How to have the best connected home workout

A home workout is a great substitute for going to the gym, but it can feel a bit isolating if you’re just following along with a recorded video or you’re riding a stationary bike. Thankfully, working out at home doesn’t have to mean working out alone. With the latest fitness tech, even if you always exercise at home, you can connect to a larger fitness community for friendship and motivation from a huge group of people.

How to have the best connected home workout

From premium apps to a VR workout that makes you feel like you’re in a room of people, there are quite a few different options for a connected home workout.

Fitness apps for tablets and phones

Apps for fitness watches, phones, and tablets have always connected us to different fitness communities, but now they are even better. You can compare routes, offer motivation, make friends, and challenge each other so you can meet and exceed your fitness goals.

Apps like Fitbit Premium set you up with a personal fitness plan and even give you access to one on one coaching right in the app. Even if you don’t sign up for Fitbit Premium, having a Fitbit fitness tracker connects you to the online Fitbit community. You can make friends that help motivate you to work out and use Fitbit’s built-in fitness tools to track your progress.

There are also other apps that you can utilize with connected fitness exercise equipment. With a stationary bike or treadmill, you can access apps like Zwift, Peloton, and other virtual runs and rides.

Put YouTube on the big screen

YouTube has so many amazing workout videos, virtual runs, and virtual rides. You can go anywhere in the world virtually, and that feet-on-the-road feeling is amplified the bigger your screen is. Try working out with YouTube videos on your big screen TV and you’ll see the difference immediately. You’ll feel less like you’re at home and more like you’re traveling the world.

Samsung Health on your Samsung TV

If you wear a Samsung smartwatch you’ve probably already connected to the Samsung community. Now Samsung has taken that connection one step further and set up an entire health program on new Samsung TVs. Samsung Health gives you access to all types of workouts including yoga, HIIT, and more.

You can set up challenges with friends and family right on your TV, and Samsung Health connects to your Samsung smartwatch so you can track all of your activities.

Work out in VR

Having a VR headset lets you virtually travel, play games, and connect with other people online, but did you know you can use your VR headset to work out too? Dave just wrote an article about workouts with Oculus Quest 2, and he explored a few different fitness apps you can use to get your heart pumping without leaving home. I own the Oculus Quest 2 myself, and I can confirm that Beat Saber is a great way to get in a quick home workout. The new VR app Supernatural is also one to try.

While it’s not VR, a Nintendo Switch can also give you a decent workout. If you worked out with the original Wii Fit and balance board, you know Nintendo has always been ahead of the curve for home fitness. The Switch takes Wii Fit one step further with Nintendo Ring Fit Adventure. Take a look at Dave’s article on Ring Fit and you’ll see how you can get in an intense workout using your gaming console.

A few extras for the best-connected home workout

To set yourself up for a successful home workout, you’ll need a few pieces of workout equipment. Weights can up the intensity of any workout, especially HIIT workouts you’re doing in front of your TV. Resistance bands add intensity too, and they’re inexpensive and easy to store. You’ll also want a yoga mat for floor workouts.

A Wi-Fi or Bluetooth bathroom scale is one of the best ways to stay on course if you’re working out at home. They can track your daily weight, heart rate, body mass, and more, sending it all to your fitness wearable or compatible app. Having all of this data together gives you a better way to track your progress.

Once you try the latest fitness tech, you’ll realize you don’t miss the gym at all. You can get the same friendship and motivation with a connected home workout, and the online fitness community is growing bigger and bigger every day.

Take a look at all of the fitness gear available on Best Buy right now, and use fitness tech to kick off a new workout plan or get back on track with your home workouts.