The Case for a Home Gym

I have either worked in gyms, owned gyms or been a vendor that supports gyms my whole adult life.

I have never thought that working out at home was a good idea.

Times change and so do people.

Before I go any further I want to be clear this is not a case AGAINST going to a gym or health club. If you currently do, please keep going.

For years when people said they were going to work out at home it meant they were going to buy a piece of cardio equipment which with a month was a clothes hanger. 

Whenever I had a client say they would work out at home they never did, ever.

A few things have happened over the last few year starting with CrossFit gyms which were essentially oversized garages. They paved the way for doing legit strength training in small spaces.

Next up was equipment companies. They came out with affordable and space saving equipment that didn’t make it outrageous to build a home gym. 

To me the #1 benefit of working out at home is time. When you are able to wake up and step into your garage to get your workout done you save an enormous amount of time. You don’t have to drive 10-15 minutes to the gym. If you work out in the morning you are able to shower in your own home with the added convenience of having everything you need without having to pack a bag.

This holds true for working out after work. You can come home get dinner ready, help with the kid’s homework or whatever may need attention but you can easily slip into the garage (or wherever it is) to get your workout in. Think about how many people say I will go home and then go out to the gym but never do? 

Here is a quick list of benefits:

• Save time
• No commute=less stress
• No waiting for equipment
• No germs (especially in pandemics)
• Shower at your own house if you work out before work
• Clothes don’t have to match ☺
• Listen to your own music without headphones

So how much does it cost to outfit a gym? Obviously, there are unlimited things you can do but from what I can see you can set up a quality home gym for under $1500. You can spend much more of course but that depends on how you train and what you need.

I have a pretty complete garage gym that I have been gradually building over the last year. I can do just about anything I would normally do at a gym. I prefer this to going the Pelton route because it will cost you about $2500 for the bike plus you have to pay $40 per month for the subscription. But it’s one dimensional, all you can do is spin. Health and wellness is more than that and if you read anything by me you know strength training is more important. 

You could spend $2500 and have a much more diverse gym that would cover your strength and cardio.

Another option is to take a hybrid approach. This is what I started out with. I kept my gym membership and bought a complete set of Kettlebells for $450. I would go to the gym 2-3 days a week and train with kettlebells the rest of the time. Once I moved further away from my gym I made the switch to full time at my house.

This is a great idea if you have a low cost membership. There are many options that you can pay as little as $10 per month. You can keep your membership and split some time working out at home. This way you don’t have to sacrifice certain equipment you like or the social aspect.

If you find yourself struggling to get to the gym consistently then building a home gym may be a nice option. As I said you can start slow, make sure you like it and are doing it.