Investing hundreds if not thousands for a gym in your home may seem a bit intimidating up front. There is a lot of work in setting up and maintaining the equipment to ensure longevity. Finding and creating space in your home is also an issue that can come up. So is a home gym really worth it?
Having a gym in your home gives you the convenience of working out on your on schedule. Although costs up front are heavy, and there will be a certain level of work to set up and maintain your gym. In the long you will be saving your time and money. Having a home gym would also likely keep you on your fitness goals because of the convenience it brings.
If you’re deciding whether to purchase a membership at a gym or build your own. It may be helpful to sit down and consider what you like for each option.
For example, having a membership gives you access to certain classes and equipment that the gym provides. Something you may not necessary get in your home. And if you prefer getting out of the house for an hour or two, maybe a membership wouldn’t be a bad idea.
On the flip side, if getting your exercise in an efficient manner is your main goal. It doesn’t get much more efficient than having your own gym.
Having access to a gym close by gives you little excuses to not work out. You wouldn’t need to get in the car or take a bus to the gym and if you are strapped for time, you can do exactly the exercises you want without worrying about hitting traffic or waiting for the equipment you want to use.
Home Gym Cost vs Gym Membership
The beauty of having a home gym is you can buy as little or as much as you need according to your work out routine. A typical home gym that includes treadmill, bench press and weight racks could start at around $1000-$3000 depending on brand, quality or if its new or used.
This is a rough estimate of how much you would need to spend up front. Keep in mind, if you chose quality equipment, they should last your for 10+ years.
Comparing it to a gym membership, that can cost on average can be $20 – $200 a month. Which means $240 – $2400 a year. You can expect to get your moneys worth in as little as one year or up to five years.
And if we break it down further, like a 10 year span. Paying for a membership, assuming prices do not fluctuate will run you upwards of $2400 – $24,000.
But with the home gym and the heavier upfront costs. Also, assuming the equipment is kept in good condition. You will likely have put in more hours of exercise and saved money!
However, these are just purely estimates and ideas for you to weigh your options.
There also may be associated costs to starting your home gym, aside from the equipment. You may need break down a wall to open up space or get different flooring and floor mats to accommodate the heavy machinery.
If money is a real factor in your decisions. Lets put some things in perspective. You are likely reading this article on a laptop, phone or tablet. In fact, you likely have all three of these laying around somewhere. When adding up the cost of all these products. Creating that home gym may not seem like such a bad idea.
Save Time With A Home Gym
I have heard so many stories of people skipping their gym session just at the thought of the travel they have to make. It usually goes something like “ugh, I have to drive all the way there, find parking get changed…” or “I don’t feel like walking 5 blocks just to get my work out”
Maybe you heard those excuses too, or even said something along those lines yourself. It happens, sometimes you just don’t feel like going through all that effort.
For some it can be a legitimate reason, when including travel time (both ways) plus your workout time and depending on how busy the gym is. You can easily commit 2 or more hours of your day. Where half of that time is not even workout!
With a home gym, you can gain back that wasted time, and solely commit 100% of your gym time to just working out.
Not to mention how you will have access to healthier food in your kitchen. Or even have the ability of cooking a healthy meal while you’re at the gym.
How many times have you left the gym and its late already so you “pick up something on the way home”. Usually it will be fast food. It’s ok though because you just worked out right? Sure, you can let the two cancel each other out. But whats the gain?
Taking out the temptation and being at home can help you get hyper focussed on your health goals.
Cutting out travel time and being able to have access to the equipment you need when you need it will allow you to maximize the time you spend in your home gym.
Is A Home Gym Effective?
Don’t let the shiny object syndrome get a hold of you. There is nothing you can do at your local gym that you cannot do in your home gym. Given you have planned for the right equipment.
If you already have a planned routine finding the right equipment shouldn’t be much of an issue, since you would already know what you’d be doing. You would also be able to choose equipment like a smith machine that can accommodate upper and lower body exercises.
After awhile you may feel the exercises have gone stale. If thats the case, there are a plethora of options available online that could direct you into new ways to spice up your workouts. Youtube has many free options, or even try out on demand boxing and kickboxing lessons to add extra layers.
Conclusion
If you’re one that enjoys the social aspect of local gyms or get true motivation being in an environment where your peers are pushing their limit and reaching their goals.
Home gyms would be a downer and may feel quite lonely. But if that is a factor for you, there are ways around that. Joining online communities that share your enthusiasm could be the answer in gaining back your excitement.
From a complete workout perspective, exercising in your home or at a local gym shouldn’t be too far off from each other. When considering between the two, it really comes down to time and money. In the long run having a home gym would be the option that saves you on both.
Check out our article on how to decide where to set up your home gym.
