7 Reasons to Workout at Home and Skip the Gym

Being dedicated to health and fitness doesn’t mean you always have to be up to get dressed, go out, and exercise in public. Sometimes you just want to stay home or avoid the potentially costly fees associated with a gym membership. At-home workouts are still beneficial and can provide results just as working out in a gym can.

If you already have a gym membership, working out at home can still be a useful addition during days off. It seems simple- just exercise at home. Think about how you use gym equipment, how the environment affects your workout, and space you require to move around.

When you consider all of this, at-home workouts can seem a bit daunting. It can be difficult to build a routine that works for you and your space, and staying motivated when you’re working out next to your couch can be difficult.

When being home tends to be associated with relaxing, exercise might seem to be a drastic change. Fortunately, there are a thousand and one ways to workout at home, from yoga to home strength training workouts that only require your body weight.

The benefits of working out at home are the same as working out anywhere. Even if you don’t exercise as extensively at home as you do at a gym, exercise still has tons of positive factors. Exercise can boost mood, help you lose or maintain weight, strengthen bones, increase energy, reduce disease risk, and more. Those are just some benefits of exercise in general. At-home workouts have their own benefits that go beyond physical health.

1. Take some time for yourself

It can be difficult to get to the gym, or you may simply not have the time. Working out can reduce stress, but sometimes the sheer effort involved can be stressful in itself. Make working out at home part of your time for yourself.

If you don’t want to work out strenuously, trying something like yoga can definitely help with relaxation and also build strength and flexibility. Exercise can boost your confidence and allow you to become more in tune with your body. It’s important to take care of yourself and understand how what you do can impact your wellbeing.

2. Be a good role model

If you have kids, or even a spouse or roommate, working out at home can influence them to build similar healthy habits. Seeing a family member exercising can increase the chance that they’ll be open to trying themselves.

From directly involving babies in movements that you hold them in, to having a family game night with a motion-controlled video game, to even just talking about how exercise benefits you- there are more reasons to work out than just for yourself.

3. No more waiting for equipment

Gyms only have so many treadmills or weights to use. If you’re only able to get there during busy times, like after business hours, then it’s likely you’ll spend some time waiting around. Working out at home means you can maximize your time spent. Waiting for someone to be done with a specific piece of equipment can also be awkward.

You can find alternatives, like doing kettlebell swings if you can’t lift, but sometimes  you just want to stick to your plan and do what you want to do. When it’s just you, you can do whatever you want, whenever you want to, and for however long you want to do it. There’s no pressure on being quick, either.

4. Ease back pain and improve posture

It might seem odd to try to treat pain by moving more, but building core strength and working on posture can help. People sit for longer periods now than they ever have before, due to things like desk jobs, driving, and just sitting around at home. Workouts that target specific areas, like back or knee pain treatments, usually don’t require equipment, or can be done with simple equipment like chairs and resistance bands.

Exercise can even help when pain comes from conditions like osteoarthritis. Strengthening muscles that support joints can ease pain and act as shock absorbers.

5. You can do it anywhere

When the only thing you need to work out is your own body, you can take the skills and movements you learn with you. Whether it’s from the living room to the backyard on a beautiful day, or from home to a hotel when you’re away on business or even vacation, home workouts are an excellent way to build the skills and a routine that you can stick with regardless of location. If you go to a gym, you can even integrate what you do at home into your workouts there.

6. There’s less risk of injury

The very activity done to improve health can hurt, and it’s fairly common. A lot of injuries are due to not warming up or pushing yourself too far. When you’re in a public gym, you may feel rushed during warm up or pressured to do more than you’re comfortable with if others are doing more than you. When you’re at home, you can take your time stretching and warming up.

You can feel comfortable doing what’s at your skill level. Injuries can mean taking time off, which can be detrimental to weight loss plans. Quick weight loss isn’t a promise, but progress will certainly be slowed if you can’t workout at all. Most home workouts are fairly simple and don’t require a spotter, but gym workouts like lifting or bench presses do. Injuries due to distraction are also common in a gym. When you’re at home, there’s nobody else. You can set your own music or background noise as well.

7. Gyms have germs

When you have a bunch of sweaty people sharing a space, there’s going to be germs. Being a public space means germs are running wild, without considering the extras like bare feet in showers or microbes travelling via gym bags. You can make sure that any equipment you use at home is clean, that you aren’t sharing anything, and that the environment in general is cleaned thoroughly. You don’t have to wear flip flops in your own shower, either.

It’s still important to wash workout clothes and sanitize surfaces like yoga mats, even if it’s just being used by you. What’s normal to you can cause illness in others, even if it’s a family member that puts away your dirty resistance bands.

Conclusion

Working out brings so many benefits and potential improvements to your wellbeing and confidence, but going to a gym can be a hassle in a number of ways. Working out at home means you can skip the drive, membership fees, and potential risks associated with exercising in a public gym. Home workouts that use your own body instead of costly equipment mean that you are in control and that you don’t have to share.

The skills learned as your home workouts can be brought to the gym as well. Taking the time to improve your body and your mind will give you results that a gym can, all in the comfort of your own home. The best part is that you can’t make any excuses-you’re already home, so why not work out?

References:

1. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-benefits-of-exercise#section5

2. http://www.stack.com/a/crowded-gym-workout

3. https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-15552/6-exercises-to-reverse-bad-posture.html

4. https://www.fitnessmagazine.com/health/germs/germs-at-the-gym/