Home Workouts vs Gym?

one word: kettlebells

seriously, I won't be renewing my gym membership next spring. I plan on the video workouts plus walking a lot and riding my bike.

If youre trying to just stay fit, some bodyweight exercises would be plenty (lunges, pushups, situps, squats) to keep muscle and help you stay toned.

If you wanted to build a bit more muscle, you'll need more weights or added resistance.

There's guides online for working out at home without equiptment. They suggest using things like books, heavy cans, a backpack full of something heavy, ect. in a variety of exercises.

That stability ball alone would yield 20+ exercises I would think.

You just gotta start getting creative. There's tons of stuff you can use lying around.

Out at camp I used 40L jugs of water, boat anchors, rigged up some ropes to do pullups and inverted rows.

I prefer doing it at home for many reasons.

Thats what I am contemplating as well (I might have just made up my mind as I type this!). My sessions with my PT ended in Sept 7th, and I haven't been back at the gym. I have started doing JM 30 day shred,. walking/running for 30min to an hour and some Zumba. Although my gym membership is paid in full until April,. I really don't feel the need to go back. I have seen better results now than the past months spent at the gym. I personally like that I have most of what I need right now at home. Saves money on gas, my kids get to see their mommy workout and hopefully I am planting that little seed in them by letting them see me and taking them on my walks. My gym was a small one that didn't provide workout classes, day care so I am not missing it that much. Oh, and I really don't miss that creepy guy that kept staring at me while I was running on the treadmill!

Last year my club membership cost me 10,000 dirhams ($3000) and when it came up for renewal I gave it a miss. I bought a cross trainer plus kettlebells for much less than the 10,000 and I use them almost every night...and they'll last longer than a year! You just have to get yourself into a routine. I get home from work and do my workout before my evening meal .... going to the gym has it's benefits but I LOVE my mini home gym I don't need anything else. I have even worked out in my pj's on weekend mornings.....can't do that in the gym!!!

You just got to mix it up and change things up so your body doesn't suffer from muscle memory. So try different exercise videos and try some out door running, walking, biking etc. I do a mix of at home, gym and outdoor activities. I lost my first 50 pounds of weight just running in place and now I incorporate videos to mix it up. Just remember that it's all about moving your body and doesn't matter where you do.

I tried home gym, but I got too lazy. My elliptical became a clothe hanger in 3 months. Only thing that works for me consistently is going to group fitness classes. I take cardio kickbox 3 times, and body works w/ abs 2 times per week. This forces me to work out and see people too.

Reading a book right now that I got at the Library - "You Are Your Own Gym" by Mark Lauren and Joshua Clark. Its full of bodyweight exercises and using household equiptment in place of weights.

unless you are at the level of fitness where bodyweight exercises are not a challenge, you can do a lot with what you ahve right now.

lunges/jumping lunges, various kinds of squats, pushups and various kinds of plank exercises (for example, plank on your hands then down on left elbow, right elbow, then back up on left hand, right hand <-- can also do the same basic thing from a kneeling to standing position and back down, its a lot more strenuous than it sounds). Lots of good stuff to do with the ball too (do inflate it though).

And once this stuff is easy you can add the 3 lb weights to most of it (well not the pushups).

You'll probably need to get 5lbs and 8lbs to do things like flys (on the ball!), rows, chest presses, and bicep curls (I like 21s look up videos online).


I have a gym membership and its a waste, I hardly use it at all. I prefer to walk/run outside, and I prefer bodyweight and dumbbell workouts to the machines. The only thing I use the gym for is the variety of weights I need, now that I need 10s, 12s, and 15s (and sometimes 20s....) and I don't own those weights yet. I also like to use the weighted medicine ball there but you don't NEED them.

Still all said you could probably build uip a nice "home gym" that will give you months of good exercises for 100-150 bucks depending on how lucky you get on craigslist.

As soon as I finish moving into my house that is what I am going to do and then my gym membership is buhbye.

I do both because I LOVE TO SWIM at the YMCA. I appreciate being able to get out of the house and I just love swimming. I also walk a lot in the neighborhood and may eventually start jogging. More than anything else lately, though, I've been doing home workouts because it is so convenient and I have been working LONG hours. Ripped in 30 is a GREAT all around workout = strength, cardio, and a little stretching. You don't need to spend money at a gym just to do a cardio or strength workout. At home you are not limited to hours or space.

When I started, joining the YMCA (very affordable by the way), I made it a reward (after exercising 3-5 days per week for 3 months). After I showed myself that I was committed, then I joined.

I also hope to try to classes soon.

You can join a gym anytime. Start working out NOW!