DVD workout: clothing and stuff.

Now I said before that it doesn't matter what you look like, because you can do a Jillian DVD in complete privacy. But for me, it still does matter what I wear. It's part of the motivation side of things.

Don't add irritation to effort, is my rule for exercise and housework. If I'm going to be doing something hard, I don't want to be annoyed or handicapped by ANY difficulty whatever. It is POSSIBLE to do Jillian in your pyjamas and bare feet, but I can't tolerate my pants falling down or anything, so I have a pile of purposed clothes just for Jillian. They aren't pyjamas, or mooching around the house clothes. When I put them on, I mean business. I feel like business, too.

And I have quite a lot of clothes. I haven't spent a lot of money, but I have been deliberate about building my stock. Some is old tshirts and stuff. Some is proper exercise gear from a girly fitness shop—I've got a pair of fast-drying black trackpants that I used all winter, they've been brilliant. I happily take scissors to old clothes to cut the sleeves off skivvies or widen the necks on tshirts or cut the legs off old trackpants. I'm the only one who sees me in these chopped-up clothes, it's all about repurposing and dressing functionally. And if I have an ample supply of clothes, I don't have "need to wash clothes" as an excuse for not working out. I've never opened my bottom drawer and not found something to put on. I keep my sneakers right at my bedroom door, as well. I don't want to waste time hunting around, when my motivation is low or it's early in the morning before work.

The equipment: a yoga mat if you have hard unsuitable floors, and 2 hand weights. Hand weights are cheap, the 0.5kg are $6 per pair, the 1kg are like $10 per pair. Really, you could just use some water bottles or tinned food or something, but they are uncomfortable to hold, so eventually it's worth getting weights.

The setup: Again, I keep this stuff handy so that I can efficiently spring into action. My weights live right on the DVD player, the disc is usually in the machine and my yoga mat is rolled up and slid under the couch. Quick to get out and put away. I also have a cheap pedestal fan, which is indispensable at this time of year already. This is what my workout zone looks like:

It's all about making the start of workout as easy as possible, having everything available and handy.