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Home gyms vs. sports clubs


robert
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This topic gets asked quite a bit. I always give people a list of benefits of either one, depending on what their situation is.

 

I've always used a gym, sports club, fitness center, etc. rather than a home gym. That being said, today I'm training at home I have some weights at home and I'm going to get more with some gift certificates I have so we'll have a bunch of weights at the beach house during vegan vacation (since we may not be near a gym.....although we might be.

 

So anyway, does anyone want to add any pros or cons to home gyms vs. clubs?

 

I know the list is long but it would be nice to hear why some people choose one over the other.

 

For me, I just like the variety a gym can offer and sometimes at home I find myself in front of the computer rather than holding weights.

 

Any thougths in general about this topic?

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Honestly the Bowflex is awesome...lots of people on this forum don't agree with me but its great...maybe you can't max your legs out on it but for most people its fine and for upper body its great. I was benching 370lbs and when I benched with the max 400lbs bows I could do a few reps but it wasn't easy enough to not have as the hardest sets in my workout. As for doing other things I find myself snacking and watching TV but I can do that while training and it may keep some from focusing but for me my breaks were no shorter using a Bowflex at my friends house than at the gym

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For a really good workout, I prefer going to the gym. I've been trying to return to running and I feel safer running inside a gym than on the street, not just from cars, but from people. Whenever I run on the street I get a lot of cat calls, honking, and guys who want to approach me. From a woman's point of view, this is scary.

 

I also live in student housing with barely enough room for a bosu ball, let alone weights and cardio equipment.

 

Lastly, I tend to get less distracted from working when I am in a gym than when I am trying to get a workout at home.

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Having recently joined a gym, I'd have to say that working-out there has been great for me. I really like the variety of machines and weights that I wouldn't be able to fit in my place. Plus, being in that type of environment feels good because you can learn new exercises from watching the personal trainers, etc.. Being there just adds to the overall motivation to stay in shape.

 

The plus side to doing it all at home is that you don't have to pay for a membership. You can work-out 24 hours a day, something that my gym doesn't offer. The downside is that as I have been getting stronger, I've been outgrowing the weights that I have causing me to upgrade constantly.

 

Overall, the gym has been the way to go for me. If I had an awesome set-up at home, I may go for that instead. I think the only problem would be distractions. I am terrible with distractions, at home the phone might ring, I might decide to jump online, or chat with someone. When I am doing work, I like to be in a work environment and leave home for resting.

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I like to have the option of both. At my home I have a bowflex and boxing bag/pull-up/dip station set up. It is nice to use on those days when I am working over the summer and get back at eight or nine at night and have to go back into work at five in the morning. Here at school, the gym is within sight (sort of) of my dorm and I always have plenty of time to take a stroll there. When I am out of college and move into my own place, I want to get a squat rack, bench, bowflex select tech (however it is spelled) dumbells, a few larger dumbells and take my bowflex from home. Oh, and both a standard and hex bar. It should be a nice set up and I should be able to incorporate plenty of variety. If I set it up properly, it should take up too terribly much room. I would still probably hit a gym now and then to add some variety with something if need be.

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I would love to have a home gym. K and I hope to have one when we are in London. It would be a power cage, a bench, and an olympic weight set. That would be enough to allow us to do most of what we do now.

 

The pros are that there's no excuse for not working out because you don't have to travel anywhere. You don't need to wait to use equipment. And you don't need to deal with crowds or annoying people. Cons? Not much that I can think of either than less variety of equipment, possibly. And if you live alone, or with people who don't work out, you might not have a spotter if you work out at home.

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I would love to have a home gym. K and I hope to have one when we are in London. It would be a power cage, a bench, and an olympic weight set. That would be enough to allow us to do most of what we do now.

 

The pros are that there's no excuse for not working out because you don't have to travel anywhere. You don't need to wait to use equipment. And you don't need to deal with crowds or annoying people. Cons? Not much that I can think of either than less variety of equipment, possibly. And if you live alone, or with people who don't work out, you might not have a spotter if you work out at home.

 

I don't have one at the gym...

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I've used both and agree with the positive comments about a home gym. However, I find myself getting into a rut sometimes so it's great to see different routines at an outside gym. It's also nice to be able to ask a trainer at a gym for advice (I know some of you here probably know more than the trainers, but I find them useful).

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Home gym all the way.

 

I started out with a Bowflex, but I found the process of swapping out the handles and cables disruptive to the flow of my workout. Plus, I was less than impressed with the quality of the Bowflex for the price I paid; the wobbly bench, etc.

 

With the assistance of a few very helpful people on this site, I traded the Bowflex for a very solid Powertec bench press with an integrated leg extension.

 

Between the bench press, dumbbells, and a few choice pieces of furniture, I have a fairly complete home gym. For cardio, I frequent the trail at nearby Griffith Park.

 

I like the flexibility and convenience of it all.

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I prefer both!

 

Some things I either enjoy doing at home or have to train at home (such as strongman implement training on weekends during better weather), but I enjoy training in the gym quite a bit as well. The gym offers me more plates for stuff than I have on hand and more equipment than I could fit in my meager basement (low ceilings and minimal open space don't offer me much to go with to get a good set-up), plus, I occasionally feel like playing around with a few machines and it's nice to have the option. Also, I like to alternate sets of different things at times and require 2 power racks for it - either that or change the weights between sets which gets old fast. There's a certain niceness in going to my gym late at night, being able to squat, rest for a minute, walk to another rack and do some overhead presses and never have to change things past the warm-up sets.

 

Also, even though I don't train directly with anyone very often, it's still motivating for me to go to the gym as it psyches me up a bit to do my best. There's been plenty of times I've worked to grind out a set when my body wanted to quit, simply because I didn't want to fail in the presence of anyone else that might be around. Kind of a strange motivation, but it does help on occasion when I'm feeling weak and want to stop early.

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I find it really hard to get motivated at home.

 

I feel the same way! And I'm a pretty motivated person! I find it real challenging to stay focused at home. I also have limited equipment, which may have something to do with that. I plan on getting more equipment and trying to do a few workouts a week at home (mainly arms because it's so easy to do with limited weights).

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the good thing about gyms is that it's a incredible environment to exercise, and just going there energizes me already. unlike just being home in front of a computer.. the problem is that i'm too cheap for that.. i'd rather do my calisthenics ( spelling? ) exercises.. like bigwii..

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One good thing about the wheels on the bench of the Bowflex is you can do leg and calf presses (albeit light ones) with it if you get creative. I found out how to do so many things with my Bowflex that weren't in the manual. The only complaints I really have against them is the lack of weight and the way resistance increases as you pull the rods further.

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My problem getting to the gym isn't getting motivated...its getting motivated to go now...if its at home you never have to leave and its easy to do split workouts since you don't have to go to the gym twice in one day.

 

Back to the Bowflex I think the weight increase at the end is a good thing...real weights in general get too easy...especially squats

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My problem getting to the gym isn't getting motivated...its getting motivated to go now...if its at home you never have to leave and its easy to do split workouts since you don't have to go to the gym twice in one day.

 

Back to the Bowflex I think the weight increase at the end is a good thing...real weights in general get too easy...especially squats

 

Yeah, I do see what you mean. I guess one good thing about the rep being easy in the beginning is how you don't need help to start off on a hard set.

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I was thinking about this question recently too. I like having the option to work out at home when it's convenient, but for lifting heavy at the gym, I think that extra pressure of other people spotting/watching you makes you eek out a few extra reps. Especially if they know you're vegan and you want to show them up!

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Competing with other guys at the gym gets your testosterone pumping. And with 'competing' I mean just seeing them work out next to you. It's a silly primal thing, but works. If there are females around, the better.

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