workout can help you keep going strong all session long as well!
Equipment
Many of us think that we need equipment to get a good workout in - the good news is this is not the case! Some of the most effective workouts do not involve equipment. We have had so many squadies come through the last few challenges who have made leanmazing progress with little to no equipment! With the 30 day challenge, all our workouts are equipment free! All you need is a little bit of space and some motivation! Each day, you also get a lean dumbbell finisher option, so if you do have the equipment and want to kick it up a notch, you can! Even if you don’t have dumbbells, you can use household objects in place of dumbbells, such as waterbottles, canned food, hairspray can - you name it, if it is round and has a little bit of weight to it, you can use it as a dumbbell!
Why a Virtual Gym Experience?
A virtual gym experience will never be the same as just going to the gym - and that is totally okay! Trying something different and changing things up can be great for you, your body, and your training. Giving yourself new challenges keeps the body guessing so you can continue to move forward on your lean journey! Who knows, you might even like it MORE then the gym!