Gym vs. Working out at home

lsher001

I have never been a person to work out at a gym. I do my DVD workouts when I can or just go for a walk. I have found that I can then do it on my time when the kids are asleep or I can talk them with me for my walk. I have recently discovered how much I love working out again. Thank you Billy Blanks and Tae Bo:happy: :happy:

carlymouritsen

I am very lucky to have a full gym in my basement. My dad was very big into body building when he was younger and so we've got all the equipment you need for an excellent workout. It really helps me save money and I believe it's definitely a big part of keeping me motivated because for me I know that all I have to do is throw on some sweats and walk downstairs to get to the gym.

I still like going to the gym with friends every once in a while just to change up the scenery lol, but drop-in fees every once in awhile is pretty reasonable.

brittigno

Eh, I'm canceling my membership at the end of the month. All I usually do is run around the track which is nice if the weather outside sucks, but since I've been doing Insanity, I've gotten better results. No use on wasting $30 a month on something I rarely use anymore.

HauteP1nk

I don't have a gym membership. There are too many free exercise videos online...plus I can always just go running. The road is the only gym I need and it is free!

MrzBlessedLady

I am a member of planet fitness, and it's okay but Im going to cancel it. I NEVER go and it's easier for me to do youtube workout videos or DVDs at home. I also can go to the park to walk,jog or run.

dlwyatt82

I've decided I'm going to be cancelling my gym membership as soon as my contract ends because having to go to a gym to get my workout on is just too much trouble. The fact that I can only make it in during peak hours when you're waiting to use most of the equipment doesn't help. Commuting to the gym makes the act of working out a lot more time consuming, and plus having to actually make the trip a lot of the time just doesn't seem worth the trouble when I have some home equipment, some videos, and can get my workout done in just the commute time to and from the gym alone.

Am I the only one who feels this way?

If I could fit the equipment I want into my home, I'd have done it. My ceilings are so low everywhere except the living room / dining room that I can reach up and touch them with my heels on the floor. There's no way I'd get a power rack in there or be able to do a proper overhead press, so it's the gym for me.

I contacted the guy who ran a local powerlifting club (which is now closed, but I didn't know it at the time) and asked him for recommendations on the best gym in the area, then switched my membership to there. They've got a huge free weights area with 3 power racks and 4 flat benches (each with an olympic barbell), and tons of other stuff to distract people from the equipment I came to use. :laugh:

Finding the plates you need, on the other hand... the 25s like to run away whenever you're not looking. People don't even ask half the time, they just walk up and grab stuff off my rack when I'm in the middle of a set. Fairly annoying, but oh well.

jenniet04

I work out at home and absolutely love it. Don't have to wait for equipment, or worry about being intimated in the free weight section. For the amount of money I wasted belonging to a club for a year (because I hardly had time to go), I was able to get everything I need for my basement gym.

HellsKells

I struggle to stay focused working out at home. I always find something else that needs to be done, or a comfy chair or sofa that needs sitting on...lol. When I leave and go to the gym, I know I'm there for a purpose and I have an easier time staying on task. Maybe someday that will change, but for now, I need to go somewhere else to work out.

It doesn't hurt that my gym membership is only $15/month either, so it's not a financial burden.

MsMargie1116

I do both... I like the equipment at the gym better than what I can get at home. I have my Zumba for the Wii that I do at home, and on opposite days, I go to the gym. Of course, my gym is about a mile from my house, too.

I do agree that peak times can be a pain in the butt, so I go first thing in the AM, and on the weekends. I HATE waiting for equipment... :ohwell:

1holegrouper

Cancelling the fancy gym membership was the best thing for me. Barbells and dumbells and the junk that go with them are great but not needed- AT ALL. My equipment?

Running shoes
Jump Rope
Chin Up bar
TRX
Sandbag
Rebounder
An awesome trainer who holds me accountable.

fthoodbaby

I am considering the same thing. I used to get up early each morning to workout before going to work. Then I joined the gym. I can't go to the gym before work because I have to get my daughter off to school. So by the time I get off work it's often crowded or my daughter as some after-school activity (dance, Girl Scouts, gymnastics, etc). Thinking back I realize I worked out on a more regular basis when I worked out at home. I am waffling on the idea to quit the gym or not -- my two year contract is up so I can. I think my daughter (she's 8) would miss the pool more than I miss the gym because we often go there on family time during the winter. Although I know I can take her to the aquatic center just as easily.

47Jacqueline

I do both the gym and at home working out. If it is taking too much time or not worth your while, you can totally get a good workout at home. Just don't give up keep at it.

I also do both. That way I have the opportunity to work out twice a day since most of the classes I take at the gym are midday or noon and I am up at about 5:30AM

I like the social aspect of my gym classes as well as access to equipment I don't have at home and I only have to walk a block to get there. However, I am a morning person so I'm starting Jillian Michaels' 30DS and I occasionally do a workout from Fitness Blender.

If you do, decide to work out only at home, make sure you have the discipline to keep at it.

becky10rp

I've been a member of many gyms, but my preference is working out at home.

I have a very lengthy commute to and from work - the last thing I want to do at the end of the day is go to a crowded gym.

I love my home gym - I have a treadmill, an elliptical, a recumbant seat bike, a universal weight machine and free weights. I have everything a gym has - but no waiting time and I can blast my music.

It's a win/win situation!

neandermagnon

I feel the same way... I'm getting home gym stuff because I have kids and I know that if i have to get a babysitter every time I want to go to the gym then I'm going to end up not going often enough. So home gym it is for me. And I agree, the commute and waiting for equipment at the gym seems very time consuming too...

I think gyms have their advantages though, but it's up to the individual to do what's going to work best for them.

FromHereOnOut

I literally live next door to a big gym - but it doesn't work for me. It's just too popular-there's never parking

:huh:

tedrickp

I took the jump last year and invested in some home gym equipment. Specifically: Bob Body punching bag, power rack, olympic weight set, dumbbells, bench and a recumbent bike.

I just love the convenience. My home office is actually in my gym, so working out is quite often on my mind. If I am having a stressful day at the office, I can just break up my day and bang out a workout.

I live in a small town with only one overpriced gym option, so while the initial investment was more than enough to burn my very soul, now that I have had the equipment for over a year, it is essentially half paid for in gym membership savings. Not to mention that this stuff all holds a great resell value (at least in Canada).

I do miss the social aspect of the gym - but that is really the only con I can think of.

GradatimFerociter

Home for me.

I am far too lazy to commit to travelling to the gym, as evidenced by my decidedly sketchy history with regards to maintaining routines.

I have a couple of kettlebells, a couple of dumbbells and other bits and pieces. They serve me fine for now.

martinel2099

I've decided I'm going to be cancelling my gym membership as soon as my contract ends because having to go to a gym to get my workout on is just too much trouble. The fact that I can only make it in during peak hours when you're waiting to use most of the equipment doesn't help. Commuting to the gym makes the act of working out a lot more time consuming, and plus having to actually make the trip a lot of the time just doesn't seem worth the trouble when I have some home equipment, some videos, and can get my workout done in just the commute time to and from the gym alone.

Am I the only one who feels this way?

So here's what I see that's important to you.

Time- You want to save as much as it as possible.

You are frustrated by the amount of time it takes you to get to the gym, and you are equally frustrated by the wait times at your very active gym.

your problem isn't the gym in general, the problem you have is with your current gym period. Why not look for a gym that's either closer to your home or closer to your office? My commute home can be 45min to an hour in rush hour traffic, so I chose to get a gym membership next to the office, approx 10 minutes away. After my workout, my drive home is 30 minutes so I kind of save time working out there then going home.

Also, your gym sounds over-crowded which is typical for this time of the year because everyone is trying to get buff for the beach. I think you just don't like this gym.

I got a gym membership at lifetime close to where I live. Big *kitten* gym with lots of equipment. It's a little pricy, but plenty of machines and very rarely am I stuck waiting for a machine I want. Chose a gym that works for you, otherwise working at home is an ok option too, just not something I prefer.

sculli123

I work out at home 99.9% of the time. I have a gym at work but I prefer to do it at home and have been doing it at home since around 2008.

DAM5412

I work out at home, using DVDs, online videos and some of the workouts on Comcast. I also walk 3-4 days a week and run 1-2 days a week (trying to switch those numbers, but just not there yet). In two months, I've lost 17 lbs, feel so much stronger and am much happier.

However, I kind of miss going to the gym and hopping on a treadmill and tuning out for an hour. I was running more when I had a gym membership also. So I've been thinking for renewing mine. I go to Planet Fitness about 1 mile from me, and am a morning person, so was there at 5 am and never had to wait for anything. I think after the summer, I'll probably renew my membership and start really running again.

DMicheleC

I have never been to a Gym as such, I have done fitness classes, like zumba. But now I just work out at home. I go out running near a local canal which is lovely, I do a 30 day shred dvd, zumba and other fitness dvd's. This keeps me pretty fit, I also do a lot of walking. I don't know whether I would be bothered to get to the gym after work, but when I'm home I just get my fitness gear on and go for it, I never have days when I don't do it, I enjoy it too much.

lmr0528

For me, I prefer going to the gym. My gym is 3 doors down from my house so it's not a big production to get there. But the times when I've stayed home to work out either with weights or do a DVD, it hasn't gone so well. I can't stick to anything, I get distracted very easily when I'm home and my work out usually ends up only lasting 15 minutes or so. I need to be away from distractions and going to the gym allows me to do that and just focus on me.

MelsAuntie

ALL my workouts are at home. I live on a working farm and don't have the need, the time, or the $$ for a gym membership, nor will I drive ten miles into town when I can walk to my garden and hayfields, so I agree, nix to the gym ( never been to a gym in my life).

JaimieAG

Both work for me. I live in a big city.

atomikaze9

jaweiss1 wrote: »

Haven't been to a globo-gym in 10+ years. Stopped going to the crossfit box a couple of years ago. Home gym works best for me. I figure I save about two hours a week by not having to drive somewhere to work out. Not to mention that I never wait for equipment. Or deal with... well you know the people.

Hahahaha awesome. This has inspired me to cancel my gym membership. High five, jaweiss.

Asher_Ethan

I do both. My job covers my gym membership, and they have child care at the gym so it's my ME time. However, sometimes I can't get to the gym and sometimes the only time I can workout, child care isn't open. These times I workout at home.

Start looking for gym equipment next month with your good friend Craig. It's usually around next month all the resolution people are posting their barely used exercise equipment on craigslist and you can get some major deals.

Unknown

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peaceout_aly

contingencyplan wrote: »

I've decided I'm going to be cancelling my gym membership as soon as my contract ends because having to go to a gym to get my workout on is just too much trouble. The fact that I can only make it in during peak hours when you're waiting to use most of the equipment doesn't help. Commuting to the gym makes the act of working out a lot more time consuming, and plus having to actually make the trip a lot of the time just doesn't seem worth the trouble when I have some home equipment, some videos, and can get my workout done in just the commute time to and from the gym alone.

Am I the only one who feels this way?

I completely understand where you're coming from, but take into account that working out at home may not help you stay motivated like being at the gym would. I work an eight-hour day, commute three hours to-and-from work total and am the main "errand runner" in my house. Besides all of this, I still make time to get to the gym 2-hours everyday, and on days when I absolutely can not and I force myself to resort to working out at home (we have dumb bells, a bench, and I'm excellent and making use of whatever furniture is around and incorporating in new work outs) I find that I definitely do not work out as hard even though I have the equiptment to do a lot of the work outs I could at the gym. The motivation isn't there. The distractions of keeping up with the house, my partner and puppies wanting to cuddle, etc. are what I'm faced with. I see your stand point though. Utlize the machines that you are wanting to use being occupied as a way to branch out and try new variations/equiptment.

singingflutelady

This is a really old thread btw