Working out at home

Whydahdad71
Whydahdad71 Posts: 318 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
What are the top pros and cons of working out from home?..go?.
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Replies

  • vanityy99
    vanityy99 Posts: 2,583 Member
    edited November 2019
    The only difference for me is at the gym, I tend to go harder because I don’t want to look like a slacker. I want to look like a professional with my forms. Go hard on the elliptical.

    At home I’m sloppy. It takes me longer to burn the calories I need to burn on my elliptical because I tend to stop if I’m watching something on my iPad, stall to see what’s going on my phone. I just waste more time working out at home vs going to the gym.

    I think I’d get better results going to the gym.

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,204 Member
    Honestly, I think it's mostly about personal preferences, in a variety of ways.

    For me:

    Home pros: No travel time, don't need to dress respectably, superflexible as to time.
    Home cons: May need equipment, easy to procrastinate.

    I usually only go the the gym for group classes (because "appointment workouts" help me avoid procrastination and the impulse to sleep in too much), or for equipment/facilities I don't have (like a swimming pool), or to learn something new/technical for which there are classes or a trainer (like kettlebell or TRX or martial arts, say).

    For me, the biggest determiner of venue is that my favorite and preferred exercise is rowing on-water. There is no river and no rowing shells in my house, or at my gym. I do have a rowing machine for Winter use, but it just isn't nearly as much fun.

    Related observation: Gym and home are not the only possibilities. Lots of kinds of healthy movement happen in lots of different places. Think about the potential of dancing, hiking, bicycling, skateboarding, skiing (several types), snowshoeing . . . etc.
  • ElizabethKalmbach
    ElizabethKalmbach Posts: 1,415 Member
    My home is surrounded by a variety of parks where people like to walk on the trails with and without dogs, play frisbee, hoop, skate, fish, kayak (not right now), and play organized sports. I have indoor cardio equipment at home, and a TON of weights, but my preference is to cardio either at home or outside, and lift weights at the University gym where I can easily find spotters and obscure specialty equipment as needed in the kinesiology department.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    Pros: I can workout anytime (very helpful with small children to watch) I can split up my sets through the day if needed, I can get a workout done super fast (no travel time, etc), can do laundry and other chores in between sets, I can wear anything I want, personalized equipment, I can play music and watch music videos with no headphones (which bother me so much when working out), I can dance, sing and take all the selfies I want, I don't have to wait for equipment, I can grunt and make loud noises, I can do odd exercises without feeling embarrassed

    Cons: Sometimes my kids or dog get in the way or interrupt, I don't have all the equipment I desire, lack of space, taking photos and dancing can get distracting and delay workout, buying equipment can get expensive
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Personal preference and also depends on goals and what you mean by a "workout"

    For resistance training I prefer the gym...I don't have room for equipment in my house, and even if I did, the gym has so much more than I could ever bring in. Also, there are too many distractions at home...kids, things needing done around the house, etc.

    For cardio, I primarily road cycle and mountain bike. I like to be outside and abhor stationary cardio equipment.
  • Whydahdad71
    Whydahdad71 Posts: 318 Member
    I have two separate gym memberships. I have frozen both due to covid-19. I have a decent amount of resistance bands and some cardio machines at home. The bands literally build muscle on me the same as the iron weights do and the cardio machines are more than enough. One thing I really love about working out at home is that I can do it outside in the nice weather.
  • age_is_just_a_number
    age_is_just_a_number Posts: 631 Member
    Pros: on my own schedule. I’ve invested in some equipment, so I have options. I use beachbodyondemand, so can change things up whenever I’d like. Not self-conscience. No awkward change rooms.

    Cons: no one to spot you and confirm you have good form. Less space but you don’t have to share the space.
  • Whydahdad71
    Whydahdad71 Posts: 318 Member
    tgillies003 wrote: »
    Pros: on my own schedule. I’ve invested in some equipment, so I have options. I use beachbodyondemand, so can change things up whenever I’d like. Not self-conscience. No awkward change rooms.

    Cons: no one to spot you and confirm you have good form. Less space but you don’t have to share the space.

    what about the gym makes you feel self-conscious?
  • Pittgirl3
    Pittgirl3 Posts: 69 Member
    Pro: I can do it whenever I want and I don’t have to worry about traffic.

    Con: I'm a competitive person, so I don’t really have additional motivation.
    I don’t have a lot of space or equipment besides my treadmill.
    When I do create space in the middle of the floor, my cat desires the exact space that I occupy. *eye roll*

    This Covid is driving me crazy!
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  • Jacq_qui
    Jacq_qui Posts: 443 Member
    I can't afford all the different weights I want and I don't have the space, even if I had the money.

    That said, I have more time to workout at home than I have to get to the gym.
  • Whydahdad71
    Whydahdad71 Posts: 318 Member
    Do any of you here feel nervous about going to the gym due to Covid - 19?
  • fstrickl
    fstrickl Posts: 883 Member
    Whydahdad71 wrote: »
    Do any of you here feel nervous about going to the gym due to Covid - 19?

    Definitely! I held my gym membership freeze for another 90 days (have about 60 days left)
  • Gisel2015
    Gisel2015 Posts: 4,186 Member
    Whydahdad71 wrote: »
    Do any of you here feel nervous about going to the gym due to Covid - 19?

    Yes indeed, specially due to my age. The fitness center in my community open up last month but my husband and I didn't go. We were very apprehensive and neither of us like to workout with masks but, we feel worry without one. Now the fitness center is closed so I have to do workouts at home. I don't like it a bit!
  • Whydahdad71
    Whydahdad71 Posts: 318 Member
    I have frozen both my gym accounts for now. Carona isn't something that I take lightly that's for sure. I can get my work in at home. The idea of training in the summer with a mask on the whole time, well that doesn't excite me either.
  • Theoldguy1
    Theoldguy1 Posts: 2,496 Member
    Whydahdad71 wrote: »
    Do any of you here feel nervous about going to the gym due to Covid - 19?

    No infections are low in our area and the gym does a great job of cleaning. Plus everyone walking in the door is given their own bottle of cleaner and a cloth. People are following the rules established.
  • whmscll
    whmscll Posts: 2,254 Member
    Whydahdad71 wrote: »
    Do any of you here feel nervous about going to the gym due to Covid - 19?

    My gym membership is on hold thru mid Sept. I’ve gotten so used to exercising at home that I will probably cancel it after that, even if the virus outbreak improves. I like the money I’m saving!
  • sakurablossoms82
    sakurablossoms82 Posts: 62 Member
    edited July 2020
    Before Corona came around I was thinking of getting a membership at the gym. But now I decided to wait till Corona is over. The big pro's for me are that I can do a workout whenever I want and it does not matter if I'm still in my pyjama pants and only wearing a sports bra (in a gym I find that to revealing). Also I can do it at my own pace and decide for myself if something is to hard and such. The con is that nobody can tell me if my form is correct or give me advise and push me to try harder for better results. And at home you don't have all the tools for strength training so your options are limited.
  • Whydahdad71
    Whydahdad71 Posts: 318 Member
    Theoldguy1 wrote: »
    Whydahdad71 wrote: »
    Do any of you here feel nervous about going to the gym due to Covid - 19?

    No infections are low in our area and the gym does a great job of cleaning. Plus everyone walking in the door is given their own bottle of cleaner and a cloth. People are following the rules established.

    What state is your gym located in?
  • LynnJ9
    LynnJ9 Posts: 414 Member
    edited August 2020
    Scottsdale Arizona:
    I joined a gym last month at 11 am. At 3 pm the same day, our Governor shut all gyms down for 30 days and has since extended the closure. My gym owner refused to close, and sued to stay open. I went every day and was so impressed with the care they took to be safe. The followed all the steps they were asked to do.
    After 1 week a judge denied his request for a stay so they had to close.
    I am looking forward to them reopening. At 115 degrees it is too hot to take walks, runs or bike rides.
  • zebasschick
    zebasschick Posts: 1,067 Member
    i love working out at home - no need to get dressed, walk to the car, drive to the gym, and then afterwards drive home. the other night, i was able to ride our exercise bike at 3 am.

    the catch for us is space. we have one of these
    https://www.valorfitness.com/BD-62-Wall-Mount-Cable-Station_p_459.html
    attached to my room wall next to a plate tree and a number of attachments. right next to some dumbells, a bullworker and some more smallish gear including a good quality set of resistance bands with handles and a not-as-good set of resistance bands.

    and we have a recumbent exercise bike in the dining room and a total gym in the living room next to my little stepper. my husband is drooling over a folding rower, but i don't know if we can shoehorn it in.

    i don't care for the local gyms, traffic is quite heavy, so working out at home seems the best option.
  • Whydahdad71
    Whydahdad71 Posts: 318 Member
    LynnJ9 wrote: »
    Scottsdale Arizona:
    I joined a gym last month at 11 am. At 3 pm the same day, our Governor shut all gyms down for 30 days and has since extended the closure. My gym owner refused to close, and sued to stay open. I went every day and was so impressed with the care they took to be safe. The followed all the steps they were asked to do.
    After 1 week a judge denied his request for a stay so they had to close.
    I am looking forward to them reopening. At 115 degrees it is too hot to take walks, runs or bike rides.

    115!
  • gesundundmunter
    gesundundmunter Posts: 227 Member
    LynnJ9 wrote: »
    Scottsdale Arizona:
    I joined a gym last month at 11 am. At 3 pm the same day, our Governor shut all gyms down for 30 days and has since extended the closure. My gym owner refused to close, and sued to stay open. I went every day and was so impressed with the care they took to be safe. The followed all the steps they were asked to do.
    After 1 week a judge denied his request for a stay so they had to close.
    I am looking forward to them reopening. At 115 degrees it is too hot to take walks, runs or bike rides.

    I hear you, LynnJ9. I am in Tucson, AZ. AC running all day with hefty bill, under-desk biking and Zoom ballet classes. It takes effort to get my heavy dance mat ready but at 60, I am wary about going back to the studio anytime soon.
  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
    edited August 2020
    no commute, I already spend enough time in the car thank you very much (the closest gym for me is 15 minutes away)
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,839 Member
    Just FYI for those thinking of setting up a home gym: used weight machines, benches, etc. are CHEAP! Watch Craig's list, ebay, thrift stores, etc. I had a big home gym machine where I used to live and finally ended up giving it away to charity. You can probably get a $2000 machine for as little as $200.

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