Gym membership or home gym?

dbkyser

I went with a home gym. I love my routine.
Get up and turn on the heat in the Garage, drink my coffee read emails then go lift.
When I am done drink another cup of coffee then shower and off to work.
I am done in the amount of time it would take me to get dressed and drive to the gym. I also do not have to wait on a machine.

JeepHair77

I feel like a home gym SHOULD be the better option, but it really depends on a lot of factors.

I have a big family and space for a home gym is limited, to say the least. I do have a heavy bag in my garage, and even that is sort of a problem - every time I want to use it, I have to move everyone's bikes and boxes of holiday decorations and whatnot out of the way, first. And it means that my car lives in the driveway, and I really would prefer my car in the garage. AND I can usually guarantee at least one interruption anytime I'm out there kicking butt. Still, maybe someday we'll be able to make a home gym area work better for us. I like the idea a lot, and not just from an economic perspective.

But my personal routine really lends itself better to a gym membership, anyway, at least at this time in my life. The best time for me to work out is on a mid-day "lunch break." I'm not a morning person and my evenings are always pretty hectic.

Lesley2603

For me it's a gym membership now, the gym I go to is in the same building as my office so really convenient plus any time try to work out at home we have a little dog who thinks that is the best time to show affection.

k8eekins

helocat wrote: »

Two months in now on diet and about 3 weeks of weekly exercise. I have been using a Paloton bike and doing their spin classes now and loving it. I feel like I am ready to start working in some strength training days and mix up my cardio. I have the space to set up a home gym and dont mind spending the $ to do it. However I have no training on how to properly lift and never have done a strength program before. I see plenty of "beginner" weight training plans on line but dont understand all the terminology for the exercises. Best to join a local gym and get a trainer and use their gear? I have two gyms within walking distance of my work.

I'd do both - (i) Join a gym => (ii) Possibly consult with the strength-training personal trainer at neighbourhood gym@what to set up for your all-in-one starter w. room for add-ons@gradient(s) of difficulty home gym.

genpopadopolous

I work out at home.

Just dumbells, a bench, and a treadmill which is reserved for the days I absolutely can't run outside.

My dog runs on it like 3 times a week, though!

I use FitnessBlender, and I know I'm not going to end up super stacked or anything- I have been very happy with my progress and the changes in my body.

I have way too many excuses to not go to the gym. There is never an excuse to not walk downstairs!

canadianlbs

helocat wrote: »

Two months in now on diet and about 3 weeks of weekly exercise. I have been using a Paloton bike and doing their spin classes now and loving it. I feel like I am ready to start working in some strength training days and mix up my cardio. I have the space to set up a home gym and dont mind spending the $ to do it. However I have no training on how to properly lift and never have done a strength program before. I see plenty of "beginner" weight training plans on line but dont understand all the terminology for the exercises. Best to join a local gym and get a trainer and use their gear? I have two gyms within walking distance of my work.

if you're not confident yet that you know what you're doing, home gym might not be the right thing for you right now. you also might find that you hate strength training or that it just isn't for you.

so i'd go with the gym to start with, at least as a way of clarifying what you might want to have in your home gym. it's both intimidating and inspiring to lift around more experienced people when you are new.

comptonelizabeth

genpopadopolous wrote: »

I work out at home.

Just dumbells, a bench, and a treadmill which is reserved for the days I absolutely can't run outside.

My dog runs on it like 3 times a week, though!

I use FitnessBlender, and I know I'm not going to end up super stacked or anything- I have been very happy with my progress and the changes in my body.

I have way too many excuses to not go to the gym. There is never an excuse to not walk downstairs!

Please post a pic of this!

ajaysharma316

Personally I would prefer a gym at my current stage of fitness. But when I started out initially I use to find excuse to skip gym, that time I found it easier to work out at home gym. But due to lack of proper knowledge and very few equipment available, I eventually joined a gym and now I just love working out at my gym.

SingingSingleTracker

helocat wrote: »

Two months in now on diet and about 3 weeks of weekly exercise. I have been using a Paloton bike and doing their spin classes now and loving it. I feel like I am ready to start working in some strength training days and mix up my cardio. I have the space to set up a home gym and dont mind spending the $ to do it. However I have no training on how to properly lift and never have done a strength program before. I see plenty of "beginner" weight training plans on line but dont understand all the terminology for the exercises. Best to join a local gym and get a trainer and use their gear? I have two gyms within walking distance of my work.

I have done both.

The fee for our local YMCA gym was a discounted $38 a month for me (due to my place of employment), plus an additional fee for family members. The stipulation to get the discount included everyone had to use the gym at least 8 times per month to maintain the discount. I couldn't see myself doing that during warmer weather months and all the cycling I do outside with only one day per week of maintenance weight lifting. So I put together our own home gym in 2003. We were fortunate enough to have a finished basement with plenty of space. The necessary gear that included a used treadmill for $100, weight bench/full set of plates/olympic bar, an additional bench, plus lots of handheld weights, mats, physio ball, a couple of Pilates DVD's, lifting gloves, foam roller all for less than $1.2K at the time. In addition, we got a recumbent and an upright exercise bike (both with computers) for a total of $2K at the time. Total investment was $3300. The one upright exercise bike was traded in for a newer model after 10 years, so another $900 with the trade in upped the total investment to $4.2K at this point.

Compare the $4.2K investment in our home gym that my wife and I both use, plus our two children when they lived here (and now when they come home to visit) to what I would have had to pay for a gym membership for myself alone over the past 14 years.

$38 a month x 12 months = $456 a year
$456 a year x 14 years = $6384 (plus gas expense and time to drive to and from the gym)

Even without the cost of additional family members to join the YMCA gym in our town, in hindsight now - it has made better fiscal sense for us to have the home gym since we had floor space in a portion of our basement to set it up. We love to work out at home. We don't need any motivation from others as working out always has been and always will be part of our lifestyle/discipline.







There are articles on why a gym membership is a bad investment (if you don't use it or have other options such as setting up a home gym).

http://www.cheatsheet.com/money-career/why-a-gym-membership-is-usually-a-bad-investment.html/?a=viewall