Are you tired of waiting for your favorite leg press machine? Tired of driving twenty minutes each way to work out? If you belong to a commercial gym, chances are the little irritations have you dreaming about the luxury of working out at home.
But have you stopped to count the costs and benefits of building your own home gym? There are plenty of both, so take a moment to consider the following before you start measuring your garage for your new power rack.
The most obvious benefit of having your own home gym is that big fat check that you would not be writing to somebody else each month.
It may not seem like much, one check at a time, but over the course of a year, you are paying hundreds if not thousands of dollars for the privilege of sweating on somebody else's floor.
If you hire personal training services at your gym, you are paying both the trainer and a markup to the gym owner.
By working out at home, you will save the cost of the gym membership, and if you do hire a personal trainer, you can cut out the middleman fees and just pay the trainer directly.
You must also remember to figure in the incidental expenses you have at the gym.
First, you have to get there.
You may be one of the lucky ones who work next door to the gym, saving any additional transportation expenses.
But if you are driving ten miles to the gym every night after work, and then another ten miles home, your gym membership is costing you an additional tank of gas every two weeks.
Additional hidden expenses include the fancy workout clothes you buy to impress your gym mates, when you would get the same workout in old sweatpants and a faded t-shirt at home.
And what about all of those energy bars and protein shakes you consume at the gym? You could eat the same snacks and meals at home at grocery prices instead of expensive convenience prices.
The flexibility of working out on your own schedule is another primary benefit of a home gym.
This is especially important if your lifestyle is hectic with every minute scheduled.
Waiting ten minutes for your favorite machine can set your entire day off track.
Of course, there are also a few drawbacks to working out at home.
The first is the cost of the home exercise equipment.
Depending on your budget, you can spend anywhere from a couple hundred dollars to a couple thousand dollars, for each machine.
Of course, when used properly, gym equipment tends to last forever so you will only have to make the initial investment once.
And home exercise equipment holds it value well, so you should have a ready market if you later decide to sell your equipment.
Perhaps the biggest drawback of working out at home is the isolation.
Some people enjoy working out in solitude, but many need the energy of people around them to get them motivated to push a little harder.
You can mitigate the loneliness at home by surrounding yourself with your favorite music, utilizing headphones if you are living with others.
The other drawback of working out by yourself is the lack of a spotter.
The ideal home gym is often shared with a roommate or a neighbor.
In summary, the financial benefits of a home gym usually far outweigh the cost of buying the initial equipment.
But if the emotional costs are too high, and you find yourself not using your home gym, then you can always put your equipment for sale on eBay and go back to the commercial gym.
But have you stopped to count the costs and benefits of building your own home gym? There are plenty of both, so take a moment to consider the following before you start measuring your garage for your new power rack.
The most obvious benefit of having your own home gym is that big fat check that you would not be writing to somebody else each month.
It may not seem like much, one check at a time, but over the course of a year, you are paying hundreds if not thousands of dollars for the privilege of sweating on somebody else's floor.
If you hire personal training services at your gym, you are paying both the trainer and a markup to the gym owner.
By working out at home, you will save the cost of the gym membership, and if you do hire a personal trainer, you can cut out the middleman fees and just pay the trainer directly.
You must also remember to figure in the incidental expenses you have at the gym.
First, you have to get there.
You may be one of the lucky ones who work next door to the gym, saving any additional transportation expenses.
But if you are driving ten miles to the gym every night after work, and then another ten miles home, your gym membership is costing you an additional tank of gas every two weeks.
Additional hidden expenses include the fancy workout clothes you buy to impress your gym mates, when you would get the same workout in old sweatpants and a faded t-shirt at home.
And what about all of those energy bars and protein shakes you consume at the gym? You could eat the same snacks and meals at home at grocery prices instead of expensive convenience prices.
The flexibility of working out on your own schedule is another primary benefit of a home gym.
This is especially important if your lifestyle is hectic with every minute scheduled.
Waiting ten minutes for your favorite machine can set your entire day off track.
Of course, there are also a few drawbacks to working out at home.
The first is the cost of the home exercise equipment.
Depending on your budget, you can spend anywhere from a couple hundred dollars to a couple thousand dollars, for each machine.
Of course, when used properly, gym equipment tends to last forever so you will only have to make the initial investment once.
And home exercise equipment holds it value well, so you should have a ready market if you later decide to sell your equipment.
Perhaps the biggest drawback of working out at home is the isolation.
Some people enjoy working out in solitude, but many need the energy of people around them to get them motivated to push a little harder.
You can mitigate the loneliness at home by surrounding yourself with your favorite music, utilizing headphones if you are living with others.
The other drawback of working out by yourself is the lack of a spotter.
The ideal home gym is often shared with a roommate or a neighbor.
In summary, the financial benefits of a home gym usually far outweigh the cost of buying the initial equipment.
But if the emotional costs are too high, and you find yourself not using your home gym, then you can always put your equipment for sale on eBay and go back to the commercial gym.
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