The gym isn’t the only place to get a great workout. At-home workouts can be as effective, not to mention convenient, as gym training. A gym or fitness center may provide dedicated space for training, but your home offers more flexibility and may help with your consistency as a result.
You might not feel like working out every day, but training at home makes a difference. Your gym is literally right there, so there is no reason for you not to take advantage. These days, there are more at-home fitness guides than ever, this post being one of them! What advantages does one have over the other? Read on to find out!
Why Work Out at Home?
Thinking of working out at home? Here are a few good reasons you might want to push through with those plans:
Convenience
Getting a good workout while avoiding traffic? Sign us up! One of the biggest advantages of having a designated training space at home is that you no longer have to commute. Commuting to the gym and back may take a significant amount of time out of your day. Not to mention, you might already be tired by the time you get home and won’t feel like doing anything else. Even if you’re having a busier day than usual, inserting a quick 30-minute workout session should be attainable when you train at home.
Variety
So, you’ve decided to work out at home. What now? Many tend to be hesitant to give at-home training a try because they don’t know what to do or where to start. However, there are a lot of easy fixes to this in the form of technology. There’s the internet, YouTube, training apps, and more! There’s no shortage of resources to aid and improve your home fitness journey. However, you may want to consult your doctor before swearing by a program if you have a health issue or injury.
Cost-Effectiveness
There’s no need to spend money on public transportation, gas, or eating out when your gym’s at home. There’s no need for fancy equipment or workout clothes; you can simply put on your most comfortable clothes for working out and use your body weights. Nothing more to it!
Why You Might NOT Want to Work Out at Home
We’ve already established that working out at home can be effective. There are tons of success stories to prove it! However, that doesn’t mean home workouts suit everyone. Here’s why:
Some Don’t Associate Their Homes With Working Out
If your home fitness journey is still in the planning stage, you may find it to be a “different” experience when you actually start doing it. That could be because you associate home life with fun, relaxation, or rest. Hard work is for the office, right? Well, not necessarily. Working out is a different kind of hard work, and it can actually be a form of pleasure once you get the hang of it.
Still, one might be prone to making excuses at the start of their journey. “Oh, I have a ton of dishes to do,” “I have to watch over the kids,” or “I have to do laundry.” In particular, beginners may find whatever reason they can to defer or skip their home workouts, something you don’t really have the opportunity to do at an actual gym.
Not Enough Space
Space can often be an issue when training at home because, let’s be honest, most homes aren’t designed to accommodate a home gym or workout space. In most cases, the best one can really improvise. Even then, this is limited to what you actually have to work with.
Form
The form is everything, and that might not be something you can’t get enough instruction on at home. The gym is a different story, with seasoned fitness enthusiasts and trainers there to watch and correct poorly executed moves. What about training apps and the internet? While these can work for some, others may have trouble taking directions because of their inexperience, especially beginners.
Form and execution can make starting your fitness journey at home tricky since continuing with poor form could eventually lead to injury. The trick is to start with exercises you’re already familiar with and know you are doing correctly. Save more complicated moves for when you’ve had proper instruction from the right professional.
Parting Thoughts
More than anything, workouts at home should be safe and suited to your level of fitness. If you’re a beginner, attempting a weight you’re unsure you can lift safely is not a good idea.
Challenging yourself is par for the course of any fitness journey, but make sure to do it right. Learn more about yourself and your fitness before leveling up your program.
Working out at home can be effective because of the flexibility it affords more than anything else. As for intensity, actual gyms and fitness centers will always have the edge. These establishments address aspects of your fitness that a home gym tends to overlook.
