Ask Lemmy

You should exercise but you don’t have to do it at a gym. The weather is lovely right now (depending on where you live), go run around a park. You can do free yoga classes at home.

Exercise doesn’t need to be expensive if you can’t or don’t want to pay for it. I got a lot of mileage out of running around a park and throwing Olympic rings over a tree to do bodyweight exercises.

Nowadays I love the gym though, I go several times a week and use stuff I just don’t have space for or can’t afford.

Not that I liked the gym, but for lazy people like me it's way easier than figuring that shit out on my own. There was a trainer who made a plan of which exercises to do when. And there were special machines for training different muscle groups that were very easy to use. You'd visit a lot of those machines after eachother and do for instance 3 sets of moving the weight 10 times up and down again. And apart from that there were the threadmills etc.

Now I don't know about you, but I don't have threadmills in my house, nor any of the other equipment, nor someone who knows enough about fitness to know what exercises would help me best.

That being said, I never liked it, I prefer to just start with something and keep doing that same thing for an hour or so. Currently I've been running multiple times a week for a few years already. Way cheaper and it also works better for me.

If you're wondering what the point is, you can just go to one and ask for a tour.

I pay $65 a month for a membership to my local YMCA mainly so I can use the pool.

I loathe gyms, they are usually full of smelly obnoxious people.

The alternate I found is putting on running shoes, headphones, and go outside.

You're absolutely correct that you can do all that at home. Will you? I find that going to a place puts me in the right state of mind to do the thing. They do have a lot of equipment available, but you can mostly replace it at low cost by running outdoors or buying a few dumbells.

Likewise for the costume - when I started going, I was very worried about making sure I had gym shorts and running shoes and a sweat wicking shirt and a gym bag. I got that stuff and it did help, just mentally put me into the place for it. But after a while I realized I could just go in casual clothes (though my gym bans jeans) and it's fine. Up to you what's more motivating - workout clothes or reducing friction by wearing what you've got.

The first visit to a gym could be free. Or it can be a "a current member can bring one friend for free once a month" thing. You can just go and check what's out there. Most people probably just lift weights or use the machines that they don't have and don't want to buy at home. There's also the factor that if you're at the gym, you're there to work out. When you're at home, you can be distracted by whatever.

Run on a treadmill and lift some weights?

Yup.

Gym memberships are insanely expensive. Are home workouts actually effective?

They can be. Depends in your goals and all that. Home gyms require space and money up front.

I've been following this routine for a while at home. It's been pretty good. I initially started with their 3 day a week dumbbell exercises.

https://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/6-day-dumbbell-only-workout

I've also probably spent over $1.5k on a quality bench and adjustable dumbbells. A far cry from what you can use at a gym, but it's good enough for me.

You can probably buy some cheap weights to start out and then move on from there.

Also, don't expect immediate results. Give it a solid 3 months.

That's a lot of questions, but I'll try.

What do you do at a gym? Use dedicated equipment to lift weights and build strength, work with a coach to help set workouts, and workout with other people who have the same goals.

A gym membership can be a way to meet other people and build community. If you see the same 5 people regularly due to similar gym schedules, you might build some friendships.

Primarily a gym can become a place where you are expected to exercise, so you're more likely to do it. If you have a treadmill and some dumbbells in your bedroom, your brain might not give you the motivation needed to use the equipment. You might hop on for 5 minutes, but then get distracted and stop using it. But if you traveled 20 minutes to a dedicated exercise location, then you're much less likely to stop and leave right away.

So what do you do? Well, depends on what your goals are. Did you want to get healthier? Some cardio where you get your heart rate up improves your cardiovascular health. Lifting weights, can help build muscle and bone health, which would make it much less likely to be injured, and much more likely to recover from an injury quicker.

If you can motivate yourself to workout at home, and if you can find a good routine that meets your goals, you can certainly do that all at home, even without much equipment at all. The problem is, are you actually doing what you need to do, or are you just moving around and wasting time with little actual effect? A coach that knows what their doing would be able to help you actually use your time.

jeans and a t shirt pretty much daily

Not great but acceptable gym garb.

I feel like I could do all of that at home.

You could do it at home with light weights. But heavier weights and equipment are really expensive and otherwise problematic to keep at home. Also, I find that there's something about being at the gym that makes it easier for me to work out. I did home workouts during covid but it just wasn't the same and I didn't get as good of a workout.

Also gym membership prices vary widely. Planet Fitness if you have one near you at least used to be as cheap as $10/month. Ignore anyone who says it's not a real gym, it's good enough for like 99% of people.YMCAs and other community centers tend to be on the cheaper side.

I never liked gyms. I get great workouts at home with a little open floor space and a stationary bike.

To answer the title question, you work out your body. That specifics of that question highly depends on your current situation. Like age, current fitness level, what you are training for (strength, cardio, weight loss, etc), and what you have access to.

Even just the full set of free weights at a gym is the price of an annual membership (more than some discount gyms), let alone the expensive machines.

I wear jeans and a t shirt pretty much daily

I have some guys in my gym that wear very similar. If you have generally free-range of motion, you'll be fine. Will just be hotter than normal. Walmart has some decent clothes for not a lot of money that you can get a set of and just use that. Nobody at the gym is going to judge you for wearing the same thing every day.

I don’t get what you do there

This depends on what you are looking to get done. Each person is there for their own thing, and it depends on their goals. Weight-loss, muscle toning, strength training, socializing....

I don't do anything on the treadmills or bikes because I structure my weights to do the cardio bits as well. This is just a personal preference because I get bored and zone out during long walks, runs, or rides.

Get a plan together and be consistent with it. I have 3 plans in circulation depending on what my needs and schedule is. Arms, legs, and combination. If I have the time, I'll do arms Monday, Wednesday, Friday; Legs will happen on Tuesday and Thursday. If I know I can't get to things on a timely basis because of schedules I'll do a combination MWF. I'm flexible with my time so I don't beat myself up for not going.

I could do home workouts just fine, but the cost of equipment is too high and I need the space in the house, which I don't have. I'd love to get a place that has a finished basement, or unfinished, and have a place to go that doesn't cost me monthly. The only issue with home workouts is replacing broken or worn equipment. Also, my gym has a row machine that I wouldn't have access to or money to purchase. Just little things like that. Weights are super expensive for full sets.

If you have the funds, I'd recommend finding a local gym that has a trainer that you can utilize. Even if it's for just a few sessions to get you going.

Good luck if you decide to get into it. Don't make it part of your personality and have a goal.

It just depends on what your goals are.

Are you just wanting to burn off calories? You may as well go for a run in your neighborhood.

Are you wanting to build muscle? That's what I used to do. The gym has a lot of equipment that I wouldn't be able to have room for at home. All the variety of free weights, barbells, racks, etc.

They also have classes and trainers you can hire to help you reach a goal. There's also basketball courts, tennis, and often swimming pools.

But really at the end of the day, you gotta have a goal in mind I'm order to plan an effective workout routine. Randomly running on treadmill or lifting whatever won't do much.

Also I didn't really wear anything special. Just a T-shirt and some sweat pants. I did pick up some shoes for the gym because my others were too squishy and causing me problems when doing squats.

You have some very good answers here. I’m just going to add to this and say what you pay for a gym membership compared to what you wouldpay for decent quality equipment at home. It’s cheaper to have the gym membership because you have the maintenance and the upkeep on the equipment andthe replacement cost on the equipment if you own it. Where as at the gym you go there The stuff is working.

Given a lot of it, you can replace in a fairly low cost way. But you still have the upkeep and maintenance. And you also have the space needed.

Yes, going to the gym can be fun. Once you start feeling better and seeing results, there is a feedback cycle that makes you want more.

You should buy a pair of gym shorts and have a spare tshirt for working out.

Without knowing your goals it is hard to tell you what to do when you arrive to the gym. Typically you check in by scanning your card. If you don't want to change at the gym, show up in your shorts and shirt ready to work.

So now you've entered the gym with some proper attire, then what? If you don't have a plan, a good default is to limber up by stretching for a bit. Then find your favorite cardio machine and warm up on that, maybe for 15 mins or so.

Then you can do what you please. Go lift weights, continue with the cardio, play a game like basketball with some people; variety is the spice of life.

If you don't know how to lift weights, there are tons of resources out there ranging from books and YouTube to personal training.

Circuit training on machines is a great way to get started, especially if you don't have someone to work out with.

Home training is ok, but you have to have a lot of discipline to not end up on your phone or the couch. Going to a gym, especially with a workout partner, seems to work best for me.

It really depends on what you want to do. If you're trying to build muscle, lifting weights and a little bit of cardio will make you strong and feel just generally better (less mental fog, have more energy, etc). You can generally get a good deal of the benefits if you're just starting out at home, provided you are actually being consistent with your workouts. Workout clothes are much more comfortable than just wearing a pair of jeans and working out, plus they won't chafe if you get them wet from your sweat. A lot of the reason I have a gym membership is that it provides an incentive to actually get my money's worth by going to the gym (I am rather cheap), thus I'm less likely to not workout. I think we all remember how awful gym time at school was, but a paid for gym is a much better environment, as you can go take a shower after rather than having to be sweaty in your clothes for the rest of the day, or even just working out at home with the opportunity to shower after sweating.

Gym membership where I live is cheap. Like it would take years of monthly gym payments to equal the cost of a good set of weights and stuff to work out with. Husband has a lot of free weights so I do lift at home but do yoga at a studio, and when I did use the gym, I took aerobic dance classes, did stairmaster and watched people lift weights, used machines and lifted weights myself and didn't have to take up half the bedroom with weights.

I personally enjoy going someplace to work out a lot more than doing it at home, but I do both.

Clothes don't matter, don't you have any loose shorts? That's what I see guys wearing at the gym, they are probably like $5 at Walmart.

ETA: on your actual question yes home workout can be effective, of course. Plenty of people do fine just going out for a run and doing some pushups, pullups, unweighted squats, planks, etc; and yes I enjoy more going to the gym, and once there, will work out - at home always something else needs to be done and it's harder to focus.

I throughly enjoy my time at the gym. 6 days a week I lift weights, run or swim a little, and then soak in a hot tub.

I’ve found that it makes me feel better, and not just physically. I’m less stressed with regular exercise than I was without it.

It’s also time I get to spend totally alone. Yes, other people are around, but I have headphones on and don’t have to talk to anyone. I teach for a living, and so it’s just nice to have a little time each day where I don’t have to be “on.”

Seeing yourself get stronger is also feels fantastic in ways that I don’t think really make sense until you do it. I could only bench 95 lbs when I first started lifting; now I’m pushing 225. That’s something I’m proud of.

Figuring out what to do is a big part of the challenge for me too. I workout at home and follow video guided exercises using the Fiton App which is free for most content. I started with no weights, but have since gotten a few sets of dumbbells at different weights.

Build one of these out of old pallets, concrete and other scrap stuff