For anyone trying to improve their health and fitness, this is usually one of the first questions to come to mind.
Should you sign up at a local gym? Or start acquiring your own home workout equipment?
Based on my experience with both, here’s why you should skip the gym membership and start investing in your own home workout space.
Benefits Of Home Gym Equipment
I’m going to come right out and say it: a home gym is better than a real gym.
I started taking my health and fitness seriously a little over a year ago, in the fall of 2021. I have been exercising in some capacity every day since then, and I have tried out various gym memberships and home gym setups during that time.
When I first started working out, I signed up for BODi (previously called BeachBody) and began working through their home workout programs. As a beginner, you can’t beat the comfort of exercising in your own home with nobody watching. Especially when you are learning how to do certain exercises for the first time, it’s great to be able to just focus on your form and the exercise video you are watching rather than having to feel self-conscious about others at the gym watching you.
Obviously most people at the gym are not paying attention to you, but as a newbie exerciser it can feel intimidating to be around a bunch of gym rats.
After doing home workouts for a few months, I decided to up the ante on my own home workout space. I purchased a treadmill, some dumbbells, and some resistance loops to go along with my workout videos.
A few months after getting my home gym all set up we ended up moving to a smaller place, and I decided to ditch my home gym setup in favor of signing up at a local gym. My home workout equipment stayed in the garage and I signed up at the local gym about a mile and a half down the street.
After a few months of biking to the local gym everyday, I started to miss the comfort of working out at home. At our new house I didn’t have a separate room for my home gym like at our previous house, so I decided on setting up a home gym and office combo.
I have since canceled my gym membership, and I don’t think I’ll ever go back. And it all boils down to one main reason:
Having a home gym reduces the friction between you and working out.
The more obstacles that there are in between you and exercising, the higher the likelihood is that you won’t do it.
Personal fitness is an extremely important value for me, and I want to make it as easy as possible on myself to achieve my fitness goals.
When you are relying on a gym membership as your dedicated workout space, there are so many more obstacles in front of you just to get there.
You have to dress properly.
You have to leave your house and commute somewhere.
You have to face the weather, bundling up in the winter.
You have to remember to bring your stuff with you. Water, headphones, a towel, possibly a snack.
When you want to create any good habit, it is so important to reduce the friction between you and the action you want to make a habit. That was a powerful lesson I learned from the book Atomic Habits written by James Clear.
If you are new to exercising and haven’t yet made it a habit, you want to make it as easy as possible to start your workout.
This is why, unequivocally, I will always say that a home gym is absolutely worth it.
You don’t have to leave your house, you don’t have to remember to bring your stuff with you, and if you live somewhere cold, you don’t have to face the weather outside. You don’t even have to get dressed or wear shoes (although you will probably be in a better mindset if you do – more on that later).
Earlier this week I wrote about my 5 AM morning routine. I absolutely love my early mornings at home, but I know I wouldn’t enjoy my morning routine quite so much if I had to leave the house. I would also have to get up at least a half hour earlier to factor for commuting time if I was going to a commercial gym every morning.
My daily workouts in my home gym are peaceful and serene. I can focus on my movement, reps and form with no distractions and not having to wait my turn to use a particular machine.
But you don’t have to purchase all the equipment all at once.
What Home Gym Equipment Do I Need?
You can very easily start small here. I started out with nothing more than a yoga mat for floor exercises. And yoga mats are cheap.
You’ll also want to make sure you have a couple of sets of workout clothes so you don’t have to do laundry every day. I mentioned earlier that one of the benefits of a home gym is that you don’t have to get all dressed up, but I don’t recommend working out in your pajamas (though I have done my Netflix treadmill walks in my jammies, on occasion). Putting on your workout gear is a great trigger to your mind to get ready to move. It feels more natural to push harder in your workouts when you’re wearing moisture-wicking athletic gear, instead of soft & cozy PJs.
Now, for the first few months of my home workout journey, I primarily did cardio-based bodyweight exercise videos.
Once I had a few months of home workouts under my belt, I felt ready to take things to the next level and get some more equipment. I started with a set of 5lb dumbbells and 10lb dumbbells, and over time acquired heavier sets as I got stronger. Dumbbells are a great first bit of home gym equipment to invest in because they don’t take up much space and they are a great tool for building strength.
Eventually I picked up a treadmill so that I could go for walks while watching Netflix. On days when I wasn’t feeling my best and didn’t want to exercise, I got motivated by knowing I could watch one of my favorite shows while I got moving.
Don’t start buying equipment just to outfit your space. Only buy equipment that you actually want to use. You often won’t even need to buy new – people are always offloading their gym equipment, dumbbell racks, and stationary bikes on places like Facebook Marketplace.
The best thing you can do when starting to build out your home workout space is start small. Don’t go out and buy a rowing machine if you have no interest in rowing. Start with the items that you intend to use on a regular basis, and build from there.
In order of acquisition over the course of a year, my home gym started with a yoga mat, then dumbbells, resistance loops, a treadmill, a Myx bike, an elliptical, a Bosu ball, and finally a Hydrow. I ended up selling the treadmill to make room for the Hydrow because I ran out of space. I genuinely enjoy using each of these pieces of equipment, so they were all worth it to me. Every day I like to alternate between the Hydrow, elliptical, or Myx bike and then follow it up with strength training. Variety is the spice of life!
So if you find yourself asking, “what home gym equipment should I buy?” The answer is: start with equipment you actually want to use! And check your local online marketplaces first to see if you can find something secondhand.
Where To Set Up Your Home Gym
Now that we’ve established the clear winner in the home gym vs. gym membership debate, it’s time to figure out where you are going to set up your shiny new workout space.
Contrary to what you might be thinking, your home gym doesn’t have to be an entire room of your house. For most people, that is probably not feasible or realistic anyway. If you work from home, one of the best places to set up your home gym is to do a home gym and office combo.
Think about it. If you’re starting out with a yoga mat and a set of weights, you don’t need all that much space. The only space you need is a bit of open floor space to move around and make sure you don’t hit anything/hurt yourself during a workout.
Even once you’ve added a machine into the mix, they don’t take up that much space. Especially because they are stationary. Put your treadmill or stationary bike in the corner of your office, along with your neat stack of dumbbells and yoga mat.
One of the benefits of a home gym and office combo is that you will have the visual reminder to exercise while you’re working at your desk. You know what they say: out of sight, out of mind… so if your home gym is constantly in your sight, exercise will always be on your mind. 😉
Just as with any other space in your house, it’s important not to let your home gym become cluttered. If you find that you’re never using your dumbbells or resistance loops or jump rope or any other item, sell it or donate it. Keep your home gym equipped with only those items that are useful to you. By keeping your home gym streamlined, you will be able to more easily combine your workout space with another room of your house.
If you don’t have a home office, you can set up your workout space in a corner of your bedroom, family room, or basement. Get creative! Your health is important, so prioritize making the space for it in your home.
So, Is A Home Gym Worth It?
I hope by now you believe that it is. Even if you’re starting small, the barrier to entry when exercising in your own home is so much lower than a gym membership.
Setting up a home gym gives you the best possible chance of success for making your exercise routine a habit. Your equipment is always there, ready and waiting for you. You can work out any time of day or night. Your favorite machine is always open. And when you just want to do an easy bike ride in your pajamas while watching Netflix, nobody is going to judge you.
Team home gym!
