What do you even do at a gym?

Run on a treadmill and lift some weights?

Yes, that is exactly what you do at a gym.

I feel like I could do all of that at home. Gym memberships are insanely expensive.

Absolutely correct.

Are home workouts actually effective?

Yes.

Does one even enjoy gym time?

Yes.

People don't have space for a home gym, so it's either pay the membership fee, or don't work out.

This is my gym. The bar was picked out of the trash and it was an old broomstick someone used as a fire poker.

With body weight exercises and a small weight set you can make from junk, you can get an amazing body.

You start very light, and you just take baby steps from there, I can help you build a routine.

Most of the YouTube people are way too hyper focused on 'blasting' this and that, really you just need to do some simple exercises.

First I unpack my tripod, mobile phone and water bottle and set them into position in the most annoying direction possible. Then i hit record. Pump some irons getting upset at each and every passer by as it's obviously about me not them. All the while intermittently berating those stupid Nord, Beton and Thalmor wannabes as inferior chuds to my faithful Khajiit follower's. Then I strike some epic posses, admiring my strikingly beautiful ears, furs and tail. Of course I check the phone to make sure my benevolent masses of one follower shower me with praises. Thanks mom!

I mean, I guess it depends. I row often, and I don't wanna do it in a gym, so I purchased a rower. But if I didn't want to spend the ~$800 on a nice Concept 2 rower, a gym membership for $20/mo would give me about about 3.25 years of rowing before I hit the cost of the rower. Then I also get access to every other machine they offer, free weights, other amenities such as pool and basketball court, classes they offer, trainer access (probably not great but better than winging it). That may be valuable to you or it may not, but it's an option. You could run on a treadmill or lift weights at home, if you purchased the items. Sure, running outside is free and you can pick up/put down stuff whenever, but weather gets in the way, and unbalanced or unwieldy weight isn't always safe.

Home workouts can be effective and many make it work, but some people like/need the separation. Sometimes when I get home, if I sit down, I'm just not gonna get up and workout at that point. Stopping at a gym in the way home gives a clear delineation between still working physically and being done with your days work when you get home. Or if they go in the morning, I can't row at odd hours I may want to because of neighbors (it's not quiet). I can go to some gyms at 5am or 2am if I really wanted to, where I couldn't currently at home.

Gym memberships are insanely expensive

Wait until you see the price of weight plates and dumbbells.

You go to the gym to work out. You clearly don’t know how to work out, so go watch some exercise guides on YouTube.

Here's another place you can ask !fitness@lemmy.world

I went to the gym for a couple years and managed to increase my PR's consistently and doubled my bodyweight at the same bf %.

Then i decided i was disciplined enough for a homegym as the gym attracted a crowd of generic fools instead of the old club of bodybuilders and powerlifters....i wasn't disciplined enough.

I really need that: "since i'm already here, might as well go balls to the wall".

My old gym cost about €13, now generic shit gyms cost more than twice as much. I won't be going back at those prices because food and rent also tripled, i don't grow money from a tree or something.

Yo could do that at home. I do.

For many people a gym is a matter of discipline. To force them go and do it.

But for me it works the opposite way, the extra time going to another place dissuades me from going at all. So workout at home works better for me.

Sounds like you need sports as a conduits for your work out.

If you’re motivated at home you can run on street/walk/trails, you can do core body workouts, you can get some cheap equipment that will get you most of the benefits of a gym at much less cost. You can always find cheap used equipment for sale from people cleaning out their houses

Going to the gym gets you better equipment, more equipment, and helps establish a routine to keep you going when motivation isn’t enough.

If you get home equipment similar to what you’d use at a gym, the payback time is much longer, it may be difficult to move or store, and you can’t get rid of it when it’s time.

At home I have a good set of dumbbells, an Exercycle, and exercise mats I never use. However I’ve never really been able to establish a gym routine so that’s a waste of money. My brother has a good half ton of exercise equipment he’d give me free of charge but I have no way to transport it and it would cost too much.

I actually am considering getting more home exercise equipment. At least my teens would use it and maybe I would too. It’s expensive but it’s not continuous cost like a gym would be.

As a person who never goes to the gym and doesn't have a home gym either, are you trolling?

Yes, because a lack of a pair of shorts and tshirt are the reasons why. /s

Have a home gym don't have a treadmill or stationery bicycle, to me that is weird, I can run around outside and I have a bike that i ride regularly. That said, decent gym equipment is expensive.

Im 58, I've been lifting weights since I was 17, (with some breaks) for me it's more like meditation. You can't win at it and it's not a game. My parter lifts with me, she said she likes it, so i will take her at her word.

There's any number of studies showing how good resistance training is for you, especially as you age.

Henry Rollins did the best reason why.

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.

You can do this at home. Everything here is under 2000 dollars spent total because we bought from bankrupted gyms liquidating during covid and a couple home gym people after covid who preferred going to a gym and were offloading equipment for next to nothing.

Outdated pic but same rack today:

You need the space to begin with, but besides the rowers (can be stored vertically) and rack, the space waste isn't that huge. George Hackenschmidt's abridged/edited down by me workout routine is pinned to my back wall there. An old world strong man from an era before steroids existed. He didn't do focused muscle training, instead all-round balanced and, this is key, a very minimal amount of equipment is needed. You can look up how he looked, I think it's aesthetically pleasing.

But yeah that's really it. Lift heavy things, row, and I run or bike. I do not enjoy it. I don't pretend to. I'm not doing this for enjoyment, I'm a big nerd who never enjoyed physical activity ever. It's simply to stay in good shape because that was noticeably slipping in my 30's.

So I'm doing this entirely out of self preservation. Importantly, I also do Yoga. Flexibility is important too.

Gyms are indeed predatory with their obnoxious membership programs and cancelation antics. I'm lucky to have some space in my ugly basement.

Weightlifting can require insanely heavy weights, they take up a lot of storage and cost a lot of money. Gyms also offer the benefits of having specialised machines that focus on specific muscles. I used to go to a commercial gym then built a home gym, I've spent over £2,000 and I'm still not close to finished.

Sure you can do bodyweight stuff, or limited exercises with adjustable dumbbells and resistance bands, but you won't get nearly as strong as a good gym, training plan, and diet.

I personally really like lifting weights and running an the gym. You can do it all at home but having a barbell, squat rack, bench press, weight plates, dumbbells, treadmill, pull down machine, rowing machine and so on at home would take a lot of space at home.

Having it at a different place also helps a lot with motivation IMO, there's a strong "at the gym I work out" effect instead of being at home where I can take a break and "continue later".

A lot of exercises you can do in the gym you can also do at home with a pair of dumbbells or even just your body weight.

The benefits of the gym for me is having an air conditioned environment, with machines that can guide my exercises and help enforce proper form, a good space to meetup with personal trainers, opportunities for group classes, and somewhere where there’s people around in case anything goes wrong in one of my exercises.

Not all gyms are the same too. There are climbing gyms, kickboxing gyms, mma gyms, gyms with pools, gyms with basketball and volleyball courts, gyms with tennis, squash, and badminton courts, etc. A lot of those you can’t do from home.

Something tells me you don't own a treadmill at home, so Im not following how you'd do that at home.

I have spent years using public gyms and now have a home gym. Home gyms are better in every way if you have the motivation to push yourself. At a public gym its easier to find that motivation because everyone around you is focused on the same task.

You have all the things you need in one space and you can't leave easily and go home.

you pick up heavy things and then you put them down so you can pick up heavier things later.

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.

Very good questions. I think the primary is that some form of workout is very important to your overall health, and you should just pick which type of workout works for you in the long run.

It doesn't really matter if you get a home gym, or go to parks, or to a gym, as long as you are consistent and have fun. For many people, the gym is intimidating, they might be better off with a home gym. I find the place semi-social, which means I get distracted by people watching, but don't have to chat with anyone. Works for me.

The key, I think, is to shift from "I can do all of that at home" to "I will do all of that at home." An insane number of home treadmills and exercise bikes collect dust because the mind is willing, but the flesh lazy. I love the distraction, others love the camaraderie or the friendships you make at a gym. They push you to go even when you don't feel like it, and that's the important part.

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

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

I'm the most clown show gym goer ever. I started late, with a huge physical deficit...

I workout in swim clothes, with flip flops, my gym bag is a canvas grocery bag.

• I go to the gym itself, with a friend
• Do cardio to get the heart rate up to 120ish bpm (5m)
• Target a muscle group until its sore (legs, upper body, back, etc) (55m)
• Hit the sauna after the gym (swim clothes)
• Swim after the sauna (swim clothes)

The important thing is to build a routine, or even a sense of community, I've gain a bunch of muscle and lost 45kg going to the gym - people are super supportive, everyone at the gym wants to get better, and they love to help other people get better.

The gym isn't enjoyable usually, not exactly, but you can develop this love hate relationship with low level soreness and if everything is feeling great you start to think "I need to go to the gym".

What is enjoyable

• Having a routine you can be proud of
• Seeing metrics improve
• Feeling the "soreness" of accomplishment
• Meeting other people who give you positive feedback about your effort/progress
• Jumping into a cold pool after a hot sauna - this is so good

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.

What do you even do at a gym?

Use training equipment that you don't have access to otherwise, to perform exercises aligned with your fitness goals. Some people do classes with trainers at gyms.

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

If you have the space and the money to invest in a home gym, that will be more than sufficient. Not everyone does, hence gym memberships. Classes with trainers are also not available at home, so that could be a reason to get a gym membership.

Gym memberships are insanely expensive.

It depends on the gym. I pay approximately $40 per year for access to my gym, and that covers everyone in my household.

The investment in fitness can also pay dividends that outweigh the costs - strength and cardiovascular fitness will let you live longer without being sick. If you have to pay for your healthcare, this may also manifest as a concrete money saving.

Are home workouts actually effective?

They can be. It's not going to be as effective as working out with full equipment, but you also may not need the full effectiveness. And if the choice is between home workouts and no workouts, the home workouts are far better.

Does one even enjoy gym time?

I enjoy going to the gym. I like the progression in becoming stronger.

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.

Captain obvious sneaking in, but There is tons of legit way to exercise, not just lifting weight in the gym, you can look for Volley-ball, Rock-dancing, or karate-class all of that is a legit way to exercise, which may even be cheaper and more fun than going to a gym.

Regarding your other points

• Get a T-shirt and either a short or a pair of legging, to start-with you don't need any of these high-end expensive fabric (Which may help if you plan to climb an alpine summit or run a marathon, but not to lift some weight casually). Total cost should be in the 10-15 EUR range (It sucks to live in a world where clothing is built by slave-like-labour).

• Most gym would include a couple of coached session as part of their beginner package. But a typical program would be like warm-up on a threadmill/eliptical then a bunch of strength exercise either on machine or free weight, and 10 minutes of cool-down with stretching, you can modulate duration/intensity depending on your goals.

• You can do a lot at home with body weight. However, being in the Gym sometimes helps as you are in a dedicated place with a dedicated time-slot. ideally choose a place either near your home, or on your commute, if not you'll never go there

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've seen plenty of jeans at my rural gym. Just don't wear them on leg day.

Theres actually a lot at the gym you can't do at home. Any barbell movement (big stick with weights on the end) you can't do unless you have one at home, all the cardio machines, workout classes, cable machines, etc. I enjoy my gym time because I'm able to get a better workout at the gym compared to anywhere else. You can basically where anything to a gym. If you're doing upper body, just make sure you have a loose fitting shirt on, if youre doing lower body have loose fitting pants on. Gym time is what you make it. If you find one thing fun, you're allowed to just do that.

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

You can jog on the treadmill for 30 minutes and that way you don't have to be out in the blistering sun.

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.

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.

Depends how consistently I've been going. Early on I'll pick majority muscles like bi/triceps, glutes, pecs, or abs to break them into work out routine. Like I'll pick 3 and wear them out because that easy to do early on. As conditioning kicks in over the weeks then I can pick 2 category for a day like chest/abs, arms/legs, shoulders/back, etc so that more specific muscles get trained.

When I was working out regularly I'll say that home workouts are great. I didn't have the equipment or weights at the gym but dumbbells can be used to target very specific muscles that won't get in the way of next two workouts days

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.

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.

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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sHvWYAzIRo

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.

Just go and do whatever you feel like. Eventually you will set up a routine and might even get into science based optimisations. Don’t overthink it. Doing anything is better than doing nothing.

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.

You've got lots of stuff that would be hard to get at home like basketball, squash courts; swimming pools; saunas, cold plunge; lots of free classes (well, included in the cost). If you have a YMCA, they will even do a sliding scale based on your income.

It's like going to the library. Yeah you could do much of that stuff at home, but it's good to get out.

According to Atomic Habit, we tend to form a habit when there is a reward.

First you you can't wear jeans to work out. If people have to argue, then they have never worked out before.

Then, reward. When you workout by yourself, then is almost no reward, no motivation. In the gym, you can see how for some people are and that motivate you.

With no goal and no motivation, hiding in the basement/garage lifting some weights and wearing jeans, I doubt that person will work out much.

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.

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.

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

Its mostly for the social aspect, people will say its not, but with how expensive they are, especially in Aus where i live, itd be cheaper to buy your own equipment than pay for a couple years membership.

I realize that if I don't go, I feel weak, to the point where I struggle to carry a 3kg bag of potatoes.

Thank-you all, this was actually super helpful and motivating. I've been doing what I can at home and maybe looking into a gym membership but I still feel that may not be for me as I don't really want to be around others while working out. Im going to keep biking and keep looking for some gear for the basement

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.