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Run on a treadmill and lift some weights?
Yes, that is exactly what you do at a gym.
I feel like I could do all of that at home. Gym memberships are insanely expensive.
Absolutely correct.
Are home workouts actually effective?
Yes.
Does one even enjoy gym time?
Yes.
People don't have space for a home gym, so it's either pay the membership fee, or don't work out.
Noooo, there are soooo many exercises that take nothing extra. ... ok maybe you can double or triple the number of exercises you can do with even just like... a playground within jogging distance, but still.
The vast majority of muscles can be exercised either with body weight, or a few heavy items that are easy to grab. Add a sturdy bench you can lay on or put weight on without it flexing too much or falling over, and you can cover basically any muscle.
It is purely a lack of knowledge of anatomy that drives someone to say you NEED a gym's amount of equipment. Muscles are dynamic, but you can only move your body in so many ways.
This is going to trigger people who just forked out for "insanely expensive" gym memberships, but it's obviously true.
I can think of two caveats:
The funny thing is, you can get DAMN jacked with only bodyweight. You just won't look like a steroid-addled meathead, which far too many people assume is just time in the gym.
Yea, even personal motivation changes a lot when you go to some other location to do something. Don't have much choice but to procrastinate or do something if you're standing in the middle of a gym in just shorts and a shirt.
I don't go to the gym either but know several people who do and the equipment lets you strength train with a lot more weight than your body weight if that's what you're going for. You can use water jugs and stuff at home but that can be janky and potentially dangerous.
Also there's probably something to be said about traveling to a dedicated location for your workout to help you get out of the house, in the right mindset, etc. I'm sure it's similar to how some people love working from home while others prefer to go to the office to help focus better and socialize.
The vast, VAST majority of people do not need weight that is greater than bodyweight.
Exercising in a unique place is huge for at least removing distraction and easy excuses to not exercise, though. For some people I can see that being important enough for the membership.
Like how my buddy went to college just to learn some programming when there are a million quality tutorials/books/guides/docs out there for free these days. He wanted the forced structure and push to do homework.
He now regrets paying college prices for that knowledge.
This is my gym. The bar was picked out of the trash and it was an old broomstick someone used as a fire poker.
With body weight exercises and a small weight set you can make from junk, you can get an amazing body.
You start very light, and you just take baby steps from there, I can help you build a routine.
Most of the YouTube people are way too hyper focused on 'blasting' this and that, really you just need to do some simple exercises.
First I unpack my tripod, mobile phone and water bottle and set them into position in the most annoying direction possible. Then i hit record. Pump some irons getting upset at each and every passer by as it's obviously about me not them. All the while intermittently berating those stupid Nord, Beton and Thalmor wannabes as inferior chuds to my faithful Khajiit follower's. Then I strike some epic posses, admiring my strikingly beautiful ears, furs and tail. Of course I check the phone to make sure my benevolent masses of one follower shower me with praises. Thanks mom!
This one is disappointed with Maiq's use of pronouns.
you use the stuff that you can’t reasonably have a whole separate collection of. Weight machines, swimming pool, etc.
It also provides a place and time to do group fitness activities.
I mean, I guess it depends. I row often, and I don't wanna do it in a gym, so I purchased a rower. But if I didn't want to spend the ~$800 on a nice Concept 2 rower, a gym membership for $20/mo would give me about about 3.25 years of rowing before I hit the cost of the rower. Then I also get access to every other machine they offer, free weights, other amenities such as pool and basketball court, classes they offer, trainer access (probably not great but better than winging it). That may be valuable to you or it may not, but it's an option. You could run on a treadmill or lift weights at home, if you purchased the items. Sure, running outside is free and you can pick up/put down stuff whenever, but weather gets in the way, and unbalanced or unwieldy weight isn't always safe.
Home workouts can be effective and many make it work, but some people like/need the separation. Sometimes when I get home, if I sit down, I'm just not gonna get up and workout at that point. Stopping at a gym in the way home gives a clear delineation between still working physically and being done with your days work when you get home. Or if they go in the morning, I can't row at odd hours I may want to because of neighbors (it's not quiet). I can go to some gyms at 5am or 2am if I really wanted to, where I couldn't currently at home.
Sounds like you need sports as a conduits for your work out.
God knows I do. 🏸
I went to the gym for a couple years and managed to increase my PR's consistently and doubled my bodyweight at the same bf %.
Then i decided i was disciplined enough for a homegym as the gym attracted a crowd of generic fools instead of the old club of bodybuilders and powerlifters....i wasn't disciplined enough.
I really need that: "since i'm already here, might as well go balls to the wall".
My old gym cost about €13, now generic shit gyms cost more than twice as much. I won't be going back at those prices because food and rent also tripled, i don't grow money from a tree or something.
Increase my PR'S
I don't see how gym makes you better at coding
Bending in gymnastics helps bend the rules in PRs.
Clearly they were increasing their public relations. /s
As a person who never goes to the gym and doesn't have a home gym either, are you trolling?
Yo could do that at home. I do.
For many people a gym is a matter of discipline. To force them go and do it.
But for me it works the opposite way, the extra time going to another place dissuades me from going at all. So workout at home works better for me.
I like being able to turn on a movie or TV series I enjoy while doing some exercises at home.
Having to go somewhere with that annoying workout music blaring 24/7, needing to wait for equipment to become free.. just not for me.
Yes, because a lack of a pair of shorts and tshirt are the reasons why. /s
Have a home gym don't have a treadmill or stationery bicycle, to me that is weird, I can run around outside and I have a bike that i ride regularly. That said, decent gym equipment is expensive.
Im 58, I've been lifting weights since I was 17, (with some breaks) for me it's more like meditation. You can't win at it and it's not a game. My parter lifts with me, she said she likes it, so i will take her at her word.
There's any number of studies showing how good resistance training is for you, especially as you age.
Henry Rollins did the best reason why.
If you’re motivated at home you can run on street/walk/trails, you can do core body workouts, you can get some cheap equipment that will get you most of the benefits of a gym at much less cost. You can always find cheap used equipment for sale from people cleaning out their houses
Going to the gym gets you better equipment, more equipment, and helps establish a routine to keep you going when motivation isn’t enough.
If you get home equipment similar to what you’d use at a gym, the payback time is much longer, it may be difficult to move or store, and you can’t get rid of it when it’s time.
At home I have a good set of dumbbells, an Exercycle, and exercise mats I never use. However I’ve never really been able to establish a gym routine so that’s a waste of money. My brother has a good half ton of exercise equipment he’d give me free of charge but I have no way to transport it and it would cost too much.
I actually am considering getting more home exercise equipment. At least my teens would use it and maybe I would too. It’s expensive but it’s not continuous cost like a gym would be.
You can do this at home. Everything here is under 2000 dollars spent total because we bought from bankrupted gyms liquidating during covid and a couple home gym people after covid who preferred going to a gym and were offloading equipment for next to nothing.
Outdated pic but same rack today:
You need the space to begin with, but besides the rowers (can be stored vertically) and rack, the space waste isn't that huge. George Hackenschmidt's abridged/edited down by me workout routine is pinned to my back wall there. An old world strong man from an era before steroids existed. He didn't do focused muscle training, instead all-round balanced and, this is key, a very minimal amount of equipment is needed. You can look up how he looked, I think it's aesthetically pleasing.
But yeah that's really it. Lift heavy things, row, and I run or bike. I do not enjoy it. I don't pretend to. I'm not doing this for enjoyment, I'm a big nerd who never enjoyed physical activity ever. It's simply to stay in good shape because that was noticeably slipping in my 30's.
So I'm doing this entirely out of self preservation. Importantly, I also do Yoga. Flexibility is important too.
Gyms are indeed predatory with their obnoxious membership programs and cancelation antics. I'm lucky to have some space in my ugly basement.
Weightlifting can require insanely heavy weights, they take up a lot of storage and cost a lot of money. Gyms also offer the benefits of having specialised machines that focus on specific muscles. I used to go to a commercial gym then built a home gym, I've spent over £2,000 and I'm still not close to finished.
Sure you can do bodyweight stuff, or limited exercises with adjustable dumbbells and resistance bands, but you won't get nearly as strong as a good gym, training plan, and diet.
A lot of exercises you can do in the gym you can also do at home with a pair of dumbbells or even just your body weight.
The benefits of the gym for me is having an air conditioned environment, with machines that can guide my exercises and help enforce proper form, a good space to meetup with personal trainers, opportunities for group classes, and somewhere where there’s people around in case anything goes wrong in one of my exercises.
Not all gyms are the same too. There are climbing gyms, kickboxing gyms, mma gyms, gyms with pools, gyms with basketball and volleyball courts, gyms with tennis, squash, and badminton courts, etc. A lot of those you can’t do from home.
I personally really like lifting weights and running an the gym. You can do it all at home but having a barbell, squat rack, bench press, weight plates, dumbbells, treadmill, pull down machine, rowing machine and so on at home would take a lot of space at home.
Having it at a different place also helps a lot with motivation IMO, there's a strong "at the gym I work out" effect instead of being at home where I can take a break and "continue later".
When I was a kid, we got a cheap barbell set and used it regularly. As a parent, I’m horrified they were allowed to sell cheap rickety dangerous equipment and would insist on heavier duty with more safety.
A squat rack is a great example. You don’t need it and I never used one as a kid, but it will save you from accidents getting the bar onto your shoulders and back down when you’re exhausted. I would not allow my kid to do squats without one
Something tells me you don't own a treadmill at home, so Im not following how you'd do that at home.
you pick up heavy things and then you put them down so you can pick up heavier things later.
I have spent years using public gyms and now have a home gym. Home gyms are better in every way if you have the motivation to push yourself. At a public gym its easier to find that motivation because everyone around you is focused on the same task.
You have all the things you need in one space and you can't leave easily and go home.
You're absolutely correct that you can do all that at home. Will you? I find that going to a place puts me in the right state of mind to do the thing. They do have a lot of equipment available, but you can mostly replace it at low cost by running outdoors or buying a few dumbells.
Likewise for the costume - when I started going, I was very worried about making sure I had gym shorts and running shoes and a sweat wicking shirt and a gym bag. I got that stuff and it did help, just mentally put me into the place for it. But after a while I realized I could just go in casual clothes (though my gym bans jeans) and it's fine. Up to you what's more motivating - workout clothes or reducing friction by wearing what you've got.
Very good questions. I think the primary is that some form of workout is very important to your overall health, and you should just pick which type of workout works for you in the long run.
It doesn't really matter if you get a home gym, or go to parks, or to a gym, as long as you are consistent and have fun. For many people, the gym is intimidating, they might be better off with a home gym. I find the place semi-social, which means I get distracted by people watching, but don't have to chat with anyone. Works for me.
The key, I think, is to shift from "I can do all of that at home" to "I will do all of that at home." An insane number of home treadmills and exercise bikes collect dust because the mind is willing, but the flesh lazy. I love the distraction, others love the camaraderie or the friendships you make at a gym. They push you to go even when you don't feel like it, and that's the important part.
I loathe gyms, they are usually full of smelly obnoxious people.
The alternate I found is putting on running shoes, headphones, and go outside.
I'm the most clown show gym goer ever. I started late, with a huge physical deficit...
I workout in swim clothes, with flip flops, my gym bag is a canvas grocery bag.
The important thing is to build a routine, or even a sense of community, I've gain a bunch of muscle and lost 45kg going to the gym - people are super supportive, everyone at the gym wants to get better, and they love to help other people get better.
The gym isn't enjoyable usually, not exactly, but you can develop this love hate relationship with low level soreness and if everything is feeling great you start to think "I need to go to the gym".
What is enjoyable
That's a lot of questions, but I'll try.
What do you do at a gym? Use dedicated equipment to lift weights and build strength, work with a coach to help set workouts, and workout with other people who have the same goals.
A gym membership can be a way to meet other people and build community. If you see the same 5 people regularly due to similar gym schedules, you might build some friendships.
Primarily a gym can become a place where you are expected to exercise, so you're more likely to do it. If you have a treadmill and some dumbbells in your bedroom, your brain might not give you the motivation needed to use the equipment. You might hop on for 5 minutes, but then get distracted and stop using it. But if you traveled 20 minutes to a dedicated exercise location, then you're much less likely to stop and leave right away.
So what do you do? Well, depends on what your goals are. Did you want to get healthier? Some cardio where you get your heart rate up improves your cardiovascular health. Lifting weights, can help build muscle and bone health, which would make it much less likely to be injured, and much more likely to recover from an injury quicker.
If you can motivate yourself to workout at home, and if you can find a good routine that meets your goals, you can certainly do that all at home, even without much equipment at all. The problem is, are you actually doing what you need to do, or are you just moving around and wasting time with little actual effect? A coach that knows what their doing would be able to help you actually use your time.
The first visit to a gym could be free. Or it can be a "a current member can bring one friend for free once a month" thing. You can just go and check what's out there. Most people probably just lift weights or use the machines that they don't have and don't want to buy at home. There's also the factor that if you're at the gym, you're there to work out. When you're at home, you can be distracted by whatever.
Run on a treadmill and lift some weights?
Yup.
Gym memberships are insanely expensive. Are home workouts actually effective?
They can be. Depends in your goals and all that. Home gyms require space and money up front.
I've been following this routine for a while at home. It's been pretty good. I initially started with their 3 day a week dumbbell exercises.
https://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/6-day-dumbbell-only-workout
I've also probably spent over $1.5k on a quality bench and adjustable dumbbells. A far cry from what you can use at a gym, but it's good enough for me.
You can probably buy some cheap weights to start out and then move on from there.
Also, don't expect immediate results. Give it a solid 3 months.
With good knowledge of anatomy, dumbbells and a bench cover every single muscle in your body.
You do not need much at all what so ever to exercise every muscle in your body. Believing otherwise is rather ignorant and only provides more pull to gyms, which are not necessary for 99.999% of people!
Yea, I would agree with that.
You could even get away with not knowing much anatomy if you can find a good routine and make sure your form is right. At least I feel that's how I've gotten as far as I have.
The hardest part for me with working out at home is getting heavier weights. They get real expensive real fast and take up more and more room.
I assume there's some kind of social aspect to going to a gym as well. I have no idea because I prefer the opposite, lol.
Captain obvious sneaking in, but There is tons of legit way to exercise, not just lifting weight in the gym, you can look for Volley-ball, Rock-dancing, or karate-class all of that is a legit way to exercise, which may even be cheaper and more fun than going to a gym.
Regarding your other points
Get a T-shirt and either a short or a pair of legging, to start-with you don't need any of these high-end expensive fabric (Which may help if you plan to climb an alpine summit or run a marathon, but not to lift some weight casually). Total cost should be in the 10-15 EUR range (It sucks to live in a world where clothing is built by slave-like-labour).
Most gym would include a couple of coached session as part of their beginner package. But a typical program would be like warm-up on a threadmill/eliptical then a bunch of strength exercise either on machine or free weight, and 10 minutes of cool-down with stretching, you can modulate duration/intensity depending on your goals.
You can do a lot at home with body weight. However, being in the Gym sometimes helps as you are in a dedicated place with a dedicated time-slot. ideally choose a place either near your home, or on your commute, if not you'll never go there
I never liked gyms. I get great workouts at home with a little open floor space and a stationary bike.
Theres actually a lot at the gym you can't do at home. Any barbell movement (big stick with weights on the end) you can't do unless you have one at home, all the cardio machines, workout classes, cable machines, etc. I enjoy my gym time because I'm able to get a better workout at the gym compared to anywhere else. You can basically where anything to a gym. If you're doing upper body, just make sure you have a loose fitting shirt on, if youre doing lower body have loose fitting pants on. Gym time is what you make it. If you find one thing fun, you're allowed to just do that.
