A hacking cough, sinus congestion, and muscle aches—those first symptoms of illness can trigger alarm bells in your head and send you running to the drugstore in search of a quick remedy.  Not only can a common cold or the flu leave you stuck in bed for days, but it can also drain your workout momentum, especially if you’ve been going strong in a workout program. Do you push through or give yourself the day off? Will exercising while sick make you feel better or worse?

Here, Dr. Robby Sikka, M.D., team physician for the New York Yankees, senior principal consultant for the Denver Broncos, and senior medical consultant at Tonal, explains how to know when to keep going with your workout, when to call it quits, and how exercise affects your immune system.

Should You Exercise While  Sick?

Most experts use the “neck rule:” When deciding if you exercise while sick, you’re safe to exercise with above-the-neck symptoms such as a stuffy nose, but it’s best to take a day off with below-the-neck symptoms such as a chest cold, cough, or nausea. 

Sikka, however, takes a more nuanced approach. For below-the-neck symptoms that are less severe, he says gentle exercise may actually be beneficial. 

“There are positive effects of exercise in terms of clearing your lungs and improving your blood flow so that you can increase your production of white blood cells,” he says. “A small rise in temperature can actually help reduce bacteria and improve your immunity.”

Sikka draws the line at systemic symptoms such as fever, chest pains, gastrointestinal symptoms, or significant muscle pains and body aches. In these cases, exercise is more likely to lead to worsening symptoms or injury. 

Instead of the neck rule, Sikka recommends asking yourself these two questions before exercising while sick: Do you feel good enough to work? Does exercise worsen your symptoms?

“If you don’t feel good enough to do your job, you’re probably not in a good enough situation to exercise,” he says. And if you feel like even moderate exercise will aggravate your symptoms, you’re better off taking a rest day. “Do a warmup, and if the warmup is okay, proceed, and be aware of whether your symptoms are worsening or it’s just fatigue,” says Sikka. 

Finally, Sikka says it’s essential to prioritize sleep, hydration, and nutrition when you’re sick. If your illness is preventing you from optimizing these factors that are essential for recovery, exercise won’t do you any good. 

“If you aren’t getting enough sleep or if you’re not hydrating, you probably shouldn’t exercise because you’re not going to get the benefits,” he says. “That’s where you should spend your time and energy: Trying to get the appropriate nutrition and trying to get a little bit of rest.”

How Does Exercise Affect Your Immune System?

Although you don’t want to push your body too hard exercising while sick, regular workouts the rest of the time will actually help keep you healthy. According to a large review of studies, moderate exercise on a near-daily basis reduces the incidence and severity of upper respiratory tract infections including influenza and pneumonia. 

“Physical activity reduces your risk of getting a cold,” says Sikka. “Exercise, through increasing your blood flow and increasing your body temperature actually helps to produce better immunity and slows down the release of stress hormones.” 

Even in the case of viruses like Covid-19, a review of studies has shown that regular exercise reduces the severity of symptoms and mortality rate. 

However, you might experience a temporary drop in immunity if you’re pushing beyond your limits or overtraining without proper recovery. For example, it’s been shown that marathon runners exhibit immune system dysfunction that creates an “open window” for infection for up to 72 hours after the race.

What Exercise Can You Do While Sick?

As a general guideline, Sikka recommends starting with a workout that’s 50 percent of your usual volume and 50 percent of your typical intensity. Exercise creates stress on the body which, when you’re healthy, triggers adaptation like muscle growth and fat loss. But when you’re sick, increased stress hormones can weaken your immunity and your body’s ability to fight off illness. 

Additionally, Sikka recommends not letting your heart rate go above 75 percent of your maximum. Citing the risk of rare, but serious, post-viral heart conditions such as myocarditis, he says it’s best to avoid making your heart work harder than it has to during an illness. 

The amount of exercise you can tolerate while sick also depends on your normal activity level. “If you’re doing something consistently, your body’s probably not going to take it as a stress. It’s just going to feel normal,” says Sikka. For people who exercise regularly, doing a similar workout at a reduced duration and intensity shouldn’t create too much physical stress.

On Tonal, recovery workouts at reduced weights make it easy to still get your workout in while reducing intensity. As a form of active recovery, these sessions will boost blood flow and speed up healing without pushing you too hard. Mobility, meditation, and gentle yoga classes are also safe options for moving your body while you’re recovering. 

No matter what exercise you do during your illness, Sikka emphasizes the importance of rest, whether that’s between sets or between workout days, to allow your body time to recover. Now is not the time to start working out four days per week if you typically only do three, and you’d likely be better off taking a step back for now. 

Bottom line: Listen to your body if you’re not feeling well and ease back into exercise gradually. Once you’re feeling better keep up your workout routine for stronger immunity. 

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Whatever your exercise goal may be, the question of what makes someone stick to a behavior has stumped researchers and practitioners alike for decades. But when life derails your workout routine or your motivation plummets, research shows that relying on habits you’ve developed over time can help you go on autopilot—getting the work done without too much brainpower.

That’s why we’re all eager to unlock the secret behind how to build bulletproof workout habits, especially considering that only 20 percent of Americans meet the physical activity guidelines set by the American College of Sports Medicine. If you are already using your Tonal at least two to three times per week and getting your cardio in (at least 150 minutes at moderate intensity), give yourself a pat on the back—you’re part of the minority. If not, give these five science-backed strategies for habit formation a try this year.

5 Ways to Master Your Habits

1. Create a Personal Workout Window

Maintaining a consistent workout window may be one of the best ways to stick to your workout routine. In a large study published in Obesity Society, researchers evaluated the consistency in time of day of moderate to vigorous physical activity in individuals who have successfully maintained weight loss on the National Weight Control Registry. Sixty-eight percent of the participants had a consistent workout window, and those individuals worked out more in general. 

Try It: Think about what time of day you prefer to work out and then lock that window in for some form of physical activity—even if it’s just a short walk—for just one week to get started. You don’t even need to stick to one specific time of the day like 7 a.m.; you can do this in chunks of time (think: morning, afternoon, evening) to give yourself flexibility in the window.

A simple way to jump-start progress is to practice turning on and off habit cues. Habit cues link a stimulus in the environment with an associated action. For example, when you see a red light while driving (stimulus), you automatically slow down your car to a stop (action) without much conscious thought.

2. Develop Workout Cues

In a study published in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine, participants who used habit cues for exercise increased their moderate to vigorous physical activity over those who did not. These participants were also almost two times more likely to meet the recommended physical activity guidelines: at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise and two to three strength training sessions per week. 

Try It: Mimic what participants did in the study by setting out your favorite gym clothes before leaving for work (stimulus) so that you get the workout in as soon as you get home (action). Once you finish the workout, put away the gym clothes to avoid associating the cue (or stimulus) with other activities. If you prefer to exercise in the morning, you can apply the same ritual to your before-bed routine and with other cues that are useful to you like setting up your Tonal workout space so it’s ready to go ahead of time. 

3. Create an Action Plan

Imagine every meeting at work without an agenda or a large home renovation coming up with no specific plan for execution. Those meetings or projects likely won’t be very successful. The same can be said about your workout. By setting an action plan, goals, and intentions, you can prepare for success. 

In a study published in the Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, researchers found action planning was particularly effective for participants with weak habits. So if you haven’t quite gotten into the swing of things in your habit formation, planning out your workouts ahead of time can close that gap. Once you get your habits firing on all cylinders, both intention planning and habit formation are strong predictors of following through with exercise behaviors, found a study published in the Journal of Behavioral Medicine.

Try It: Pre-plan your week of workouts in a journal or add them to your calendar. Instead of just jotting down a broad category like “workout,” “cardio,” or “strength,” write down exactly which Tonal or off-Tonal workout you plan to do, with details on the sets, reps, or miles, etc. as that specificity may actually improve behavior adherence. On Tonal, use the routine planning features to schedule your programs and workouts in advance. You’ll also get notifications on the Tonal mobile apps on days you have a workout planned.

4. Use the “If, Then” Method to Plan for Chaos

Life rarely goes to plan. Creating a Plan B when things go awry can be key to keeping you moving toward successful habit formation. That’s where formulating “If, Then” scenarios comes in handy. “If, Then” statements identify a trigger where you plan for a corresponding action, a common tool in behavior change interventions. Research shows when combined with action plans, this is an effective method in positive habit formation.

There are two ways to formulate your “If, Then” statements: The first is to commit to allowing certain triggers to automatically cue a desirable behavior—meaning less reliance on willpower alone. For example, “if it is 8 a.m., then I will work out” or “if I am getting out of bed or getting into bed, then I will stretch for 10 minutes.” 

The second way is to identify potential barriers or obstacles to exercise and strategize how you can confidently overcome them with reasonable solutions. For example, “if I miss a workout during the week, then I’ll add one over the weekend” or “if I sleep late, then I’ll do a 20-minute workout rather than a 30-minute one.” It not only gives you some flexibility in your plans, but it also boosts self-efficacy that you can accomplish your goals no matter what stands in your way.

Try It: Identify some reliable triggers such as a specific time of day or getting out of bed that you can ensure will happen on days you want to work out. Then identify what obstacles may pop up. Write down your if/then plans in a journal, on a sticky note, or in a digital note on your phone. Keep it in a place that’s within view: on your bathroom mirror, on your front door, on your phone’s home screen, or next to your bed to remind you of your goals when you’re tempted to waver.

5. Stack Your Habits

Habit-stacking has ripped through social media as a popular way to tackle adopting desirable behaviors. James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, introduced the idea of habit-stacking as a means of changing behavior by pairing current habits with new ones that would further enhance your well-being. Research in the neurobiology of habit formation suggests you can build new neural pathways in the brain around already programmed behaviors. This simple way of tacking on a positive habit with another one brings in that automatic nature of habit formation, allowing you to think less and still accomplish your goals. Some examples of habit-stacking include:

• After I turn my morning alarm off, I will drink a glass of water.
• After I make my bed, I will put my sneakers on for a run. 
• After putting away my Tonal bench, I will do five slow repetitions of a lower back stretch with hands on the bench.

Try It: Think of a habit you perform day in and day out without much thought. Then, brainstorm another desirable habit you are trying to acquire that you can link to the current habit either during or directly after. Visualize the relationship: After (current habit), I will (new habit)—then practice, practice, practice.

It’s essential to understand small ways that habits can become part of who you are and your daily rituals. You can apply these strategies not only to your exercise sessions but also to other health-related activities such as trying to sleep and wake at the same time or enjoying your meals around the same time. Often, habit formation is highly individualized, so tune into what works for you and how you feel when you complete the behavior and then use that intrinsic motivation to keep reinforcing the behavior.

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When a friend asks for a ride, you’re there. Your boss pings you with an assignment, and you smoke that deadline. But when we make a promise to ourselves—no takeout this week, punch in three workouts, start saving for retirement—suddenly plans tumble out the window. Why some people fall off their personal goals but nurture other responsibilities has stumped psychologists and fitness professionals for years.

This phenomenon of setting an intention to exercise and subsequently not following through with the behavior is called the intention–behavior gap. Research shows the intention-behavior gap, also called the intention-action gap, for physical activity can be as high as 46 percent, meaning only about half of people who set intentions to exercise actually follow through. The good news, there are some easy ways to learn how to set goals, bridge the intention-behavior gap, and build better goal-setting habits so that you accomplish what you planned for yourself. Let’s explore.

1. Set Relevant Goals

Sometimes, it starts with finding the right goal for you. What sparks one person’s intrinsic motivation might not work for another. Setting relevant goals to your lifestyle, values, and beliefs is a truly personal experience, and your experience in the exercise matters. 

An old-fashioned pros and cons list is useful for something called decisional balance. Let’s say you want to exercise after work three times a week. Make a list of pros and cons. What happens if you succeed? Maybe you have more energy, but you might have to skip after-work happy hour. 

The next step is to weigh the results. Here’s where you decide if it’s worth the sacrifice. If your goal of exercising after work overlaps with quality time with the family, maybe it’s not the best option. You can also consider if you will be happy with the result and if that result outweighs the possible sacrifices of performing the behavior. Sometimes it doesn’t, and you can adjust the goal slightly based on your values. 

“The feeling someone has toward exercise plays a factor in their motivation, which in turn plays a role in how hard they view the goal,” says behavioral scientist Connor Joyce. “So it may be useful to assess your views toward working out before setting goals. If you’re not looking forward to it or have factors that will get in the way of your workout, set goals that are more aligned with your everyday life.”

2. Celebrate Your Wins

A  meta-analysis showed that goal setting can be successful regardless of age, baseline weight, activity status, and gender. In another large meta-analysis, researchers found that multi-component goal-setting interventions, such as setting short- and long-term goals as a way to keep engaged, were effective in building motivation. 

Focus on the process, not the result. If you’ve struggled to reach an outcome goal where the focus is on a big result, (think: losing 30 pounds or running a marathon), process goals may be a good option. Process goals focus on engaging in the behaviors that are central to the task such as perfecting your technique on a squat. Research shows process goals are associated with less anxiety, improved confidence, concentration, satisfaction, and performance compared to outcome-focused goals. 

”No matter where we are in our fitness journey, we tend to focus a lot of energy on setting new goals and achieving new milestones,” says Liz Letchford, Ph.D., Tonal Coach and certified athletic trainer. “But it is equally as important to celebrate progress and recognize improvements in our body and mind.”

3. Create a Positive Environment

Research shows individuals who feel supported by their environment are more likely to maintain a healthy lifestyle than those who feel distracted by their surroundings. Creating an exercise space you want to be in could mean cleaning out some clutter, throwing some paint on the wall, or heading to your favorite park. Remove barriers by setting up workout cues like putting out your exercise clothes or laying out equipment in your environment before you plan to work out.  

Researchers found in one study that they could predict changes in exercise behavior over time through a combination of a supportive environment (like creating a pleasant space to work out with no distractions) and affective judgments (choosing activities you enjoy). “Find what makes you tick and exercise that brings you a rush of joy and excitement that leaves you motivated to come back for more,” says Gabby Sansosti, a Tonal coach and certified personal trainer.

4. Set Goals That Are Simple—but Not Easy

You can set yourself up for success by engaging in something you’re confident you’re already good at doing. One study found that goals of learning a new skill were more effective when you are about 85 percent successful and make mistakes about 15 percent of the time. You want your goals to be realistic and not too complex so that you get overwhelmed with decisional fatigue. 

“People are often demotivated by too extreme goals, but there should always be some room for growth,” says Joyce. “Ideally, you can find the middle ground. Try setting your goals to be realistic while being just outside what feels comfortably reachable.”  

That said, it shouldn’t be too easy that you’re always going to reach them. Embracing challenge builds self-efficacy, or confidence in your ability to accomplish things in your life. The more self-efficacy you cultivate, the more new things you’ll take on over time and give yourself space to grow.

5. Stay Flexible and Don’t Punish Yourself

So you miss a couple of workouts and you come to a subconscious fork in the road. You can discontinue your efforts or show yourself some grace and continue in your exercise program. Just like your mood can change throughout your week, your motivation can change based on what you experience. 

A small study showed behavioral intentions are likely to change over time and reflect the ebb and flow of motivation as people navigate changing constraints, goals, and interests in their daily lives. The results indicated your goals between weekdays and weekends can even affect your ability to follow through with behaviors. This may explain why a 6 a.m. workout doesn’t seem too palatable on a Sunday morning. The research says more flexible goal-setting, or open goals, where you see how much you can do, and maintaining a dynamic perspective on your goals may be more successful in the long run. 

Now the point here is not to cast aside social, familial, or professional commitments, but to consciously develop your personal intentions and cultivate an environment and action plans to get you to your goals. Try out different methods and notice when you feel most motivated. Then get out of your own way and put yourself first.

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Every time a new year rolls around, people tend to think big: “I want to lose 20 pounds.” “I want to run a marathon.” “I want to get super jacked.” It’s a great time to be ambitious, but if you set yearly goals that are too lofty, you might not be setting yourself up for success.

Big goals that require major lifestyle changes can be so hard for people to wrap their heads around that 63 percent drop off within the first three months with only 4 percent continuing after a year, according to a study published in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport. Learning how to set goals for your fitness the right way can put you on the right track.

Set Small Goals First

If you’ve got a long-term objective in mind, the best way to make it a reality is to set small goals that are bite-sized and actionable to help you build healthy habits you can rely on all year long. Why do small goals work? “Human bias,” says Nika Kabiri, a former competitive athlete and a decision-making expert who consults, coaches, and teaches decision science at the University of Washington. “The mind has a tendency to trick us into valuing rewards we can get right away much more than rewards we would get in the future—even if what we get now actually matters less compared to what we get later.”

That’s especially true when it comes to health. The idea of bench pressing your body weight can feel intimidating or overwhelming, just like going from the couch to running 26.2 miles. But saying you’re going to “lift heavy twice a week” or “run for 30 minutes every Saturday” sounds much more manageable, right?

Reward Yourself

To hack your brain further, set short-term goals ones you can achieve in a week or two that come with a reward, says Kabiri. “A desirable reward is a personal preference,” she explains, “but whatever it is, it has to be enough of a reward to where it offsets the ‘reward’ you get from not sticking to your fitness program.” Think: a new workout top, the new episode in your latest Netflix obsession, a long hot bath—anything that means enough to you to get you through that goal (i.e. lift heavy for the second time this week). When you set small goals, you keep those rewards in sight.

These tangible rewards are extrinsic motivators, in that they promise a ‘prize’ in exchange for completing an action. That’s different from an intrinsic motivator, a.k.a. what fitness instructors call “your why”—the internal satisfaction you get from an action. “Intrinsic motivations might encourage you to buy exercise equipment and start on a program, because without that meaningful ‘why’ that fashions your end game, what’s the point?” says Kabiri. “But along the way, as you try to stick to your program, extrinsic motivations can be useful hacks. The more you reward yourself for hitting your targets, the more you’ll get in the groove of hitting your targets”—and prime yourself to satisfy that “why.”

Need proof this works? Just look at fitness watches: Wearers are rewarded throughout the day when they hit their step quota for the hour; that celebratory buzz or animation is an instant reward, but the bigger payoff is better health due to a more active lifestyle. Motivational cues like this were the most helpful features in wearables, according to a 2020 study in Digital Health. It works because you’re rewarding the kind of everyday habits that allow you to eventually achieve your big goal.

The reason you keep these short: The effect of those small goals does wear off, according to 2017 research in the journal Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. Each time you reward yourself, you adjust your small goal, creating progressive building blocks that help define a path to success.

Stay Flexible

Sometimes, though, there might not be a clear path—and that’s okay. “Feel free pivoting when you need to,” says Kabiri. “Life throws curveballs, and humans are by nature dynamic. Our situations and preferences change. So why should our goals be so sticky and resistant to change? If you need to tweak your goals to fit changes in your life, then do it. Making the right fitness choices isn’t about ‘succeeding’ or ‘failing’ but about enhancing your life in a larger way. If your current goals don’t serve your bigger end game, or if you can’t hit your goals for understandable life reasons, then reset your fitness goals. As long as they ladder up to your life end game, you should be good.”

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Balancing a busy job and a regular workout routine is challenging. For commuters, it means speeding through a workout before getting to the office or fighting exhaustion and hitting the gym after a long workday. 

Working from home, though, offers more flexibility—and that option has become a lot more common since the pandemic. According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in January 2022, 59 percent of Americans who say they can do their job remotely reported that they work from home all or most of the time. 

When you work from home, it’s easy to exercise in your home gym—whether it’s in your garage, basement, or even, the same room as your home office. A home gym office combo is a great space-saving solution and, according to some Tonal members, can actually motivate you to exercise more. Here’s what you need to know about setting up a home gym office combo and whether it’s right for you.

Benefits of a Home Gym Office Combo

Counteract the Effects of Sitting

The transition to remote work during the pandemic sparked a surge in popularity of all types of at-home fitness solutions, from treadmill desks and balance balls to connected fitness equipment, all to counteract the effects of gym closures and quarantine, but also all that sitting. Sitting for hours hunched over a computer has been linked to muscle stiffness and lower back pain. Unfortunately, that’s how many of us spend our days, especially if we work from home. By combining your home office and gym, you can create a space that encourages activity, even in small bursts during the workday.

Maximize Your Space

If you live in a small space, your home office might be the only place you can fit your gym equipment. That was the case for Tiffany S., a sales manager from Tampa, Florida. “I live in a townhouse and didn’t have many options that allowed space [for a home gym],” she says. “After removing some furniture in my office, it became the perfect space.” 

For Marisa Garcia Saturni-Johnson, a contracts manager from Denver, having a room that does double duty helped free up other areas of her home. “We wanted to maximize the space in our home [so] it seemed smarter to lump together the workout room and office, especially if we have guests. We would not have to disturb them to work out or work as they have a separate bedroom space,” she says.

Create Built-In Motivation 

Marcy D. of Hawthorne, California calls her home gym office combo her “sanctuary” because the multipurpose room offers her a private space to focus on her career and her fitness. “My home gym/office is the best area since it is really my own space as opposed to other rooms that may be occupied by other family members and may discourage me from working out,” she says. 

Other Tonal members feel similarly that keeping gym equipment visible in their offices makes it more likely they’ll work out on any given day. “Being able to look at [Tonal] while working is inspiring,” says Aaron Coffman, an electrical engineer from El Cajon, California. Plus, with no need to leave home—or even the room—adding a workout during lunch or in-between meetings is a seamless experience. 

“Having Tonal set up in my home office actually makes me more productive,” says Molly Ritterbeck, Senior Director of Editorial at Tonal. Even though she usually exercises before work, Ritterbeck says, “If for some reason I can’t do an early session, Tonal serves as a visual reminder for me to fit it in during my lunch hour before the day gets too crazy. Plus, it’s so easy to sneak in a Quick Fit or short mobility session between meetings without even having to step away from my desk.” 

Tiffany S. agrees that seeing her Tonal during the workday motivates her to work out. “The convenience of having it so close by really leaves no room for excuses,” she says. “I normally schedule a lunch break and complete a 30-minute workout, shower, eat lunch, then continue my day. It doesn’t get more convenient than that.”

How to Set Up Your Home Gym Office Combo

As you plan your home gym office combo set-up, consider all the furniture and gym equipment you plan on adding and make sure you have the room to fit everything. You don’t want to be bumping into your desk chair as you do burpees.

Think about your electrical outlet situation, too. Will you have enough outlets to power your smart home gym equipment along with your computer and any other devices you may need, such as a monitor or printer? Wi-Fi connectivity is likely less of a problem in home offices than in other rooms if you already have a signal strong enough to stream video. If you share your home office with a family member, think about if it’ll be distracting if one of you is exercising while the other is trying to work. 

“Really think about your layout and giving yourself plenty of space to actually use [Tonal] and its many cool workouts,” says Saturni-Johnson. “But keep in mind that the office side should not be neglected and should fit your needs as well. You should feel comfortable when using [either one].”

For installing Tonal, you’ll ideally want to have 3.5 feet on either side of Tonal (measured from its center) and 7 feet out from the wall as open space. 

And you can’t forget to decorate. Tonal members have gotten creative with statement walls and neon lights when designing their workout areas, but you may want to go with a more muted scheme if your home gym doubles as your workspace. Think about whether you want your gym equipment to stand out, or blend into the space.

“The day before my Tonal was delivered, I chose to paint that wall a darker color and I am so happy I did,” says Tiffany S. “It helps the equipment almost fade into the background without being a main focal point.” 

If you spend most of your day in meetings with your camera on, consider the placement of your Tonal and if you want it to be seen by your coworkers. 

“My gym equipment is on either side of me, not in the background,” says Marcy D. “I work for the government so having gym equipment behind me is not professional.” 

Tiffany S. also prefers not to display her workout equipment during meetings. Even though the best spot for her Tonal was directly behind her desk, it’s not a problem because she uses virtual backgrounds during work calls. 

While Coffman sometimes uses a blurred background to remove distractions from his meetings, he says, “I have no issues showing off the gym,” especially since he’s proud of the results he’s gotten from working out on Tonal. When he does keep his home gym in the picture, he says co-workers are often curious about Tonal and want to know if it can truly replace a gym membership. His response: “Short answer: Yes.”

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Spending hours each week lifting weights but not gaining muscle can be frustrating—but don’t throw in the towel just yet. Chances are, you’re making one of several common mistakes that can hinder your results. Fortunately, most of these can be easily remedied. 

While some of these missteps may occur during your training, what you do when you’re not lifting is just as important. By dialing in your sleep and nutrition along with your workout routine, you’ll be able to accelerate your progress. 

Here are nine common mistakes that may be stalling your progress and, most importantly, how to fix them.

1. Your Training is Random

If you’re jumping from exercise to exercise or workout to workout without a plan, you shouldn’t expect to see consistent results. 

“Random exercises get you random results,” says Tonal coach and certified personal trainer Joe Rodonis. 

Gaining strength and muscle is the result of progressive overload, or gradually increasing stress on your body through resistance, volume, or time under tension. When you’re not planning your workouts in advance, you’re likely not balancing out the time you spend on each muscle group or adding stress in a way that’s productive and progressive. 

The Fix: The easiest way to ensure you’re achieving progressive overload—in a way that’s also safe and gradual so you won’t get injured or burn out too soon—is to follow a well-balanced program that fits your goals, works all your major muscle groups each week, and gets progressively challenging. 

Once you’ve picked your program, stick with it and be patient. “Stay consistent for at least two if not four weeks,” says Rodonis. That doesn’t mean your workouts will be boring though. Programs can be varied, without being random. From week to week, small variations in exercise selection or rep range will keep you engaged, while still focusing on the larger goal.

The scientifically-backed programs on Tonal check all the boxes, feature expert coaches guiding you every step of the way, and will safeguard you from lifting weights but not gaining muscle.

2. You’re Underfueling 

You might think that if you’re trying to get lean and see muscle definition, you need to cut calories. But eating too little isn’t the way to go, either. “You can’t drive intensity if you’ve got no gas in the tank,” says Rodonis. “How can you build muscle if you’re depleting it of energy sources?”

The Fix: Instead of restricting calories or following a strict diet, try to include a mix of food groups such as vegetables, complex carbohydrates (whole grains, beans, and legumes), and, most importantly, ample protein.

Protein is essential for muscle growth. Even though the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for protein is 0.8 to 1 gram per kilogram of body weight per day, you should up that number to see big gains. A meta-analysis of studies has shown that if you want to gain muscle mass and strength, you should be eating closer to 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day.

3. You’re Not Doing Enough Accessory Work

Big compound lifts such as squats, deadlifts, and bench presses get a lot of attention—and with good reason. These multi-joint exercises strengthen your body’s largest muscles, improve your functional movement patterns, and boost metabolism by increasing your lean muscle mass. But that doesn’t mean you can forget about strengthening smaller muscles. If you’re lifting weights but not gaining muscle, you might not be doing enough accessory work.

“When we’re talking about building muscles, specifically in hypertrophy, you really want to target more isolation exercises,” says Rodonis. If you need more evidence, Tonal members who performed more tricep-isolation work saw bigger improvements in their bench press strength. 

The Fix: Continue doing compound exercises but add in accessory moves to round out your training. Along with supercharging your gains in specific areas, accessory work also improves your performance in compound exercises by building supporting muscles. One way to do this is by incorporating isolation exercises to complement your primary lift in a workout. For example, if your main lift is a deadlift, Rodonis suggests adding barbell hip thrusts to isolate the glutes.

4. You’re Rushing Your Reps

When you’re looking to see big increases in muscle size, you can’t hurry through your workouts. “Hypertrophy is about mechanical tension,” says Rodonis. “I’m more concerned about time under tension, meaning I feel the weight the entire way down and the entire way up.” In one study, participants who performed leg extensions at a rate of six seconds up and six seconds down saw greater increases in muscle protein synthesis than those who did their reps at a faster tempo of one second up and one second down.

The Fix: Slow down! It can be easy to feel like you’re doing more work by pushing hard and fast, but by increasing your time under tension, you’ll see more hypertrophy gains. Tonal measures this metric so you can compare how much time you’re spending under tension in each workout. Plus, Eccentric Mode on Tonal adds resistance in the lowering phase of an exercise, increasing tension and slowing down your pace. Eccentric training has also been shown to increase muscle growth. Don’t rush your rest periods, either. In one study, participants who rested three minutes between sets saw a greater increase in muscular strength and size compared to those who rested for just one minute.

5. You’re Not Lifting Heavy Enough 

According to Rodonis, if you’re trying to build muscle, you should be lifting heavy enough that you feel like you could do no more than 2 additional reps (known as reps in reserve) when you finish your set. “It’s not hitting failure, but if you feel like you could rip out another 5, 8, or 10 reps, it’s way too light,” he says. “A lot of people underestimate what they can do and they lift a little bit too light.” 

The Fix: Figuring out how much weight to use in a specific exercise to get just close to failure can be confusing. One method is to figure out your 1-rep max for each exercise (the most you can lift for a single rep) and then work at 70 to 80 percent of that weight, the recommended range for hypertrophy training. A 1-rep-max test can be very intense and may require a spotter, so you can also follow Rodonis’s guidelines and estimate how many additional reps you could do at the end of your set. Be honest with yourself—if your reps feel easy and you think you could crank out a bunch more, you likely need to go heavier. 

Tonal takes the guesswork out of the equation by giving you personalized weight recommendations for each exercise and set. As you get stronger and your estimated 1-rep max increases, Tonal will keep bumping up your resistance to maintain the challenge.

6. You’re Not Getting Enough Sleep

When you break down your muscles during a tough workout, you need enough sleep to recover and work out at full intensity. “People who consistently get less than six hours of sleep have an elevated heart rate and are more prone to injury,” says Josh Clay, a certified strength and conditioning specialist and Fitness Programming Specialist at Tonal.

The Fix: While you should be aiming for seven to nine hours of sleep, it’s also important that you get enough deep sleep. That’s where the recovery magic really happens. “The only thing you can do is get more overall time in bed because deep sleep and REM sleep are a percentage of total sleep time,” says sleep specialist Dr. Meeta Singh, a physician and psychiatrist. “You can’t control your stages of sleep, but you can ensure you set aside enough time for sleep.” 

To get the most out of your time spent in bed, Singh suggests keeping your bedroom temperature around 65 degrees and making your room as dark as possible either with blackout shades or an eye mask. Additionally, Clay recommends turning off electronics a minimum of one hour before bed and also consuming your last meal at least two hours before bedtime. 

“If you’re eating super close to bedtime, your body is still trying to digest that food,” he says. “That’s going to inhibit your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep.” If you’re having trouble getting enough sleep at night, Singh says there’s nothing wrong with taking naps during the day. “Bank sleep when you can, get well rested when you can, and use naps to play catch up when you can’t, because we all have limitations,” she says.

7. Your Form is Off

Just going through the motions in your lifting and not focusing on your form can easily result in lifting weights but not building muscle. “I think of building muscle like a loaded stretch,” says Rodonis. “I want to feel the elongation of the muscle and then I want to pull through the entire range to complete [the lift].” According to one study, lifting with proper form through your full range of motion is more effective at building strength than working in a smaller range of motion. 

The Fix: Rodonis says taking the time to focus on mobility, before adding resistance, can help with form. If you have limited mobility, try adding an extended warmup to your workouts targeting the areas you plan on working (like the hips and hamstrings for deadlifts), or use your off days from lifting to focus on stretching. Improving your range of motion will help you get the most out of your lifts.

Just like an experienced personal trainer, Tonal offers real-time form corrections as you work out in two ways: First, Form Feedback from Tonal’s cables measures your pace, range of motion, balance, symmetry, and smoothness as you lift; second, with cutting-edge visual technology, Smart View allows you to actually see yourself lift and watch video playback of your workouts to improve your form.

8. You’re Overtraining

More isn’t always better when it comes to lifting. “If you do too much, you’re going to get diminishing returns,” says Rodonis. “Your body is under too much stress, so it can’t recover properly and you won’t see growth.” Think of your muscles like batteries—if you work legs on a Monday, your legs won’t be 100 percent full-charged by Tuesday, so you won’t be able to go as hard on another leg workout. 

The Fix: For hypertrophy, try to build up to at least 10 sets per muscle group per week. “You can spread that out,” says Rodonos. “If I’m hitting chest, I can do 6 sets of chest on Monday and another 6 sets on Thursday and I’ve hit my hypertrophy goal for chest.” He adds that it’s best to give each muscle group 48 hours of rest in between workout days. That doesn’t mean you can’t work out more often—just make sure you’re splitting up the days you’re working on specific body parts or on pushing and pulling muscles. In Rodonis’s program Divide and Conquer: Level Up, you’ll work out five days per week but the muscle group splits ensure you won’t be overloading one area.

9. You’re Drinking Too Much Alcohol

Not to be a buzzkill, but those beers you had with your friends over the weekend or the two glasses of wine you “need” to relax at the end of a long day aren’t doing your gains any good. “It’s empty calories, for one,” says Rodonis, “and two, it messes with your sleep and deteriorates your performance.” Along with adding calories without any nutritious value, alcohol inhibits muscle protein synthesis (even if you are strength training) and spikes the stress hormone cortisol. 

The Fix: Eliminating alcohol entirely is your best bet for optimizing your gains. If that’s not practical for you, though, cutting down your intake is a good place to start. Avoid drinking before bed as alcohol can affect your sleep, and don’t drink on an empty stomach. Eating before drinking will also slow the absorption of alcohol.

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A basement home gym feels just separate enough from the rest of the house that “commuting” there can help you get into a workout mindset—without actually leaving home. Being tucked away in a space that’s just for fitness was the allure for Tonal member Drew Peters of Marshall, Michigan.

“My wife likes the idea of ‘going to the gym,’” says Peters. “For me, it is a quiet, cool place to go at the end of the day.” 

For others, the basement is often simply the only available space in the house to set up a gym. 

Dan Reiss, a Tonal member from Cherry Hill, New Jersey, says a basement home gym was the best solution for creating a workout space with a growing family. He and his wife moved their Tonal to the basement when they found out they were expecting their second son. 

“At the time, our Tonal was in the room next to our bedroom which was going to become the nursery,” says Reiss. “I like to work out around 5:30 to 6 a.m., and trying to do burpees quietly while also keeping the music low so as to not wake up my wife or our son was starting to get a bit annoying.” 

Erika Brown of Appleton, Wisconsin, a fellow parent and Tonal member, appreciates that her basement home gym, similar to a garage gym, gives her a dedicated space to exercise without having to leave home. “I love that I can access my gym at any time to stay consistent with my goals,” she says. “But the best part is that if my kids are home from school for any reason, I can still get a workout in and I don’t have to worry about finding a babysitter.”

Can I Put a Home Gym in My Basement?

Although basement home gyms are an excellent option, it’s important to first make sure your basement meets some basic requirements. 

“It’s generally at least 5 degrees cooler in the basement,” says Peters. While, for him, this makes below ground “a great place to sweat,” for others, this might be a dealbreaker. If you live somewhere with very cold winters, that 5-degree drop could be enough to give you an excuse to stay upstairs where it’s warm and cozy instead of getting your workout in.

If that’s an issue, consider insulating your basement walls. That’s what Reiss did in his basement to ensure it’s always a comfortable temperature. 

As with any home gym location, you’ll want to check that your basement space has enough room to fit all your equipment and for you to move around. In basements, ceiling height tends to be the limiting factor as they’re generally lower than in regular rooms. 

If you’re looking to install a Tonal in your basement, you’ll need a ceiling height of 7 feet 10 inches to extend Tonal’s arms to their highest position. If your basement ceiling is a little lower, you’ll still be able to do all the moves in the movement library with a minimum height of 7 feet.   

The basement may not be the best location for a home gym if you live in an area that regularly experiences flooding. You don’t want to risk losing your expensive equipment to water damage or having to miss your workout anytime there’s a storm.

How Do I Turn My Basement into a Gym?

Once you’re confident your basement is the best location for your home gym, it’s essential to design the space so it’s somewhere you actually want to work out. 

“Make that room your own to keep you motivated,” says Brown. “For me, I decided to paint the room and add an accent wall to make it unique. I love nature so this is why I went for the sage green wall color and added plants as decor.” 

Peters and his wife, Diane, took a different approach with their corrugated steel paneling wall. “It is strictly decorative, but worked well for the industrial look we were going for,” he says. To ensure their Tonal could be installed on the same wall, they first installed a stud wall and then added a panel of oriented strand board wood on the spot their Tonal would be mounted. You can find more information on the types of wall material on which Tonal can be installed here. 

Don’t ignore your floors, either. If you have an unfinished basement with concrete floors, add some extra padding for moves where you’re down on the ground. Reiss chose these rubber mats which, he says, also “make a world of difference” in absorbing noise.

Other small details can also help transform your basement into a gym. Reiss bought a pack of small white gym towels “for that gym feel and convenience,” and lined his Tonal with LED light strips to amp up the energy of his workouts. Brown found these affordable full-length mirrors to help her space feel more like a real gym and let her keep an eye on her form. 

Since Reiss moved his Tonal to the basement primarily to not disturb his family, he also bought this portable Bluetooth speaker so he could pump up his workout jams. “[It] has nice bass and connects well with Tonal,” he says. “Being in the basement lets me crank the music early in the morning and not worry about waking anyone up.”

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Eating with loved ones is a major cornerstone of the Thanksgiving tradition. But party-hopping and plate-cleaning can result in a common phenomenon known as the “food coma”—that overwhelming sense of fatigue that hits once you’re past the point of fullness. 

Experts share what food coma is, why you experience it, and what you can do so you don’t snooze through the Thanksgiving holiday.

What Is Food Coma and What Causes It?

“A ‘food coma’ generally refers to the sleepiness that follows a larger-than-typical meal,” explains John Christie, RD, CSCS, Tonal’s Director of Applied Training Science. “Research suggests this is caused by a release of gut-brain hormones and neural signals that activate sleep centers in the brain.” 

The classic signs of a food coma can include sleepiness, lethargy, and poor concentration. These symptoms may be a buzzkill, but there are several reasons why you experience them.

“It can affect anyone, and shows up a bit differently across people, but some research suspects that post-meal sleepiness is an evolutionary imperative with sleep serving as an ideal environment for coding memories and learning,” Christie says. “It’s thought that this post-meal sleepiness is your body’s way of logging field notes on a successful hunt or forage.”

Tonal coach Tim Landicho, who is also a certified nutrition coach, says there are a few varying biological theories on why that sluggish feeling seems to set in after consuming large quantities of food. 

“Blood sugar rises, blood flows away from the brain and towards the digestive system, and, depending on the time of day, all of this can coincide with natural dips in energy thanks to our circadian rhythms,” he says. “And of course, our friend tryptophan, an amino acid (a building block of protein) which is plentiful in turkey, is thought to play a role in the drowsy feeling associated with food comas as well,” Landicho says.

Tips to Avoid Food Coma

So how do you keep your energy up to enjoy the festivities with your loved ones while still partaking in the traditional Thanksgiving comfort foods you love? Here’s what the experts have to say about sidestepping the infamous Thanksgiving food coma.

1. Try to eat on your regular schedule.

While holidays can often be chaotic, Christie says his number one tip for maintaining energy throughout the day is to stick as closely to a typical schedule for your meals as possible—and don’t skimp on portions just because you know you’ll be eating a bigger dinner. 

“Consistency in meal timing is a great way to avoid disrupting your normal energy levels,” he says. “Preserve your typical fueling rhythm before and after the main meal(s). This has two benefits: 1) You won’t enter a feast famished and end up eating more than your fill, and 2) you’ll have acknowledged finite bounds to the celebration, and one meal won’t become a multi-week mishap.” 

So if you’re a regular breakfast eater, don’t cut out your morning meal in an effort to “save up” for later—this may just backfire and leave you totally starving, grumpy, and primed for a food coma later in the day.

2. Start your day with a workout if you can.

“If you’re planning on exercising on Thanksgiving Day, I’d highly recommend starting your day with it,” Landicho says. “Once Thanksgiving Day is underway, it’s nearly impossible to make time for it. Starting the day with exercise has tons of benefits, including an elevated mood, boosting energy levels, and improved insulin sensitivity, which is just a fancy way of saying that your body is in a much more receptive state for all the food you’re about to eat.”

Dr. Jaime Schehr, ND, RD, a naturopathic physician and registered dietitian, agrees, adding that a Turkey Day workout needn’t be super intense for you to reap the rewards. “…Movement on Thanksgiving morning will have a significant impact on your metabolism throughout the rest of the day,” she says, which supports a higher metabolic rate and helps with digestion.

If your schedule is packed from morning to evening, take heart: workouts needn’t be long to be effective. In fact, there are tons of benefits to exercising for short periods of time—even taking 20 minutes out of your hectic day can be a major gamechanger. If you’re traveling and away from your Tonal, try these on-the-go bodyweight workouts or take a brisk walk. Bonus points if you can convince your loved ones to join you.

3. Pace yourself

“Hunger and fullness cues exist for a reason, and while it’s pretty much a cultural norm on Thanksgiving Day to eat until you can’t breathe, definitely check in with your fullness levels as you’re eating,” Landicho says. “Eating beyond 100 percent fullness in any one sitting is a surefire way to experience big dips in energy, so remind yourself to space things out (if needed), and remember that the food is not going anywhere if you want more later.”

But “pacing” doesn’t have to mean restricting yourself. Landicho explains that the intention is to tune into your body’s natural cues, act accordingly, and fully enjoy the act of celebrating. 

“Nothing has to be off-limits,” he says. “It simply requires you to slow down a bit and be present with the sensations in your body. And the best part about this is that it allows you to savor your food a lot more.”  

4. Load up on vegetables.

“Rather than restricting foods, try everything, but fill up on the foods that have the greatest thermogenic effect—that means more veggies,” Schehr says. A higher percentage of calories in vegetables go toward digestion, absorption, metabolism, and storage, and are burned off as heat when compared to other types of foods. “Try all the things, but only go back for seconds on the veggies,” she advises. 

That said, there’s no need to  obsess over macronutrients or calories—especially not on a holiday. Approach your meal with the intention to feel good throughout the day and try not to stress over the fact that your food intake will probably look different on Thanksgiving than it does on a non-holiday. 

“Remember, food is meant to be enjoyed with people you love,” Landicho says.  “The key takeaway is this: moderation is everything. Get your protein and veggies where you can (as there are likely going to be plenty of opportunities to do so), and enjoy everything else guilt-free.”

5. Stay hydrated.

“Dehydration has the greatest impact on how we feel and how we digest,” Schehr says. “If you skip the water, you are more likely to feel tired and [experience] sluggish digestion. Staying hydrated before and during holiday festivities is essential to feeling your best throughout the day and may even help manage your appetite.” 

While everyone’s hydration needs are different, the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine define an adequate daily fluid intake as about 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) of fluids a day for men and about 11.5 cups (2.7 liters) of fluids a day for women. And those numbers include fluids from water, other beverages, and food, which can account for about 20 percent of daily fluid intake. In addition to drinking more water, try these tips for making sure you stay hydrated. 

Bonding over food can be a big part of enjoying the holidays—so give yourself a break and find some self-compassion if you overdo it. 

“Your body is constantly talking with you, and breaks around holidays create great opportunities to listen intently,” Christie says. “While you’re relating with your loved ones, love yourself just as much and give yourself what your body needs; that includes foods that fuel, fluids, rest, recovery, and time to train. Being responsive to the signals your body is sending is often the best way to prevent any surprise visits from the post-meal sandman.” 

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From getting kids ready for school in the morning to late-night baby feedings, busy moms don’t have much time in the day to exercise. “Our children always come first,” says Michelle Grabau, Tonal’s Director of Curriculum and Programming, and mother of a 17-month-old daughter. 

At-home workouts for moms on Tonal make it easier for even the busiest parents to squeeze in a workout during naptime, after bedtime, or any time they have to spare. Below, Grabau and five Tonal members with children share how they balance their family and work obligations with exercise along with their favorite Tonal workouts and programs. 

1. Know Your Why 

Exercise offers physical and emotional benefits for everyone, but moms have unique reasons to get stronger. 

 “We want to make sure that we’re strong so we can get on the ground with our kids, pick them up, and jump over Legos,” says Grabau. Building strength and endurance ensures you’ll be able to keep up with your little ones as they grow.

Working out has been proven to reduce feelings of depression and anxiety, and stressed-out moms may especially need this relief when they’re trying to balance it all.

“With the mental load required as a mom, I found that working out gives me that little piece of the day when I can focus on myself, shut off my mind, and take a moment to center and balance my whole being so that I can be a better person for me and for my kids,” says Tonal member Darci Crain, a mother of two from Plano, Texas.

2. Set an Example 

Taking time for yourself to exercise isn’t selfish–it’s a chance to model healthy habits for your kids and create a family culture of body positivity. 

“Kids are little sponges, they’re observing everything,” says Grabau. “I want my children to have a healthy mindset around moving their bodies and seeing exercise as part of life. And the best way to do that is by modeling that behavior myself. As parents, we have this huge opportunity to instill a positive mindset around exercise and around our bodies.” 

For moms who didn’t grow up feeling good about their bodies, showing their kids that exercise can be fun and not punishment or a chore is an opportunity to break a negative cycle. “I grew up in the era of Victoria’s Secret, Photoshopping, Weight Watchers, and Slim Fast,” says Tonal member Katie Gozdawa, a mother of three from Bristow, Virginia. “I do not want to pass that toxic culture on to my kids.” Gozdawa’s kids often hang out with her as she works out so she’s able to lead by example, demonstrating that fitness can build your confidence—not tear it down. “I love that they think being strong is cool,” she adds.

3. Prioritize Yourself

Putting your own needs first can be tough for moms, but the Tonal moms we spoke with agreed that it’s necessary if you want to make exercise a habit. “When I work out, I choose me,” says Gozdawa. By doing so, she stays “healthy and sane” to take on all her tasks as a busy mom. 

“I had to take a hard look at the ever-growing task list in my life and finally move myself to the top of that list,” says Lisa Daitoku, a Tonal member and mother of two from Phoenix. She advises other mothers to let go of the “mom guilt” they might feel for making themselves a priority. “Week by week, you’ll feel yourself become happier and more capable.”

Even if you only have a few minutes to dedicate to yourself, you can still enjoy the benefits of getting in a workout. One study shows it only takes 13 minutes of resistance training three times a week to build strength, and Tonal offers hundreds of Quick Fit workouts that are 15 minutes or less.

4. Make a Plan

As Grabau explains, moms spend a lot of time planning, whether that’s mapping out their family’s meals or scheduling all their kids’ activities. While you’re doing your regular planning, she recommends also penciling in time for your weekly workouts. It’s a strategy that several moms say has helped them stick to their routines. 

“Pick a time that you’ll be able to hold yourself to 90 percent of the time,” says Heather Renae Pocorobba, a Tonal member and mother of two from Springfield, Virginia. “Utilize your support system to help you keep that time for yourself or have your kids play nearby.” 

Vanessa V., a Tonal member, registered nurse,  and mom of a 2-year-old son from Los Angeles shares similar advice for other moms:  “Work it into your schedule as part of your routine,” she says. “Whatever that routine looks like for you, solidifying and blocking out the workout time is the first step in developing that habit.”

It’s also important to be flexible with your plans and not be too hard on yourself when a sick kid or work emergency disrupts your routine. “Be ready to roll with the punches if it doesn’t go exactly as planned,” says Brooke Holliday, a mom of three and Tonal member from Buckley, Washington. “Give yourself grace. We are doing all the things and no one is perfect.” 

Along with being able to work out at home (which saves commuting time and childcare costs), Tonal’s unique offerings and programs help you make the most of your limited time. With Programs,  your workouts will be planned in advance so you won’t waste any time deciding what to do when you finally get your free moment.

Tonal also offers Programs+, a customizable program format in which you can select a different duration or difficulty level for each workout. “That’s so helpful for me since my availability of workout time varies so greatly,” says Gozdawa.

She wasn’t the only mom to rave about Programs+. “I love the Programs+ in general because I can customize every day for my time allowance and how intensely I want to push myself,” says Daitoku. Pocorobba agrees, adding “If life is chaotic—and honestly, when is it not?—the Programs+ are great. I loved being able to adjust the time and intensity to fit how much or little sleep I got the night before.”

5. Get Your Family Involved

If you can’t arrange childcare during your workout time, consider including your little ones. You’ll get a chance to show them exercise can be fun—and keep them occupied. 

“Make it fun to get them involved,” says Grabau. For babies and very young kids, she suggests setting up a play area in your exercise room—a safe distance away from where you’ll be working out—with special toys that your kids only get to play with while you exercise so it feels like a treat. 

Older kids can even get in on the action. “My youngest likes to ‘work out’ before I do with the Family Fitness [workouts on Tonal] so he is included in the fun, too,” says Daitoku. “It’s a great way to wear him out as well.” 

Gozdawa invites her whole family to her sweat sessions. “One of the things I love about Tonal is the Partner Workouts which allow my husband and I to work out together,” she says. “Sometimes my kids hang out with me while I’m on the Tonal. This often turns into them becoming added weight for bridges, push-ups, and wall sits. They love that they can sit on me while I’m working out.”

At-Home Workouts for Moms on Tonal 

Early Postnatal Core – Coach Amy Schemper

Early Postnatal Cardio – Coach Amy Schemper

If you’ve recently given birth, your body needs time to heal before jumping back into your old routine (or beginning an ambitious new one). Once you have clearance from your doctor, start with bodyweight exercises and build up gradually as you feel up to it. 

“You can do simple movements, reconnect to your core, do your breathing exercises, and some light mobility,” says Grabau. Tonal offers a series of postpartum workouts that can help you safely relearn movement patterns. The two sessions above include gentle, low-impact exercises ideal for healing and rebuilding. 

Quick Fit: Naptime Tune Up – Coach Amy Schemper

When you’re ready to add resistance, don’t stress about not lifting the same weights you could pre-baby. 

“I would recommend doing a recalibration [re-doing the Strength Assessment on Tonal] or at least bringing down your weights or using Recovery Weight for a significant period of time until you’re ready to return to your full strength,” says Grabau. She stresses that there’s no need to rush this process which may take six months or longer. 

This short workout adds two weighted moves—a deadlift and overhead press variation—that Grabau says are especially helpful for new moms. She explains that deadlifts are all about “safely bending over and picking up something heavy,” which moms do every day with their growing kids. “We’re constantly holding our kids which tends to front-load,” she adds, explaining that deadlifts strengthen the posterior chain to even out your body. She also likes the shoulder-strengthening overhead press as it works the muscles you’ll use for common movements like lifting your kid up into a car seat. 

The Show Up – Coach Allison Tibbs

Once you’re out of the postpartum period and back to your full strength, you can explore Tonal’s full range of programs. Godzawa recommends The Show Up, a four-week Programs+ program that includes full-body strength training and cardio conditioning. It’s a five-day-per-week program divided between two upper-body days, two lower-body days, and one high-intensity day, so you’re giving different muscle groups time to recover between workouts. 

The Power of You – Coach Gabby Sansosti 

Daitoku is a fan of this four-week, lean-muscle-building Programs+ program. With three workouts each week, the program includes plenty of core work, upper- and lower-body lifts, and plyometric moves to get your heart rate up. You’ll burn fat and improve your body composition as you get stronger. 

Beginning Strength Fundamentals – Coach Amy Schemper

For a beginner-friendly option, Grabau suggests this four-week program. She explains that it’s excellent for moms who are recommitting to themselves and are newer to fitness. You’ll get in a full-body workout while practicing foundational movement patterns—such as squats, rows, and lunges—that are staples in any resistance training routine.

20-in-20: Metabolic Burn – Coach Ash Wilking

Moms of Tonal also love the 20-in-20 series because the workouts are short (20 minutes or less) but still effective. “It’s easier to fit those into busy schedules,” says Pocorobba. Try this four-week HIIT-style program designed to build power and strength while torching calories. The workouts are led by Tonal coach and personal trainer Ash Wilking, who knows how empowering it can feel to gain strength as a woman. As she said in an interview with Tonal, “When we look in the mirror and feel strong, that allows us to see ourselves in a different way.” 

20-in-20: Shred and Sweat – Coach Tony Horton

Vanessa V. is a fan of programs in the 20-in-20 series with Coach Tony Horton such as Shred and Sweat. “They’re quick, full-body workouts that leave me energized for the day and not drained,” she says.  

Quick Fit: Upper Body Pump – Coach Tanysha Renee 

Lower-Body Quick Fit – Coach Kristina Centenari

Quick Fit: Core Balance – Coach Tim Landicho

If you’d rather not commit to a multi-week program, moms also love Tonal’s Quick Fit workouts. These usually focus on one or two muscle groups and can be done on their own or paired together on days when you have a little more time to yourself. These mini workout “snacks” easily fit into small windows of free time—like when your baby goes down for a nap or you have a few minutes before picking up the kids from school.  

“I’m a big fan of shorter duration, superset type workouts,” says Crain. “They target specific muscle groups and get your heart rate up. You are in and out of your workout before the kids notice you’re gone.” Add these three to your weekly routine for a mix of upper-body, lower-body, and core exercises. 

Powerhouse Pilates – Coach Frances Flores

For a bodyweight workout that you can do anywhere—useful for moms on the go—Vanessa V. loves the Pilates offerings on Tonal. “Pilates is great for me because it’s everything I’m working to improve,” she says. “It’s body awareness, alignment, flexibility, and mobility.” This low-impact session targets the core, back, and glutes.

For even more workout recommendations, advice for balancing fitness with all your other responsibilities, and a support community, join the Tonal Moms group on Facebook to connect with fellow moms. 

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You’re ready, you’re committed, you’re excited…and you have absolutely no idea what to do with your home gym setup. It’s a common conundrum for aspiring and established exercise buffs who want to get their fitness on without ever having to leave the house. 

There are some serious questions to consider when planning out how to set up your home gym: Which non-negotiable equipment should you stock up on? How much space do you really need? And how can you make your workout space so inviting, you’ll actually want to spend time in it? Here are some tried and true expert tips for nailing the best home gym setup possible.

Prioritize Multi-Use Equipment

According to personal trainer, Pilates instructor, and nutrition counselor Whitney Cole of Fitness + Fuel in Marina del Rey, California, it’s crucial to invest in home gym equipment that does double (or even triple or quadruple) duty. 

“Anything in the space should be able to serve more than one purpose,” says Cole, who along with her husband, Byron Paidouss, an exercise physiologist, personal trainer, and sports performance coach, offers clients training services as well as home gym design guidance. “We cannot justify delegating limited floor space to single function equipment like a machine for biceps or hamstring curls, [so go for] versatile strength training equipment that adjusts to fit a variety of body sizes and shapes.” 

Tonal’s all-in-one home gym is ideal for compact spaces, since it can replace over a dozen pieces of fitness equipment. Plus, it leaves valuable floor space open so you can use that area for movement rather than bulky machines.

Choose Quality Equipment 

Choosing top-of-the-line products may be more challenging due to the investment, but it will pay off more in the long run, according to certified trainer Sean Sackmann, assistant general manager of New York’s Remedy Place social wellness club, and a partner with SPX Fit, which offers health and wellness advisory services including home gym design consultation. 

“Buy quality pieces of equipment,” he says. “Too many people try to save money by buying equipment that’s more economically appealing, but they are manufactured poorly. Over time, this will cause you to spend more money or go back to the commercial gym you hate. Your health and longevity should be a major priority in your life. If you’re building a home gym, look at it as an extension of that. This isn’t an expense, it’s an investment into your health.” 

Plan Before You Pay

Think about what type of exercise you plan to do, and visualize how you’d go about a routine before buying and setting up equipment. The last thing you want is to have to rearrange large pieces of equipment, or let a machine turn into a place to hang laundry because it never gets used. 

“Lay it all out before purchasing,” Sackmann says. “At SPX, we help design the space through architectural plans to ensure each piece of equipment fits within the space. If you already have equipment, keep in mind the function of the equipment while laying it out. At the end of the day, this really depends on your workout style. If you like HIIT training or circuit training, you will arrange the room differently than someone who’s strength training.” 

You’ll also want to think critically about what you actually need. If you despise running but feel compelled to fit in a treadmill just because it’s a typical gym staple, you might want to consider more compact cardio options like a step or jump rope. Or, take your cardio outdoors and free up floor space for strength equipment.

Be Sure You Have Room to Move

“Obviously the more space, the easier it is to come up with a functional design,” Cole says. “You’re there to train, so you have to be able to move. If you cannot move in all directions forget about it.” Cole says her absolute bare minimum measurement recommendation for clients is their height plus two feet in all directions, which is closely aligned with the space requirements for Tonal.

The Best Home Gym Setup Includes Choosing the Right Room

Not everyone has the luxury of selecting from a number of rooms, but if you’re able to choose, Sackmann says the basement or garage is the absolute best place for a home gym. “Obviously temperature is going to be an issue in the garage sometimes, but tough it out, and you’ll be better for it,” he says. “If that’s an issue for you as it is for many people, the basement is a more controlled space temperature-wise, but you may run into problems with the ceiling height.”

Cole adds that basements and garages have their pros and cons (she doesn’t love the lack of natural light in most underground spaces, but ventilation can be a major sell for garage gyms). The most important thing, she says, is to pick a room you actually want to visit frequently. “Make it a room you like spending time in,” she says. “If you hate the room, chances are you won’t work out in it as much.”

Mood Lighting, But Make It Safe

While fun fluorescents may set a party vibe, Cole says visibility is the goal when you’re partaking in serious workouts. 

“To properly see both the equipment you’re working with and your own form, we recommend good lighting,” she says. “If you’re not able to get much natural sunlight, it definitely helps to add ceiling lighting to illuminate the whole room.”

While mood lighting, such as these lit-up Tonals, can help you get in the zone in your home gym setup, it’s also important that you’re able to properly see so you can avoid tripping over equipment and risking injury. Make sure you have options depending on how you’re planning to work out.

Welcoming Wall Colors

Painting your walls can be a great way to add some character to your gym. But think about what colors will help you actually focus on your work out.

“I would stay away from bright colors within the gym,” Sackmann says. “Sometimes it’s a little overwhelming if you walk into a space and the walls are super bright while you are trying to focus on your workout. If you absolutely need to put something bright in the room, make sure it’s just accents.”

Consider an accent wall or adding motivational quotes.  

Keep Accessories Organized

There’s nothing worse than tripping over a forgotten jump rope or stubbing your toe on a random dumbbell. Stocking up on accessories is important — but making sure they have their own dedicated homes within the workout room will ensure you stay as safe as possible and maintain a clear, clutter-free space. 

Sackmann recommends storage accessories made from millwork, a type of wood produced at a factory or mill. “This is a great option and keeps the aesthetic of the space in check,” he says. “You can build a closet space with shelving and drawers to store all of the accessory items. You can also add a counter top to place water bottles, towels, phones or any other items you may not want to keep on you or put on the floor. 

If you don’t have this luxury, you can head to a retailer like Rogue Fitness and get all your storage solutions there. Just be mindful of the dimensions of these solutions and the space you have left in the room.”

Don’t Overlook Safety When Placing Equipment 

Most home gym setup considerations are for aesthetics and preference, but some are for your own safety and well-being, so always read all the instructions for each piece of equipment carefully. 

“Treadmill placement is a very big deal to me,” Sackmann says. “A good practice is to face it toward the wall or window and never have [other equipment] too close to the back side of it.” 

Opt For Thick Flooring 

Even if you’re not doing jumping jacks on the top floor of an apartment building, you’ll still want to get some cushioning under your feet. “Don’t go cheap on flooring,” Cole says. “Get commercial grade rubber flooring, or you may regret it in the long run. Those ‘puzzle piece’ kids’ playroom type rubber floors are garbage.” 

Sackmann says ¼-inch thick rolled rubber flooring works for those with no plans to drop weight on the floor like when using Tonal, but he recommends ½-inch thick flooring for safety. 

Think Function First 

“Prioritize function over aesthetic, so that you can fully utilize your space and equipment,” Cole says. “We often end up having to redo gyms that people have unknowingly loaded with equipment they learn they despise using and that pisses them off every time they see it, making their gym less of an inspiring oasis and more of a negative money pit.”

In the end, how you design your space is totally up to you, but if you’re still not sure how to complete the home gym setup of your dreams, there’s no shame in asking for help from a pro. 

“If in doubt, hire a professional to help you make your dream home gym a reality,” Cole says. “They likely have access to manufacturers to obtain the best prices on your equipment. Most importantly, they can talk you through the pros and cons of particular pieces manufactured by various brands, such as lifetime value, durability, functionality/utility, repair record, footprint, etc, so you nail your gym on your first attempt, love spending time in it, and get the results you desire on a legitimate timeline.” 

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