Training @ Home

[ayaka]

Is it possible to get good/reasonable results at home with a home gym? I don't have anything fancy but just the basics - free weights (barbell, dumbells), Swiss Ball, medicine ball, step, hand weights (kickboxing), ankle weights. Plus a bike and a generic treadmill (no auto-incline setting) though I prefer to get my cardio done outdoors or on a variety of DVDs.

People have mostly been pushing me to join a gym "to get results" - they say even if it's one of those barebones muscle gyms I'd be better off than doing it at home. I'm guessing if/when I'd like to get ripped .. then sure this would help but at the moment I'm focusing on losing the fat - you can't see the muscles under all that right?

There are certain issues with going to my old gym after I moved. There's also issues with going to any gym on the weekdays - I don't drive myself and here you do have to drive everywhere but I can push the issue .. though I think that's only possible when we move again (at the end of the year). Should I buckle down and join (another) gym? Would it help if I only went on the weekends?

[darkangel]

You can absolutely get good results working out at home - particularly if you're fairly new to working out. And some folks do better working out at home where they have less distractions, no competition for equipment, no drive time. Check out Cathe Freidrich's cardio and weight training DVDs. www.cathe.com

[Eileen]

I have a home gym, and I'm also a member of the local gym. There are advantages to both.

The local gym has some equipment I don't (mostly the power cage and squat rack), and it has people who will spot me if I'm lifting heavy. And watching buff men squat is always a pleasure.

On the other hand, at home, I can train in whatever clothes I feel like, or strip off as I go. I can play Guns 'n Roses as loud as I like, and not have to listen to crap. No-one tries to grab a dumbell when I put it down. No-one turns to stare if I grunt a lot. I can take as long as I like without feeling I'm holding anyone up. As long as the children are out of the house, no-one distracts me. And as soon as I finish, I can go straight to the kitchen to make my shake.

The only danger with working out at home is that on leg day, I suddenly find myself sorting socks to try putting off the moment when I have to start doing squats.

[Jamie M]

I built most of my physique at home. I just recently joined a gym so I could do some different exericeses on equipment I don't have.

[moskalski]

The biggest difference I noticed when I started working out from home was that it was harder to concentrate on my workouts. When there's 30 other people all doing the same thing, its so much easier to get into a "groove" and just go. I guess I get a better workout if I am completely focused, and being in a gym makes it easier. At home, it all has to come from within me. Its also hard to concentrate when the cat wants to sit under you when you do pushups, and thinks situp time is for being petted.

[N2_Fitness]

I workout mostly at home, although I recently joined a gym to get out of the house when my husband's band plays. I use a lot of Cathe Freidrich workout DVDs, P90X DVDs, and a lot of times just on my own. I don't think it is necessary to join a gym until you start lifting heavier and need a spotter. I am just starting to get to a point where I can't load the barbell any heavier for some chest work without it being unsafe to do alone. It's really up to the individual though and what their home situation is.

[CheryleB]

I much prefer to workout at home because I never have to wait for the equipment I want to use. I went to a gym a few times when on vacation and got annoyed and left as people were reserving the benches with a towel for half an hour and no one else could use them. Grrr.

[kbdub]

home gym all the way unless you're a BBer trying go put on loads of muscle.

[SumthinOrNuthin]

I think some of it also depends on how self-motivated you are. I find that actually going somewhere where other people are working out makes me want to work hard. I do wonder if I'd slack off if I trained at home

Its like working form home - I could never do that as I'd be switching the telly on making 14 cups of tea instead of actually working

[Eileen]

Yeah, that can be a factor, particularly on leg day. But once you get going, you are more likely to keep going, since you don't have to catch the last bus or be home in time for something.

And there've been loads of days when I just didn't feel like working out, so I told myself "I'll just go into the gym and do half a dozen easy set, won't even break a sweat," Once I'm there, I usually do a proper workout.