Gym vs. Working out at home

cstevenson86

I have a monthly unlimited Membership at a dance studio by my house for $65 a month. This gives me unlimited access to Zumba, Zumba Step and Yoga classes.

The gym scene is not my thing. I occasionally do boot camp classes for free that are held Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings, outside, in a parking lot by my house at 5:30am. A gentleman runs it for free!

Try looking in your area for free groups that workout together. Good luck on your journey!

mustgetmuscles1

I am building a home gym but I really enjoy the gym atmosphere and the workouts seem more focused there.

Also I love the mirrors.

jdhcm2006

I workout at home. I'm not a big joiner. I prefer to workout alone. At heart I'm an introvert, who fakes being an extrovert for work. I do workout dvds, jog/run, and do bodyweight training. One day, I do think I want to start lifting heavy, but right now I cannot afford a PT who could teach me the proper technique so I don't hurt myself.

bwogilvie

When I was in grad school and lived in a small 2nd-floor apartment with creaky floors, I worked out by running outdoors or walking 12 minutes to the gym and working out there.

Now that the closest gym to me is a 15-minute drive or 30-minute bike ride, and I have a house with a basement, I do strength training, stationary rowing, and winter cycling (on rollers) at home. I cycle outdoors as much as possible (I have studded snow tires for this winter!) and run year-round outdoors. When I get home from work at 5:30 or 6 pm, the last thing I want to do is add another 30-60 minutes round trip transit just to work out. Home is a lot easier. I don't have a problem motivating myself, so it's a matter of time and expense for me. I've been in my current house for 9 years, and the cost of some dumbbells, a bench, a Concept 2 erg, and rollers with a resistance unit has been a lot less than 9 years of gym membership, even though the rollers and erg are both high-end machines.

That said, I am thinking of getting back into swimming, and for that, I'd need to join a gym.

Tl;dr: it depends on your circumstances as well as your personality type.

20yearsyounger

I do both because the gym allows my kids to also do fitness programs or just play without me worrying about them.For variety I also go to the gym, but most half hr workouts are done at home.

ajravanos

I do both. I go to the gym for 45 mins to an hour to use the elliptical & bikes, but I do all of my weight/strength training at home (via youtube).

I used to only go to the gym & use the weight machines there, but they just don't work for me + I don't like those machines very much. However, I didn't want to give up my membership entirely, because I actually do enjoy being at the gym (it keeps me motivated to continue on & do my workouts at home)...especially when they offer a good class.

Pamela_June

I use to be a fitness instructor...felt great... looked 'fine'....and alas...wrong decisions & I am no longer teaching/instructing ......(looking back they were just plain STUPID decisions)... so if you can afford a gym and have time, energy & dedication to go... the gym is wonderful.. and can be fun....

Now I try to do things at home... so far not succeeding real well...

chereedoggett

I work out at home with fitness dvds. I had a gym membership but was redoing my budget so I bought workout dvds. The only thing about working out at home, is you have to focus more and work harder and switch it up alot because I will get bored easily at. I am going to use part of my garage as a fitness area with tv, free weights etc. to make it fun at home.