Are home gyms worth it?
The further away your gym is and the more often you train, the more it makes sense to have your own gym at home. Here are some points to consider when you are investigating.
Goals
Whether a
home gym makes sense for you depends highly on your personal goals. Gym memberships can be very cheap, especially if you make no use of the classes or trainers. So check your goal set and some factors before deciding on big expenses for a
home gym.
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Opening times
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Self-motivation
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Current discipline
The distance to your
gym is one of the impactful factors whether a gym makes sense or not. The further away the
gym door is from your own the more sense it makes to switch to a
home gym. Once you commute an hour to your
gym it will definitely be beneficial to start a
home gym.
If you work shift it will also help to have a
gym that is open 24/7. Most
gyms are not open 24/7 with a few exceptions. Combine this with long commutes and you get the idea.
Motivation can be a tricky topic. As long as you can stay motivated and push the workout without external motivators you are a good candidate for a
home gym. So ask yourself seriously whether you will keep up the routine once you are home with no official appointments.
The last thing to look at is how disciplined you are about your attendance. If you continuously hit three times a week already or more you can look into it. If you think you will be more disciplined by having a
home gym that is usually not what happens.
Your rules
Your own
gym has its own rules. If you want puppies all over the walls, no problem. Pink
barbells and
racks, here you go. The same goes for music, outfits and workout routines.
Flexible time
Your
home gym will always be open to you. Just walk in and get started. Any time of the day you can do what you want.
Your equipment
In your
home gym, you can have any equipment you may want. Safety bars, bands, and your own bench. No one hogging the
rack while writing text messages except you. You can drop the
weights as much and often as you want.
Privacy
For various reasons you might not want to be seen when exercising. Your
home gym will take care of this as you are the only one using it.
Experiments
In your own
gym, you can also do some experiments using multiple pieces of equipment. In a commercial gym, it is hard to hog more than one
barbell. In your
home gym, you can set up the circuit training however you may like.
Project
The actual build of the
home gym is also a good opportunity to hone your project skills. There are rooms to be measured, colors to be chosen and people to be hired. Enjoy the time and make your perfect retreat.
Summary
Analyze whether it makes sense and you will actually use your
home gym. Once that is established go all in.