5 Reasons You Should Build a Home Gym.
Aug 26th, 2007 by Mehdi Tags: Home Gym, Strength Training
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I trained from 1999 to 2004 in a commercial gym. It had everything you need. A Squat rack. Two benches. Several Olympic barbells. Iron plates.
I trained in other gyms too. But none was as good as the gym I went to for 5 years. Except for my home gym. Best buy of my life. Here’s why.
Cuts Expenses. A friend told me he pays 50€ gym membership a month. Wages in Belgium average 1250€ after tax. 50€ is close to one day work. Add to this car fuel. A lot of money to stay healthy.
Compare with a home gym. One investment. Lasts for life. Barbells get rusty but don’t wear out. And if you ever quit strength training, you can always sell your home gym equipment. It doesn’t lose value.
More Time. You’ll win close to 1 hour a day by training at home:
- No time lost waiting for the squat rack or bench.
- No time lost waiting in the showers.
- No time lost driving to the gym & back.
Training after work is impossible. Especially on Monday & Tuesday. Everybody is benching. Even if you train legs, you’ll lose time waiting someone finishes his sets of biceps curls in the squat rack.
Better Opening Hours. These were my gym’s opening hours:
- Mo-Fr: 10:00-22:00.
- Sa-Su: 16:00-20:00.
- Holidays: 14:00-18:00. Sometimes closed.
Compare with a home gym: open every day & all day long.
Your Rules. Most commercial gyms don’t allow:
- Deadlifts. Too much noise.
- Power Cleans. Too dangerous.
- Chalk. Dirty.
- Grunting. Be quiet.
Nothing is more irritating than training with the Pet Shop Boys playing on the background. When you train at home it’s your rules: chalk, shirtless, scream whatever.
Better Equipment. Good coaching is rare. Commercial gyms choose safety & simplicity: machines and attached barbells.
Unfortunately machines don’t give the same results as free weights. And some, like the smith machine, cause injury in the long run. Here are some examples of bad equipment:
- Barbells with no knurling on the inside
- Dumbbells with plastic handles
- Dumbbells up to 25kg
- No plates of 1,25kg & 2,5kg
- Small plates
If you got the place, invest in a home gym. Next week I’ll show you how to build one.
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“Cut Expenses”
You could always buy used dirtcheap from Craigslist…CG is very popular in the US…not sure about the other side of the Atlantic/or Pacific….
People often rack up a lot of equipment and end up selling them because it lies in their garage….
Mehdi, how about an article on questions to ask when choosing a personal trainer….While this site is great and I have already learnt a lot and progressed immensely in less than 3 weeks, I am considering getting a trainer for a couple of sessions atleast to correct any flaws in my technique…if any…
Rissam. Craiglist, e-bay. Making your material yourself (like a rack). All works. Good advice.
I’ll consider an article on choosing a personal trainer. I’ve put it on my to-do list.
I love my home gym! If you think men catch a load of crap for grunting and DL’ing, try bein’ a girl! Aside from the gym owner or manager frowning, everyone looks at you like you’ve got a second head or something. Nope, I’ll stay right here, where I can sweat, use equipment when I’m ready for it and NOT play nice with others-and blow my eardrums out with some nice loud music for motivation!LOL I have a set each of standard and Oly dumbbell handles, a few sets of hex dumbbells, a rack with lat tower, a spare bench, a Smith getup that has high and low pulleys and yet another bench (I only use the pulleys and occasionally do BP if I don’t have someone handy to spot me), a bike, a treadmill, a mat area for Pilates or yoga as the mood strikes me, 2 Oly bars, an EZ curl bar, and several hundred lbs in plates, standard and Oly. The most I’ve paid for any piece of this stuff is $300 for the Smith. A lot of it is used, but perfectly suitable. The only thing I’d replace ATM is the treaddy, it’s pretty old. But since it was free Oh, and I do want more hex dumbbells. Whenever I need to go up in weight, I buy the next size up. Works for me!
You got more than I do Lynne A. Sounds like a very cool setup you have there. And you’re right about the women thing. If men take a load of crap, women will definitely take more. That’s another reason why women tend to train differently than men. The looks. Good that you have your own home gym. Keep on the good work Lynne A.
Yeah, it’s pretty nice. Of course there is ALWAYS more I’d like to add, like a glute-ham machine, olympic rings, etc. But all in due time;>) I have enough that I can pretty well fake it if I don’t have it. I am blessed to have a large basement!
LynneA. Yeah I know what you mean. I’d also like a glute ham raise & reverse hyper. And a better power rack (higher). And some strongman equipment like a log or an atlas stone. Maybe next year
Have you considered some homemade strongman type equipment? I know people have made sleds out of old tires, made homemade sandbags, etc. I have all the makings for my sandbag in the garage, if ever I get aroundtuit
I’ve been thinking about making my own equipment. Need to free some time & look at it LynneA
When you can train at home it is in your face, everyday. It’s raining cats and dogs but that can’t be used as an excuse anymore!
The investment thing is only one reason why I train at home. I have had horrid experiences with males at gyms. No, I am not here for your visual amusement and no, I am not interested so go away.
The grunting/screaming thing is how you can really tell the inexperienced people apart. Those who laugh at it are the newbies. As a discus/javelin thrower, you get more power with a scream. Same goes for lifting I would assume.
When people snicker you know they aren’t very good, and it’s funny when you get to laugh at them for throwing poorly
Great info. But here’s the flipside on some reasons against building a home gym
1) You stay in a really small place and don’t have space for one - applies especially to Asian countries
2) Weightlifting equipment are insanely expensive where you live - due to them being imported, big and heavy, shipping kills
3) Training alone may not be as motivating - this depends on the individual. Some people find it more motivating when there are people around, or even better, training partners to push you.
4) Lack of a spotter - for max effort/PR bench press attempts for example…and training alone may not be as safe in the case of freak accidents.
5) The cardio bunnies in spandex - always a good reason to go to the gym, unless your gym doesn’t have any
The ideal situation is if you OWN a gym. Best of both worlds
http://www.straighttothebar.com/ has some good articles/ links for home made stuff…they would be awesome and will also look pretty hardcore . LOL…
The thing I hate most is the looks that people give while doing exercises like Bulgarian split squats, step ups… the only plus point is that you can’t get some good machines like cables to perform exercise like face pulls and seated cable rows…
Building a home Gym is not an option for me as I do not have enough space in my home. though I planning to build some home made things like sand bag, currently I am doing body weight circuit when I am unable to go to gym, which are really good for change.
Things that I will like to have in gym would be :
1. Good power rack.
2. Barbell and weights.
3. Kettlebell
4. Rower which would be great for cardio after lower body workout.
5. Rings
6. Medicine balls.
7. captain crush grippers from Iron mind:)
Ive been thinking about doing this. Getting to the gym on weekdays is just too much hassle. and forget about Mondays.
I think the centerpiece will be a squat rack with hooks for deadlifts and a pull up bar on top. Any ideas on where to get a cheap one of these? Ive found them for roughly $400 new online..
Another great reason to workout at home is the intimidation factor. Weights are sometimes daunting at a gym - especially when you’re a beginner and you’re worried that everyone else is watching. At home, this is likely not to be the case.
Great link, Harsh, thanks! Another good one is:
http://p203.ezboard.com/ftheofficebodybuildingworkout28918frm3
I hear ya, Mehdi-it is more time consuming to build it yourself. But for some things, it’s sure a whole lot cheaper!
Exactly! If I was looking for a guy, I’d hit the bars. In the gym, I’m there to WORK. The MP3 player is a wonderful invention, can just turn it up and ignore everyone if you DO have to workout in a gym-but it’s better still to avoid the issue and work out in my gym.
All in due time, Galapogos!LOL I’d love to own a gym, but I’m not truly sure this area could support another one.
Absolutely, Jamie. I know I’d NEVER have walked into a gym when I first started. No kidding, I was so weak after my spinal fusion and the sitting around recuperating-I started lifting with a Danskin *toning* bar and 2 lb weights! It was something like 12 lbs total, and it totally kicked my butt-no way in hell was I gonna do that in PUBLIC!LOL
Hi Mehdi,
I too prefer to train at home for the reasons you mentioned above.
Just one question, you mentioned that “Dumbbells up to 25kg” are “examples of bad equipment”, are they in this list because the 25kg limit is too low for reaching the Beginner Strength Training Program? Or is it in the list for another reason?
Cheers
H.
Harsh. Pretty hardcore indeed
LynneA. Great link you posted there. I’ll give it a closer look when I get back.
Completely agree with the motivational part.
Lol @ the males JH. I’ve seen a lot of men hitting on girls at the gym. I’d tell any woman trying to hit on me me while I’m squatting to come back later when I’m done. The gym is to workout period.
Ignoring always work. Most won’t persist
If ignoring doesn’t work, you can always bean’em with the barbell! Hehehe
Same goes with lifting indeed Connor. Grunting is like breathing it happens automatically when you don’t think about it, there’s a reason for it: better performance. Good comparison.
I’ve been thinking for years to own a gym in the future. I’ll definitely build a bigger gym anyway. I wouldn’t own a gym for a monetary gain, but just for the pleasue of the sport. Like you say: co-operation is key to success, when you have friends who come to train with the same mindset, it inspires you to train. I had my best results when I started out by training with someone who was 3 year more experienced than me. I recommend a training partner who is strogner than you to anyone.
Good reply btw galapagos, I could make a 5 point post out of your comment
Most gym suck. Build one hardcore gym with good material, squat racks, chalk. Force everybody to squat. Give them a good program. Learn them how to train right. They’ll have results. You build reputation, more people come to you. All other gyms will lose clients to you in the long-term. Being better than the competition is easy: they are all using machines/cardio to approach the building muscle/losing fat desire. Switch to free weights & you win.
It is intimidating Jamie, certainly. But I guess that’s like with everything in life. First time is intimidating. The more you do it, the better you become. One month later you’re already looking at the beginners coming in. Just do it I’d say, don’t mind the rest. Persistence is key to success, hang on & you’ll be at the same level, or even past the level of other gym go-ers in no time. The winners are the do-ers.
You don’t need dumbbells on the beginner strength training program H. The 25kg dumbbel is in the list as an example. While a 25kg side raise is not a beginner’s weight, a 25kg dumbbell row or shrug can be achieved fast. Just for the sake of the argument
Harsh, try floor bench press / snatch / overhead squats. You’ll see looks. Even with the Overhead Press. It’s funny when you can press overhead what others bench. Most people are very very weak on the overhead press compared to the bench press. They always guarantee looks.