Why a Home Gym Beats a Commercial Gym Every Time

I’ve been lifting weights for about ten years now.

I started with a cheap weight bench/squat rack combo and some plastic-covered cement weights from Walmart, then slowly upgraded to my current setup:

If I had to place a figure on it, I’ve probably spent about $2,000 total on this over the years.

I’d still like to add a few more things to it, like a leg press machine, a cable fly machine, and maybe a heavy bag. Unfortunately, I’m limited by the small space. It’s just an uninsulated garage, so it gets cold as hell in the winter and hot as hell during summer. The fan is powerful, but there’s only so much it can do against a hot, humid Philly summer.

My garage gym gets the job done though, and that’s all that matters. I’d take this setup over a gym membership any day.

Back in 2012, I wrote an article about Planet Fitness. That piece focused mostly on Planet Fitness specifically, so I didn’t really get into the broader problems with commercial gyms. I made a few passing comments, but nothing in depth.

Since I’ve had a home gym, I haven’t spent much time in commercial gyms. But I’ve seen enough on social media and heard enough stories from people I know to put me off of ever setting foot in one.

For starters, depending on when you go, the place is packed.

Lines are the bane of my existence. If I have to stand around waiting for more than a few minutes, whatever I’m waiting for probably isn’t worth it. I read somewhere that the average person spends about six months of their life standing in lines. I don’t know if that’s actually true, but it sounds believable enough, so I’m going with it. That’s half a year of your life doing absolutely nothing while you wait for the idiots in front of you to move.

At home, I don’t deal with that shit. I can get my workout done in about an hour and move on with my day. In a commercial gym, that same workout can easily stretch to two hours, and a lot of that time is just waiting around like an asshole.

There’s always the option of working in with someone, but that comes with its own problems. You’re constantly swapping plates, adjusting weights, and trying to stay on the same rhythm as someone else. And if the other person is significantly stronger than you, it just becomes impractical. Sorry Chad, I’m twice your age and I’ve got a degenerated disc in my L4-L5. I’m not squatting anywhere near what you are.

When I’m at home, I don’t have to keep swapping plates between every set, and I don’t have to feel any shame over my one-plate squat.

Another issue with commercial gyms is the environment. You’re sharing space with people who are more focused on filming content or drawing attention than actually training. A big part of that now is women in revealing outfits setting up cameras, filming workouts, and posing between sets. If you so much as glance in their direction, you risk being labeled a creep online. That kind of atmosphere makes it harder to focus on what you’re actually there to do, which is train.

There are also people who take things too far in the other direction. I’ve seen more than enough videos of guys acting like complete degenerates in public to know that’s a real problem too. That shit isn’t acceptable either.

But regardless of which direction it goes, it all adds to the same issue. It’s unnecessary bullshit that has nothing to do with actually working out.

Then you’ve got the people who feel the need to offer unsolicited advice.

I wrote about this years ago, and it hasn’t gotten any better. People feel completely comfortable walking up to strangers and correcting their form mid-workout.

I understand the intent behind this, I really do. Someone sees you doing something wrong and wants to help prevent an injury. The problem is that the person giving the advice isn’t always right themselves. A lot of these well-intentioned idiots don’t understand that form isn’t one-size-fits-all. Your height, limb length, and mobility can all affect how an exercise should be performed. For example, someone with longer legs will typically need a wider stance when squatting. You can’t just blindly copy someone else’s form tit for tat.

And if someone is doing something incorrectly, sometimes it’s best to just let them learn the hard way. I’ve definitely learned the hard way countless times over the years. Pain is a very effective teacher.

When you train at home, you eliminate all of this. There’s no waiting or unnecessary distractions. Just you and the workout.

The benefits of having a home gym outweigh having a commercial gym membership. The commercial gym has more equipment and amenities, but it comes at the additional cost of having to deal with other people’s bullshit.

The upfront cost of a home gym is higher, but you can probably get started for under $1,000 if you catch deals and know where to look. This sounds like a lot, but consider how much you’re spending on a commercial gym membership. Planet Fitness costs about $15 a month, plus a yearly $50 fee, so you’re looking at a few hundred dollars a year minimum, plus time spent traveling to the gym and waiting to use the equipment. A home gym is a long-term investment that will pay for itself in more ways than one after a few years.

There’s also a psychological factor. When you’ve invested your own money into equipment, you’re more likely to use it. That Rep Fitness bench cost me $350, there’s no way I’m going to let it just sit there and collect dust.

If you’ve got the money and the space, it’s definitely a worthwhile investment. In the long run, a home gym will not only save you money, but time and aggravation as well.

Join the home gym master race today!

Angry_Jerk

Adam “The Angry Jerk” Baker is the CEO of The AJnet Organization and Editor-in-Chief of AJnet Magazine. A grizzled internet veteran of over 20 years, he writes about politics, culture, and whatever else manages to annoy him that day.

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