9 Awesome Home Gym Benefits that Make Working Out Better
Why bother building a gym yourself? For the variety of home gym benefits you’d get out of it, of course.
Building a home gym can feel like a monumental task so it helps to know exactly what you’ll be getting out of the investment. Plus, when it comes to fitness and well-being, it’s always wise to know one’s limitations – is this deadlift far beyond my abilities? Is my form correct? Am I taking far too many selfies standing around gym apparatus? Can I actually afford to create my own home gym?
All important questions; however, the good news is that if the answer is yes and you can afford to create your own home gym, then you no longer have to worry about the selfie quota.
Snap away – nobody’s going to turn their nose up at you!
Of course, there’s also the following 9 more substantial benefits of a home gym…
Home gyms are easy to schedule
How many of us make the same flimsy promise that we’ll hit the gym after work? Or at the weekends, in our free time? And how often do we have the drive to actually do it? Yeah, better leave that one unanswered…
When it comes to a home gym, however, you don’t have to meticulously alter your schedule to fit around the gym; you can simply start and stop whenever suits you best, with zero obligations or time-wasting with traveling.
Although, it does take away one of your best excuses.
Extra perk: having a home gym pretty much guarantees that you always have access to the treadmill for your pre-workout run. There’s no denying that cardio machines at gyms can get crowded, making it even more difficult to schedule the perfect time to go.
Home gyms are so much cleaner
This is probably one of the biggest home gym benefits, especially for those of us who care about hygiene.
And there’s no point skirting around the obvious here: gyms can get pretty disgusting after a full day’s use from thousands of members. Think of all the sweaty equipment, dirty clothing, lockers, showers and toilet facilities – all in use from sun up to sun down.
Now, it must be said that most professional and high quality gyms do make an effort to keep their facilities as clean and hygienic as possible, but it’s never going to be 100%.
Whereas, with your own home gym, the place is only ever going to get as dirty or unhygienic as you allow it to be.
With only you (or your family) using the equipment, there is far less chance of spreading germs or illness around; plus you can clean everything up once you’re finished, safe in the knowledge that the next person to use that exercise bike will be you… Not that sweaty guy with the poor personal hygiene that lives down the street.
Home gyms are a wise long term investment
It might seem counterintuitive but investing in your own home gym can, if done properly and economically, actually wind up cheaper over time.
Naturally, you need to weigh up the costs of a long term gym membership (which can often rank in the hundreds of dollars per year) and the amount of use you’ll get out of it.
There’s a hidden bonus here. After you spend all that time, money and effort in converting your domestic space into a personal gym, you’ll never be able to shirk your exercises again without feeling guilty. A day off suddenly feels like money wasted – what better incentive!?
Home gyms are less intimidating
Many people are put off from joining their local gym due to the publicity of it. Packed together with a horde of strangers, sweating it out on different machinery, trying not to look at one another… It can become quite a daunting prospect, especially if you are new to the lifestyle or are otherwise insecure.
More often than not, this is an irrational worry (after all, everybody is there for self-improvement, it’s very unlikely that someone is going to chastise you for trying to get fit…unless you’re this girl).
Regardless, constructing a home gym completely sidesteps this issue.
When you work out at home, you choose the music. You choose what plays on the TV. You choose the temperature. Nobody else is waiting to get in on the machine when you’re finished. It’s peaceful, you can go at your own pace and you’re purely focused on your own workout, not the person next to you. What’s not to like?
You can spread it out
When you’re using a public gym to get your fitness fix, you’re not only limited by the little time you have whilst there, but also the fact that you have to make the most of it. Most people don’t live close enough to their gym to pop in and out a few times per day, or whenever the fancy takes them.
Not so with a home gym. No longer do you have to go hard or go home for a full session. You’re already home! Go hard in small bursts throughout the day, and spread the gym session out if you feel like it.
Play around with your routines whenever you want. Spend even longer than you usually would in a public gym – whatever you feel like.
The sky’s the limit! (So is your body. Listen to your body, rather than the sky).
A home gym can promote discipline
One of the bigger worries might be that without that clock ticking, or the incentive of a membership fee as motivation, that you might start slacking off when it comes to your routine. After all, we all have kitchens, yet we often order food in for the convenience.
Admittedly, it can be difficult to motivate yourself when there’s nobody else around to spurn you on. But, conversely, it can actually improve your discipline, gym safety and your respect for the whole thing.
With nobody there to help you out if you get stuck or hurt, you’ll be that much more careful and meticulous with your workout – no dodgy lifts, no skimping on safety and no letting your equipment deteriorate or malfunction.
You are solely responsible for your fitness now. Step up to the proverbial plate!
Working out with a partner can be more fun
That said; few of us like to hit the gym without a partner or a pal in tow. It’s always a great opportunity to get together with friends and more often than not, it’s much safer to have an accountability partner nearby to keep an eye on you or help you break new ground in your routines.
One of the biggest benefits of a home gym is that this social factor takes a boost. You’re not just meeting up with your friend for an hour of strenuous exercise, then parting ways until next week. You’re suddenly much more available to spend the time together afterwards because you’re already in that domestic/social environment (with free food and drink – how incredible!)
Just make sure that your partner is somebody that’s comfortable using your shower afterwards… Or rather, that your shower is in a respectable condition. There’s no quicker way to lose a gym buddy than a dirty bathroom.
It’s easier to combine diet with exercise
The commute to and from the gym can often be rife with temptation. Fast food joints, take-aways, supermarkets and restaurants all between you and the safety of your home.
Sure, home is filled with all those nutritious snacks and smoothies you’ve painstakingly prepared for your post-workout meal, but you gotta doge several tempting quick meals to get there, right?
Flip that around to a home gym and you’ve eradicated one of the biggest pitfalls with keeping up a nutritious regime. The food is free, it’s prepared by your own hand and you can get some of that much needed nutritious goodness in you as soon as you’re finished up.
That’s assuming you manage to avoid your base desires when you do your grocery shopping. Show some will power!
And the best home gym benefit…
A home gym can quickly become a convenient hobby.
Perhaps the most overlooked aspect of a home gym (and slightly counter to some of the points above) is that it doesn’t have to be a serious activity all of the time. With the equipment and space available to you whenever you want, your fitness can become something of a hobby rather than a grueling chore.
Bored on a quiet evening? Why not run a few no-obligation miles on the treadmill?
Feeling too groggy to get out of bed? Nothing a few weighted squats won’t quickly solve.
Looking for some stimulation? Why not try and beat your best time on the bike?
The possibilities are endless when you shirk the idea of personal fitness being a duty, and instead embrace it as a fun pastime!
A home gym isn’t for everybody, of course, many gym goers much prefer the atmosphere and the up-front affordability of public gyms. But for those who want something a little more bespoke, creating the ideal home gym for you is the perfect solution.
