This year I'm getting my own gym equipment.

mariaoutlook

My nearest gym charges approx £400 (+/- $600) per annual membership and it's miles away. I went to Decathlon and Sport Direct and bought an exercise bicycle, weights, dumbbells, etc. for £100 (+/- $150). Not exactly a gym, but more than enough for me. Not only I save money, but I can workout whenever I want.

chuck636

I take my workouts very serious...like a 2nd job, but I love going to the gym....the environment and atmosphere motivates me

yankeedownsouth

Yup, I have my gym in my garage. Cage with cables, multiple bars, dumbbells, benches, kettlebells, medicine balls, etc. It's so great not having to wait in line for gym equipment. The only downfall is that it's REALLY hot in the garage in July/August in Texas. I'm hoping to move the entire thing upstairs to the game room as soon as we can afford changing out the carpet for rubber flooring.

errollmaclean

Yup and yup! It's convenient and I've saved money in the long run.

jlw905

Anyone use a mini elliptical? Wondering is they are effective?

icrushit

Good idea. If I ever start lifting weights again and have the space, I would do just the same. As things stand, I'm enjoying being gym-free, but didn't do it to save money, just simply to detach my ability to exercise from the need to be in a specific place, or need (a lot of) specialist equipment.

I walk right now, and get my strength training fix from calisthenics/ bodyweight. Everything else I'm looking at is either something I can do outdoors anywhere, or indoors myself without too much hassle. I will have to compromise when it comes to swimming, as hitting up a local pool is far less aggro than swimming outdoors this weather, lol.

Re: weights, if it was me, it'd be a squat rack and a bench press, and would opt for a high quality durable one, ie weights club standard, no junk. The suggestion to buy used is also a good suggestion.

Re: motivation, I manage to motivate myself at home, but then I tend to be the sort of person who puts their head down to see out a workout once I start. Starting can be the sticky point though, and if you're worried about being properly motivated, perhaps you could look into seeing if there is not a friend you could rope in as a workout partner, as if you're going to make headway with compound lifts, a spotter is highly recommended if just for safety

Good luck with it all. I want my own little workout area one day (calisthenics/ semi-gymnastic area in my case)

By the way, quickly reading your profile, you would seem to be the ideal sort of person to get the value out of a home gym.

Suezyq47

I bought a nice elliptical last year (gym quality one) a set of dumbells, and Bosu Ball. It did cost me a couple thousand dollars, but I use them regularly at home. I have set up a nice workout room with a TV and surround sound. I either watch my favorite programs or music videos. I use my home gym at least 4 days per week and sometimes I go to the gym for a change of scenery. I love that I can save the time it takes to get to the gym and back home (about 30 minutes) and just workout at home, especially when it is cold and snowing!

cstinson496

I have total gym, a rower, a heavy punching bag (love it), a set of dumbbells, a core ball and a pull up bar. I can get a pretty great workout at home, and of course a tv or an ipad to do an online cardio workout if i wanted to change it up. I love my rower just because now a days i hate running.

DopeItUp

What, I haven't whored out my home gym pics in this thread yet?




It'll pay for itself in another...4 years or so.

Dope

AIR73

I did this a few years back. Due to previous injuries I am unable to Squat and since I train on my own, heavy weight exercises are not really possible. I went for professional gym quality machines. It took me a while to find and it was a big expense, even second hand, at several hundred pounds average per machine, it takes two rooms of my house. I have the following pieces of equipment:

Bench Press
Peck Deck
Shoulder Press
Lateral Raises
Lat Pull-down/ Triceps press down
Seated Rowing
Seated Biceps
Leg Extension/Leg Curl
Rebook Power Blocks
Stair climber

No more driving to it traffic, strangers fluids, etc!

sphinxdust

Love the immense response! I am glad to meet all you hardcore home gym enthusiasts! I'm doing this because I will clear out part of a garage that has a high ceiling, and really for one person and only my routine that has worked for years, I don't need much space. I also stopped doing barbell squats, opting for dumbbell squats instead for at least the last three years, so dumbbells will cover a squat rack.
And yeah, I do understand the change of scenery and the sometimes welcome social interaction, but still, because people. And always open.

ljones27uk

Yep.. Got a cheap treadmill 4 months ago and it's been a huge part of my weight loss. This weekend we upgraded the treadmill and bought a quality eliptical plus cage, bench and weights. Cannot wait to get home gym set up, for all the reasons above. Would definitely agree you get what you pay for. The compact elipiticals are barely fit for purpose IMHO , so you do need to spend a bit if serious about using it regularly, the cheap ones wobble and creak.

dnamouse

Love working out at home! I'm still building on my equipment, but I started with the basics - rack, weights, bench. My husband cleared the garage and I get half of it for my gym. I'm slowly adding more over time.

We get pretty much everything second hand from people upgrading. The squat rack was from a couple who were buying a new cage. Their purpose-built gym was amazing, and now I have big ideas lol

I really enjoy being able to just walk downstairs, enter the garage and get a workout done. The ease of it is why I keep up with my 3-4x lifting a week.

We also have a pool, so that's helps with extra cardio etc in the warmer weather (which is pretty much 8-9 months of the year here

rainbow198

I just finished my evening workout...I enjoy working out at home very much!

It's very convenient, clean and I can workout anytime I want. I have a variety of equipment and items, plus I use fitness dvd's and Youtube as well so I have different workouts everyday and I'm never bored. I don't have to worry about weather, time or other people.

I get a workout in first thing in the morning and usually a lighter one at night.