PF Episode 19: The Home Gym or a Gym Membership...Which Is Better for Fitness?

The Home Gym or a Gym Membership: Which Is Better for Fitness?

Jen: Welcome to Practically Fit, Real Fitness Over 40. I'm Jen Chamberlain.

Alex: And I'm Alex Johnson.

Jen: And today we are going to face off to determine once and for all which is better: a home gym or a gym membership.

Alex: So, Jen, can we officially call this a smackdown?

Jen: We can officially call this a smackdown, the first of many. We have another big smackdown that we're going to have eventually, on running versus cycling, but this is our first.

Alex: All right, I'm excited about this debate.

Jen: Yes, yes. There are a lot of things we agree on, but this is not one of them. I also think this is the perfect time to have this conversation, because we're a couple of months into the year, and we know from our previous podcast that this is when New Year's-resolution-driven gym memberships start to tail off a bit. So this seems like just the right time to talk about where to go from there.

Alex: Yeah. I did a post on this for the newsletter right toward the end of the year, as people were thinking about their New Year's resolutions, and it was one of the most popular posts we've had on Practically Fit. It got good readership, with people coming in from Google searching for this topic. So I think people tend to agree with me that it's time to get rid of these fancy gym memberships and start building out their home gyms. I think the pandemic really changed things in that regard. That's why I'm excited to talk more about this today.

Jen: Oh, I don't know about that. We have a long way to go to prove your point entirely. But I will say, in full disclosure, that my own experience with a home gym has been less than stellar. Going way back in time, I once had a home gym of sorts. It was some gym equipment in a very sad little garage in my suburban home. I wanted this equipment; I asked for it, and it was a gift. And then, like so many other people, it just ended up gathering dust in the garage until it finally met its untimely demise. So that was my home gym experience.

Alex: I want to clarify: you had some home gym equipment. What was this? Was this one of those sad combo home weight machine things? You have the right time period, but I didn't buy a Bowflex.

Jen: I wasn't just watching late-night TV one night and got sucked into the infomercial. This was actually a bench and some free weights, and a barbell, that sort of thing. A typical setup. But I just didn't find it very enticing to use. I preferred going to the gym.

Alex: Well, let's see if I can convince you today and change your mind.

The Research: Gym Memberships, Alcohol, and Cardiovascular Health

Jen: All right. Before we talk about any more of our own personal stories, I think we should dive into the science, as we always do. I found this enticing conference paper, which unfortunately was too expensive for me to read, but it was titled "Research on Enhancing Long-Term Happiness: Gym Membership and Alcohol."

Alex: Now that's an interesting title. "Enhancing Long-Term Happiness: Gym Membership and Alcohol."

Jen: Yes, indeed. I'll read you a little bit from the abstract. It said: "Two products that may enable consumers to engage in leisure activities are gym membership and alcohol, both of which are affordable and readily available. This paper—"

Alex: Leisure activities. So, you keep going with this, because I'm curious where it's headed.

Jen: Okay. "This paper explored consumer motivations for consumption of both products and the relationship between gym membership, alcohol, and consumer happiness."

Alex: Oh, but you couldn't afford this thing.

Jen: No, I couldn't. Unfortunately, I really wanted to read the conclusions, but it was $300 just to read the chapter, and I didn't feel like ponying up for that.

Alex: $300, because they're trying to make back the money they spent on this study that no one would sponsor. They're really desperate to get their money back on this one. Although, based on the title, it sounds like something that would have been sponsored by Life Time Fitness and Michelob Ultra. Or, we know it wasn't Bowflex sponsoring the gym membership research.

Jen: Yeah, exactly. With a little smart marketing, they could have found some sponsors for this study and wouldn't have to charge $300.

Alex: No kidding. Maybe that's what they were after, that $300. I can see why you wouldn't pay that, although I'm dying to know what this study fully said.

Jen: Yeah, total deal-breaker. But aside from this, I will say there was very scant research on the benefits of gym membership. There were some studies done during the depths of the pandemic that showed gym closures had a negative impact on people's fitness and well-being, which is not surprising. I did find one 2017 study, though, out of Iowa State University. It was titled "Associations of Health Club Membership with Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Health." It found that people who belong to a health club or gym not only exercised more but had better cardiovascular health outcomes. And they found these benefits were even more significant if people belonged to a gym for more than a year, which goes with our talk about gym memberships tailing off if you get excited at the beginning of the year and then drop out two months in, right?

Alex: Yeah, absolutely. I didn't read this study. I know this is supposed to be a debate, but we don't want to prejudge each other's arguments. So I'm just curious what the methodology was behind it. It's logical to me that people who have a health club membership would be more likely to meet physical activity guidelines and have better cardio health. But the people who don't, are they active people? How are they filtering those folks out? I'm curious; I may have to dig into this more. Oh, well, I'm convinced.

Jen: But wait, you haven't heard the rest of it. According to Duck-chul Lee, one of the paper's authors, quote: "It's not surprising, as you said, that people with a gym membership work out more, but the difference in our results is pretty dramatic. Gym members were 14 times more aerobically active than non-members and 10 times more likely to meet their muscle-strengthening guidelines, regardless of age and weight. And the results were similar for both men and women." So I'm pretty convinced by that. Did you find anything out there in Research Land to support your argument, Alex?

Alex: Well, I'll get to that in a second. I'm looking at the conclusions from this study now, and it does note that, quote, "longitudinal randomized controlled trials would be clearly warranted, as cross-sectional data prohibits causal inferences." You know what that means.

Jen: Are you calling my inference casual?

Alex: I'm calling their inference casual, which they've called out in the conclusion of their study. This debate is off to a thrilling start. That's the exact point I was making. What assumptions are we making about these people who don't belong to a gym? What if they're just not active people? You need to screen that.

Jen: Right. This is a good point about research studies in general. There's this problem of correlation being mistaken for causation, right? Something you have to be careful about when reading any research study is the underlying factors: were the people healthy to begin with? So, fair point. Well taken.

Alex: Yeah, and I see here the study was funded by 24 Hour Fitness. No, I'm just kidding.

Jen: No.

Alex: It might have been, I don't know.

Jen: Also, I will make a point, though: something important to look at when you're reading research is who funded it.

Alex: Yeah, exactly. So I looked around to see if there was anything definitive on home gyms versus gym membership. The only thing I found was a 2017 study, interestingly, from before the pandemic, titled "Gym-Based Exercise and Home-Based Exercise With Telephone Support Have Similar Outcomes When Used as Maintenance Programs in Adults With Chronic Health Conditions: A Randomized Trial" — which your study wasn't randomized, was it? Anyway. The other group did a home-based exercise program for 12 months with telephone follow-up, although in 2023 this might be an app, right? Kind of interesting. Based on this study, it said, quote, "similar long-term clinical outcomes and long-term exercise adherence are achieved with the two approaches examined in this study." So basically, both the gym membership and the home-based exercise program were equally effective. I actually thought that was really interesting. As we may talk about today, regardless of which of these options you choose, there is the motivation factor. If you're motivated, you'll be more likely to stick to your plan no matter whether you're working out at a gym or at home. So I cite this to say that, based on this research, neither one is more effective in terms of long-term commitment. You need that motivation. And I assume, given that our audience is listening to a fitness podcast, that they either have motivation to stay fit or they're seeking motivation. So, based on the fact that we have a listener pool that's probably already somewhat motivated, I think they should choose the home gym.

Jen: Yes, you do.

Alex: How about that for an opening salvo?

Jen: Opening salvo accepted. I will point out that your study really basically said that they were the same, so I'm not uber impressed. But yeah.

Alex: I'm keeping it real, is what I'm doing. I'm not pulling out studies sponsored by 24 Hour Fitness or LA Fitness. Just kidding.

Jen: I will also make a point about that study. I do think motivation is a big factor. And going back to my sad home gym, I think what was really lacking for me was motivation, because honestly, I don't love weight training or strength training, and having this kind of sad environment just made me love it even less.

Alex: Yeah, that makes sense. And just to correct the record after my jokes about your study, it was supported by the Iowa State University College of Human Sciences seed grant, and they have no competing interests. So joking aside, it was legit. But yeah, that motivation is key. So, we've started with our opening arguments here. Let's move further into the debate. Jen, why don't you go ahead and share with the listeners the reasons you think having a gym membership is better? Maybe we can talk about each one of these as you go along.

Jen's Case: Why a Gym Membership Wins

Jen: Sounds good. Absolutely. I am up to the challenge. My first reason is: why have just some of the tools when you can have all of the tools? Let me use an analogy to make this a little clearer. I'll make the analogy with home improvement, which I've also dabbled in with very limited success. What I've found in home improvement projects is that inevitably I get started and then I realize the results would be so much better if I had the proper tools, like a band saw, or the proper sanding for my drywall, et cetera. But then I think to myself, do I really want to buy a whole slate of tools for this one project? That's exactly the way I feel about a gym. I like to go in and have everything at my disposal, all the different sizes of weights. The world is my oyster in the gym.

Alex: Oh, that makes sense. I like your home improvement analogy. When I first owned a home, I actually tried to buy all the tools, and I can tell you that the quality of my home improvement work did not increase with better tools. So I could have all those weights in the gym, but it doesn't mean I'm going to do a better workout.

Jen: Ah, good point. It may go back to motivation, which brings me to my second point: setting aside a dedicated time to work out really helps keep me accountable. You may say to yourself, well, it's a gym, you can go whenever you want, and yes, some you can. The particular gym I work out at is a boxing gym, and you actually have to sign up for open gym, and you have a 45-minute block. Also, if I use a gym at work, I have a specific timetable when I can be there, so I have to get in and out around my work obligations. I find that dedicated time really helps keep me accountable, versus just having some equipment in my house that I may or may not use when I feel like it.

Alex: That makes a lot of sense. I think that's a really good point in favor of the gym membership. The way your boxing gym is approaching it is really interesting. I presume that's because there's limited space for the boxing, so they have to regulate things. But that's an interesting approach, and I'm not going to argue with that one. I think it's a great point.

Jen: All right. Point, gym. A closely related one for me is that spending money on a gym membership also guilts me into going. If I'm spending a monthly amount on the gym membership, I feel like I have to make it worth my while by going at least a certain number of times. And I have friends who are exactly the same way. Once they're paying for it, seeing it come out of their paycheck, they feel like, yeah, I better go three times a week. So that's another argument for me, again related to accountability and helping me be motivated to do something I don't really love to do.

Alex: Is guilt a healthy motivation?

Jen: Hmm, that's a good question. That goes back to the motivation conversation we had around New Year's resolutions, right? You're going to have more lasting motivation if it's positive versus negative, something like that.

Alex: Yeah, it's interesting.

Jen: I don't know. That's a good thing.

Alex: I'm just asking the question for our listeners.

Jen: I think that's something people should ponder. And then the last one, and this is the most important argument to me: I live in San Francisco in a really, really tiny apartment. Let me give you an actual anecdote about trying to work out in my tiny apartment. The other day I needed to do a strength workout and couldn't get to the gym, so I decided to try this. I laid out my yoga mat, and I soon found I was having trouble not banging the free weights against this arched ceiling thing that's kind of low, close to arm level. So that was one problem. The other problem was that I didn't have a bench, so I was using my coffee table to do shoulder presses and things like that. I didn't try standing on it, but I was using the coffee table as a weight bench and trying not to bang into cabinets and walls and doors. It's just really challenging.

Alex: That's not ideal. You could do floor presses too, where you lie on the floor and do the bench press. Just a side note for people who are trying to do a bench press in a very small area and don't have a bench. But I think that's a fantastic point, and a very conditional one, right? Especially for people who live in urban areas or places where they tend to have smaller housing or apartments. That makes a lot of sense. I don't think I'd want to be swinging a 35-pound kettlebell in a tiny apartment. It might end up going through my television. Or through my glass coffee table, which would be even better.

Jen: Yes, yes, yes. Before we get into your points, Alex, I did want to make a follow-on point about the coffee table specifically, which is that I would be really cautious about using your coffee table as a bench, because I don't really know what the weight limits are for coffee tables. That might be something to consider. Oh, and I have another thing to add. In terms of working out in apartments, you also have to think about the people who live underneath you. For example, I don't jump rope or do jumping jacks, because I'm in a fifth-story unit, and I think that could be pretty annoying. So that's another consideration.

Alex: Yeah, I lived under somebody who was doing something like that all day long, and it was mind-numbing after four months. That was actually a contributing factor to me not being able to stand living in my apartment. So that's a very courteous point, Jen. A point for you on that. I do want to confirm that you were bench pressing on a non-glass coffee table, correct?

Jen: Correct. Solid wood coffee table, yes.

Alex: Okay, good, solid wood. That makes a little more sense. I was starting to be concerned and imagining very horrific accidents. So don't ever do bench presses on a glass coffee table.

Jen: If you take nothing away from this episode, don't do bench presses on a glass coffee table.

Alex: Lesson number one.

Alex's Case: Why Working Out at Home Wins

Alex: Okay, so let's switch over in this debate and dive into my reasons. I have three big reasons, one of which will have several sub-reasons, why I believe working out at home is better than getting a gym membership. The first one is very straightforward, and we can debate it: a home gym saves you money over time. Especially if you tend to have fancy taste when it comes to your gym memberships. You're a big Life Time Fitness person, and you want to spend, I don't know, over a hundred dollars a month for a family membership? I don't even know anymore. I bet it's even higher now.

Jen: It's higher if you live in San Francisco, I can tell you that.

Alex: Yeah. Planet Fitness is one thing; this argument might not hold up against Planet Fitness, I'll be honest. But some of these other gyms can get quite expensive over time. Depending on the level of gym that you build up at home, you can definitely save money on the equipment versus paying those gym dues. And if you want to factor in gas, that could add in too, if you're driving to the gym or paying for transit. Let's not forget those costs, when you could just do it right there at home and save your money.

Jen: Good point. When you look at it over the long range, I have to say, more than likely, if you're committed and you continue using it, you're going to end up saving money. And the other thing is inflation, right? The gym membership will possibly keep going up, whereas your gym equipment is a sunk cost; it's not going to go up any higher. So, you know what, Alex, I'm going to give you that point.

Alex: All right. And the one caveat to this, and I will say this is part of my personality: I love gear, and I love new things. If you're like me and you like to buy new gear, it doesn't save you as much money, but it can still be very cost-effective. So that's just a caveat, since you gave me that point.

For number two, I feel that working out from home can be easier to fit into your day from a time perspective. I think this applies to different types of jobs, because the way we work has changed a lot since the pandemic for some people. Whether you're working on site somewhere, at your location every day, or in a hybrid role, or even a remote role, I think you can make the argument that it's easier to fit into your day. If you're a remote or hybrid worker, it's pretty obvious how that would be more beneficial from a time perspective. You don't have to leave your house if you're remote, or on the days you're working from home as a hybrid worker. You could feasibly fit in a 30-minute workout really quickly, somewhere when you have a break from work or meetings or whatever you're doing. But I also think that if you're working on site somewhere, it's just easier to go home and do things there, as opposed to making another trip somewhere else to the gym and dealing with the gym, and, are you going to shower there? Are you going to change clothes? That whole thing. You can just go home, be comfortable in your own environment, and be a little more time-efficient, with more time spent around your family. I just think there are a lot of benefits there from a time perspective in terms of the home gym.

Jen: I'll give you half a point there. I think there could be, with a couple of caveats. A, you have to have the motivation, right? Because like I said, going somewhere gives me more accountability. And the other thing is that some people who work full-time from home, or even hybrid, may want to get out of that space for a while. So it depends on preference, but I could see the flexibility being a possible selling point.

Alex: Makes total sense. So, final reason, and honestly, this is my big, huge reason why I prefer working out at home over working out at a gym you're a member of. I talked a lot about this in that post I did late last year, because it was a bit of a humorous post, but in humor there is truth. For me, it's dealing with other people's annoying gym behavior. I have subcategories here, so let's dive into these gym behaviors, and let's see if you've experienced any of them, since you're going to gyms now.

Number one under annoying gym behavior: people sweating everywhere. People sweating on weight benches and weight machines, people sweating on the weights, people sweating on the treadmills and cardio equipment, people sweating on the water fountain in front of me, when I then go to get a drink and know that they've spilled their sweat all over the spout I'm about to drink from. Just sweat everywhere. Some people not cleaning up their sweat, and I'm sitting down in it when I sit on the weight bench unknowingly, feeling like I'm bathing in their sweat. I don't want that.

Jen: Okay, fair point. I'm not as bothered by germs, perhaps, as you are, Alex. That's another place where we differ. But I will say that at the boxing gym, you also have to deal with sweat basically flying everywhere, just because of the nature of boxing. You see those slow-motion boxing videos where somebody takes a punch and the sweat just goes everywhere. That's sometimes the situation at our gym during intense workouts. So there is that.

Alex: I don't think I'd be a fan of MMA workouts or jiu-jitsu, people rolling around with people covered in sweat. Yeah, I am a bit germophobic these days. And the sweat is just gross.

Jen: Okay, that's one pet peeve at the gym. I'll give you the sweat. What else you got?

Alex: Yeah, absolutely. This one is sort of a caveat: I'm a massive introvert, so I don't want to talk to people at the gym. And often at the gym there are people trying to talk to me, whether it's in the locker room, where I don't want to talk to you while you're half naked putting lotions and oils and creams and powders all over your body, or while I'm working out, because I'm actually focused on working out. I don't want people's advice on working out, even though it's kind of funny, because we're doing a podcast about that. Have you ever had somebody at the gym start giving you tips on why you should be doing something different? In our case, people are seeking out our podcast, right? We're not just walking up to them on the street and saying, let me tell you what's wrong with your workout right now.

Jen: Yeah, that would be pretty obnoxious.

Alex: Yeah. For me, fitness is a release, and it's almost spiritual. I don't want to sound cheesy, but it's something that's really meaningful in my life, and I want to share that with people I'm really close with, or be in my own zone. That's really important to me. So for me, people talking to me at the gym is a big downer. And I've got to say, probably a large portion of our listenership is extroverted, and they may enjoy that. But for those of us who are introverts, it can be challenging.

Jen: Fair point. I'm going to take away from this, Alex, that you don't like germs and small talk.

Alex: Yeah, small talk is the worst. You go into the men's locker room, and there's always ESPN on the TV, and it's like, oh man, check out this amazing goal from the Guatemalan league, bro. And I'm like, no, I actually would like to see that goal, and I will watch it, but I don't want to have a conversation with a random person about that amazing goal.

Jen: Okay, I'll take that point.

Alex: Okay, so sub-bullet number three under annoying gym behavior: the selfie revolution. When we were younger, it was mirror posing. You would see buff people posing in mirrors and checking out their muscles. And yes, we all do this at home when nobody's around, but really it's kind of obnoxious to do in person, right? And now, I want to caveat this: if you're recording a video at the gym and you're doing something informational, like you did a video about boxing recently, that was great. That's not bothering anyone. It's when you're doing all these obnoxious selfies and poses, that stuff to me is very annoying. So I lumped that into a category of obnoxious behavior in the gym when it comes to people's personal image. Have you experienced that or seen that or been annoyed by that?

Jen: Not so much in the gyms I've been to. I haven't really seen that. The mirror posing is funny. I guess I missed that whole era, because I wasn't really doing strength training back then. But I would say I've seen a lot of video shooting, and typically they seem to be for informative purposes, like you said. So that one doesn't really bother me. Or maybe I'm just oblivious. I'm not the world's most observant person, so that's a possibility too.

Alex: Yeah, informative videos are awesome. I love watching people's informative videos. It's more the vanity thing, I guess, that rubs me the wrong way. I bet the mirror posing was more big-box gym, circa the 1990s and early 2000s, those big commercial gyms, and now it's transitioned into this selfie thing. So it sounds like you have a better atmosphere at your gym.

Jen: I do have a better atmosphere at my gym, but it reminded me of something I actually don't like about gyms, and I shouldn't say this because it's actually building your case: they can be really image-conscious. We did talk about this a little when we talked about toxic fitness culture, but I have definitely been to gyms, and never went back, where it seemed like the whole purpose was to see and be seen, all about what you're wearing and that sort of thing. So that's definitely annoying to me too.

Alex: Yeah, the gyms that pump out all the techno and have all the cool vibes. I once saw a gym that had a canopy bed in the lobby, and I just thought, yeah, this would not be the gym for me.

Jen: Wait, what? What was the point of that?

Alex: It was very erotic, I don't know. It was like going to the club and working out at the same time.

Jen: Wow.

Alex: A couple more under this, and I know I'm going on for a while here, but I've got to hammer this point; I've got to win the debate. People camping out on the equipment. Again, going back to when we were younger, I would see people reading books or magazines between sets, sitting on machines, or talking on the phone. Are you doing a billion-dollar deal here? What is so important that you have to sit on that bench press and talk on the phone for 20 minutes in a very loud voice about all the money you're making? Come on, move along. You can come back and finish your workout after you're done with the phone call. Now obviously it's transitioned to texting. And this is just something that's annoying at the gym. It's a challenge, especially if you want to do something like a circuit workout or supersets. It's very challenging at a commercial gym, because you're at the mercy of other people using the equipment. Again, I have no problem with people who are doing great workouts and doing things the way they should. But when you're just camping out on equipment and not respecting other gym members, that can be very frustrating. Anything you've seen there? How does that strike you?

Jen: Yeah, camping out on equipment is pretty annoying. I haven't seen it as often lately, maybe in part because we have time limits at our gym, and that might be part of the reason my particular gym put that in place. I know it started during the depths of the pandemic, and maybe they just decided it's helpful to keep people moving along, versus, like you said, camping out.

Alex: Yeah, absolutely. So, the last one: unruly behavior. This excludes the mirror selfies and all that. I would categorize several things as unruly gym behavior. Grunting very loudly when you're lifting weights, like Monica Seles during a tennis match. It's so unnecessary. People leaving the weights out and treating the gym like it's their bedroom when they were 14 years old. You've left out five different sets of dumbbells around the incline bench. This stuff happens; I'm not exaggerating. People showing off, which can actually backfire on them spectacularly. And also in this unruly category, and we mentioned this on the podcast a few weeks ago, there's the thing around gym creeps. There are people creeping on other people at the gym. It's a trend lately for these people to get called out, and it's a thing that's old as time, right? There are creeps in the city, but at the gym it's magnified, because it's a place where people are dressed in athletic clothing and working out and sort of standing around, and you don't want weird people staring at you, or even worse. So to me, that whole unruly behavior is just another problem with gyms. And I do think there are places that try to weed this stuff out and be a more welcoming environment, which I think is really important. If you are going to seek out a gym membership, you really want to find a place with a welcoming environment, not one full of people who will make you feel uncomfortable while you're working out, which can be the case at commercial gyms.

Who Won? You Decide

Jen: That's a really good point. Yes. Definitely, if you take my advice and go to a commercial gym, I highly recommend trying it out a few times, doing maybe a trial week or something like that, to get a feel for whether you're comfortable there, because different gyms definitely have different atmospheres. And on that last point about unruly behavior, unfortunately that's something we deal with in a lot of aspects of life. There's been a lot written about female runners and some of what we have to put up with in terms of catcalling and sometimes being followed or harassed just because we're out trying to get a workout in. That's a sad aspect of our society, but definitely not what you want when going to the gym. Okay, so you've heard our arguments, and we're going to let our listeners decide who won the smackdown. Maybe we'll have a little poll where you can tell us who won. What do you think, Alex?

Alex: Yeah, if we're going to do debates, we should poll the listeners on the side.

Jen: Oh, we totally should.

Alex: We'll find a very easy way to do the poll, and we would love it if you responded. That would be awesome. And there are no hard feelings here. Jen and I are best buds; we're not going to get upset about it. I hope we were also respectful during the debate, unlike politicians in the United States these days, talking over each other.

Jen: We keep it respectful on this podcast. But yeah, we'd love to see what you think and to hear about your experiences. Maybe you have even better reasons than we do for why your workout is in the gym or at home. That aside, though, let's face it, there are going to be times when you have to work out from home or in a hotel room, et cetera. So, Alex, what are some practical tips for building the home gym of your dreams without breaking the bank, if people are so inclined?

Practical Tips: Building a Home Gym

Alex: Yeah, I'm excited to talk about this. I did an entire post on this last year, before we started the podcast, over on Practically Fit. You can go back and find it. It's called "How to Build an Awesome Home Gym," and in that post I laid out what I would call levels of home gym. There are four different levels. I really enjoyed writing that, so go check it out if you get a chance. But a couple of general tips, outside of that post that went into the different types of equipment you can get. Number one: just start simple. You could start with something as simple as a body weight setup: a yoga mat and a pull-up bar that you put on your door. Even if you have a small living space, if you have an open doorway in an apartment, you can find a pull-up bar that will fit in there. And you're set for a home gym for $50 to $75. So it can be as easy as that to get started. Then maybe you add a kettlebell or a couple of dumbbells, like Jen has. If you have room for a bench, it's preferable over a coffee table, but you can get creative; you can do exercises on the floor and standing and so forth. So my advice is to start simple, and you can really keep the cost down that way.

A second tip would be to take a consistent approach to the way you build out the gym. If you're building this out in a garage or a shed or somewhere you have a little more space, I would try to build it out with a consistent theme. What I mean is, if you're a barbell person, focus on building out your barbell options, because again, things can get expensive the more you add to the gym. You might want an all-purpose squat rack, a good set of barbells, and a bench, and you could have a really nice barbell setup. But build that out fully. Don't buy one piece of it and then switch to something else. Or if you're a dumbbell person like I am, as I get older, I like the freedom of mobility that dumbbells provide compared to barbells. I think it's easier on my joints because I have that freedom of movement. So I've been adding dumbbells to my collection slowly over time, and I've really focused on building that out in my home gym.

Number three: research your equipment. Don't just buy things on a whim. Make sure the equipment has good reviews, and don't just go off Amazon reviews. Go out on the internet and do some research. Find some good deals on the types of equipment you're looking for. You'll be able to find anything you're looking for on the internet in terms of reviews. I'll give you a great example. Speaking of Amazon, they have some basic dumbbells in the Amazon Basics collection that are really high quality and reasonably priced compared to other brands. I found that through a review, and I've used that brand to build out my dumbbell collection. There's also low-cost equipment that you can buy, and you can find this stuff through research, but great examples are an ab wheel and push-up handles. These things are under $10, and they'll give you great value on your home workout. So do a lot of research on the equipment before you buy something. I don't recommend just running over to Target or Dick's and buying the first piece of equipment you see.

Jen: Yeah, I think that's really good advice. I've heard, though, that your dumbbell collection is getting a little out of hand.

Alex: Yeah, well, I've stopped at the 55s for now, and the way my shoulder is these days, I don't see going much beyond that in the future, but we'll see. Maybe I'll have a breakthrough on my shoulder mobility, which, by the way, is not good because of bench pressing with barbells back in the day. That's why I like the dumbbells now. But even as I start to get heavier, it's really hard. My wife gives me a hard time about the dumbbell collection. So, my final tip is to make purchases that are utilitarian. By that I mean equipment you can use for multiple exercises. A great example from my collection this year: I bought a set of adjustable resistance bands, an expensive set that I found through reviews. I looked at different brands and pricing and found them on Amazon. They adjust from a really light resistance all the way up to a heavier resistance, and the great thing about them is that they're very utilitarian. You can do so many different exercises with them. You can supplement your dumbbell workouts and your body weight workouts. Look for purchases like that where you can do multiple things with the equipment. I talked about dumbbells: you can get adjustable dumbbell sets, which are very popular. There are some high-quality adjustable dumbbell sets; they're expensive, but they will save you money compared to having separate dumbbells of different weights. So that's an option in terms of being utilitarian. And even something like parallel gymnastics bars. I have a pair of those. I can do really deep push-ups on them. I can do L-sits. If you're really crazy, you could do handstands on them. Again, that's a piece of equipment that can be used for multiple exercises. So do some research, and then look for purchases that are utilitarian, even things you can take with you when you go places. A kettlebell is very utilitarian: you can do multiple exercises with it, and you can probably take it to the park. You can take your resistance bands and your yoga mat to the park if you want to get out of the house. Utilitarian purchases will serve you well over the long run.

Jen: Okay, those are some excellent tips. I will agree. And you mentioned utilitarian: I do occasionally have to work out either in my tiny apartment or on the road, because I travel a lot, so things that are portable are super helpful. My own key pieces of equipment are a yoga mat, a 15-pound kettlebell (I don't take that to too many places, because in addition to having a tiny apartment, I drive a tiny car, and I feel like even that weight would make a difference), a pair of dumbbells, some resistance bands, and a jump rope. I think that is a highly underrated piece of equipment. It's so portable I can stick it in my suitcase and get a little cardio workout in wherever I am. That and some resistance bands are super portable and one of my go-tos for travel.

Alex: Yeah, I agree. Jump rope is extremely utilitarian, extremely beneficial. I saw a really inspirational video the other day on TikTok by a content creator, and I apologize, off the top of my head I don't remember his name; I've been following him. He was talking about when he first started running. He's a runner now, and he's been competing in races and so forth. But the way he built up his fitness was just starting with a jump rope. I thought it was so inspiring, the way he talked about it. So that's a great piece of equipment as well.

Practical Tips: Joining a Gym

Jen: Wow, that's so cool. I'll have to look that up too. The other thing I'll say, in terms of practical advice if you are going to join a gym: like Alex said, research is really important. Read reviews. People are pretty honest in their reviews of gyms, so that's something that can give you some insight. Also, try before you buy. A lot of gyms will try to pressure you into buying a membership that perhaps auto-renews. I would say push back on that. Give it a good try and make sure you feel comfortable at the gym before you make a big financial commitment. It's really important. And like Alex said earlier, we should all feel comfortable where we work out. So those would be my practical tips for joining a gym.

Alex: Yeah, and Jen, one other thing to mention: depending on your health insurance and where you work, a lot of companies are now offering discounts through their health insurance. That's another avenue. I've seen that many companies will provide these discounts on gyms, and you can basically go to any of the big-box gyms. So check into that if you work for a company that has stronger health benefits, because that can be something you may not even be aware of.

Jen: Excellent point.

Final Thoughts

Alex: All right. So there you have it. Whether you choose to join a gym like Jen or build your own home gym like me really depends on what works best for you and what's going to help you best meet your fitness goals. I really enjoyed debating this with you today, Jen. One thing I would take away from this is that some of it is conditional or situational, right? Motivation is a key thing. If you don't have the motivation, neither one of these is going to work well. But if you live in a tiny apartment or in a place where you're constrained, the gym membership makes a lot of sense. If you get a membership for free through your work, that makes a lot of sense. But if you're perhaps a remote or hybrid worker, that could be very beneficial in terms of having a home gym. Maybe you just enjoy getting equipment at home; that's a fun thing for you. You could be a good candidate for a home gym if you're a gear person like me. So I really think there's a bit of conditional input into this decision, depending on where you are in your life and your work and your family and where you live and all of that. It's a fascinating thing to debate. We'll put up a poll and let y'all decide who won the debate.

Jen: Yes.

Alex: That's it for this week. Join us next week when we talk about the mental health benefits of fitness. This is a topic that's really close to Jen's and my hearts. It's something that's really meaningful to us, so we'll be talking about that next week on the podcast. As always, head over to practically.fit and sign up for our weekly newsletter; you'll get the podcast directly in your inbox. You can comment on the shows or on our other newsletter posts. We have a lot of great content out there, so please go check it out. The newsletter is growing, and we really appreciate everybody who's subscribing. If you have questions, please leave them on the website, or you can email me at alex@practically.fit. But until the next episode, remember: fitness is for everybody.