Pinterest can be a useful tool to maximize your workout routine. Here are some steps to get started:
Pinterest has taken the world by storm… particularly the world of women searching for recipe ideas, DIY design projects, and crafting activities for kids. But it’s also completely possible to turn Pinterest into a tool for planning and executing your workouts. The trick is to use it the right way.
It’s easy to get pulled into the “fitspiration” or “fitspo” images that take over Pinterest when you search for workouts, but do your best to stay away.
While they can be motivating to some, they also perpetuate an unrealistic and unnecessary picture of fitness, and ultimately they don’t get you off the computer and off to the gym.
Instead, focus on pins that feature specific workout routines. For instance, BuzzFeed puts out infographics of one-song workouts, like this one, while PopSugar regularly releases graphics focusing on full-length workout routines. And there are lots of great bloggers and fitness experts who regularly design, develop and publish their own workouts as a free service to those who are interested.
The benefit of pinning full workouts is that they’re easy to pull up on your phone and to access quickly from anywhere. In fact, you can practically forget all the other workout apps you have on your phone and use Pinterest instead.
Maximize your workout with Pinterest using the following five steps:
Create a Workouts Pinterest Board
On your Pinterest profile, click the “Create a Board” option and title it “Workouts.” If you like to do different types of workouts on different days, for instance, high-intensity workouts, yoga workouts, or dance workouts, you might want to create multiple boards so you can easily organize your programs.
Search for Workouts on Pinterest
Search for workouts that have already been pinned to Pinterest. You can search by specifics, for instance, “butt workouts,” “fast workouts,” or “barre workouts,” or you can do a general “workouts” or “exercise” search.
Focus on choosing workouts with instructions you immediately understand so you don’t have to click through to the original source. Pin these workouts to your designated board, so they’re easily accessible when you want them.
Find Workouts on Other Sites and Pin Them to Your Board
You can also find and pin workouts from your favorite websites to your Pinterest boards. Again, it’s best to pin images of full workouts that show images of the workout or that suggest exercises you can identify easily by name. In other words, it’s usually easy to understand “squat,” “lunge,” and “pushup,” but it’s harder to follow a workout with exercises like “sexy spiders,” “supermans,” and “knife situps” if you’re unfamiliar with what the name is referring to.
Pull Up Your Favorite Pins When Exercising
When you’re ready to get to work, simply pull up the Pinterest app on your phone or tablet, and select the pin you want to follow. It should open to a size that fills your whole screen, making it easy to see the exercises, descriptions, sets, and reps.
If the pins you’ve selected are easy to understand, you shouldn’t need to click through to the original article to follow the routine. This is particularly helpful when you’re exercising somewhere with poor reception or no Wi-Fi support. You can pull up your preferred routine at home, then access it from your phone or tablet when you’re out and about.
Make Comments
You can also use the comments section below each pin to track your workouts and make notes. For instance, you can note the date you did the workout, then note details, such as “This workout was particularly hard” or “Best used as a cool down.”
It’s easy for Pinterest boards to get overloaded with pins, so taking advantage of the comments section is a great way to keep yourself organized.
By following these steps, you can use Pinterest to maximize your workout routine and reach a wider audience.
