Desk jobs mean sedentary lifestyles. As our economies become more developed, planned exercise becomes more necessary. A daily schedule that consists of driving to work (~30 minutes), sitting in an office chair (~8 hours), driving home from work (~30 minutes), and having a personal life (that is often sedentary) is not going to lead to health. What is the solution to the sedentary lifestyles that have become a nagging companion of economic prosperity? I think a piece of the solution are home gyms. When the majority of the population works 40+ hours per week in an office, we desperately need convenient, meaningful, and enjoyable ways to get physical exercise.
I, personally, cannot see myself working out anywhere other than my home gym by choice. I still use a couple other gym when I am looking to do something specific, but the home gym has so many perks, I don’t want to ever go long without one. Among those perks are:
1. Convenience
This is absolutely the number one reason to have a home gym. In fact, several of the other reasons to have a home gym link back to convenience.
It is no secret that rich countries are struggling with inactivity and obesity. Our computers, cars, and other machines have made us wealthy. We are living longer because of medical advances, but I don’t think anybody would argue we are more physically fit than our ancestors. The majority of the population simply isn’t going to get physically fit from their occupations anymore. Some sort of workout routine is necessary, but so is rest from the grind of traffic, job expectations, familial responsibilities, and everything else that demands time and energy.
If going to the gym requires driving 10-20 minutes, working out in front of people you don’t know, and paying a monthly membership, those are just extra reasons to forego a fitness routine. When you consider it takes about 10 minutes to change for the gym, 10-20 minutes to drive there, and possibly 10 more minutes throughout the workout to navigate what equipment is available. You are making at least an hour and a half commitment if you are exercising for 45 minutes and driving back home. Such calculations make it more apparent why the majority of the population has a hard time committing to a consistent workout routine.
In contrast, consider how much more integrated a gym in your home can be to the rest of your life. Instead of doing a full 45 minute to 1 hour gym session, you can use a home gym to do two 20 minute sessions or three 15 minute sessions. Between the sessions, you can put dinner on, move laundry from the washer to the dryer, or feed your toddler a snack. You could even do 20 minutes of exercise in the morning to get your day going and then 20 more minutes in the evening, if you choose. When 30 minutes of driving and 10 minutes of navigating crowds are eliminated, working out seems far less daunting.
2. Cost
Now, the price tag of the equipment in 320 Gym is about $3,000, but we bought enough equipment for 2-3 people to workout at a time. If you consider a minimum of 2 people getting use out of the gym for its lifetime, and a conservative cost of $60 per month for a CrossFit gym membership, $3,000 is worth the cost in approximately 25 months, or just over 2 years. Even if one person is only using the gym and comparing it to a $30 per month gym membership, the gym will be worth the expense in 100 months, or 8 years and 4 months. Considering, most worthwhile equipment to have is made of steel, and is being used less than 10 times per week, it is not a stretch to think you will get 10-20 years of use from barbells, kettle bells, pull-up bars, and squat racks.
None of these calculations include the money saved on transportation costs, nor do they consider the cost (financial or other) of taking up garage, basement, or other living space. But, it doesn’t seem like a stretch to me to say these two variables cancel each other out. Nor have we considered the possibility of having a gym for one, that could be done well for $1,000. With 1 person using a $1,000 gym, the $60 membership would be more expensive in 17 months, or 1 year and 5 months, and the $30 membership would be more expensive in 34 months, or 2 years and 10 months. The math is even more favorable if you live in an area with expensive gym memberships, or when you consider the fact that 2-4 people could realistically get use of $1,000 of gym equipment if they were smart about it.
3. Flexibility
Flexibility seems to be the same as convenience, and it somewhat is. However, I am talking more about the flexibility of programming. If you follow 320 Gym programming, then you will have a high degree of flexibility and reasonable level of structure. This is important. If left to ourselves, we will not always choose efficient ways to progress. We will probably stay away from movements, loads, and conditioning workout durations that make us uncomfortable. We also will probably not intuitively choose a strength program that builds intelligently. However, it is also important to leave room for writing your own programming. Without writing your own, you will not be as self-sufficient. Nor will you be able to program your weaknesses consistently, or have the flexibility necessary to program around vacations, illnesses, life events, or work trips.
If you go to a CrossFit box, all of the programming will be done for you, and you will need to show up at a specific time to complete the workout with other people. This can be good, because other people are motivating, and you need to be told what to do for a certain fraction of your life. However, I don’t think that fraction should be 10/10, nor do I think having group classes at a specific time is the best recipe for most people getting into the gym 4-5 days per week. A lot of people are too busy for that, or at least they think they are, and, when it comes to workout motivation, perception can be reality.
In contrast, if you go to a conventional gym, you have absolutely nobody giving you a plan, which is more flexible, but you also aren’t able to create unique conditioning workouts that allow you to complete multiple movements for a duration of time. These circuit-style workouts are what CrossFit is known for, and is a way high levels of fitness can be developed in a short amount of time with lower levels of boredom. In the conventional gym, you have the flexibility to do a lot of things in isolation, but you cannot conveniently use the exercise bike in close proximity to the pull-up bar and the Olympic lifting platform. You do not have the flexibility to move equipment around as you please. Nor do you have the flexibility to experiment with exercises, and combinations of exercises, without judgment.
4. Consistency
The first 3 reasons add up to the 4th reason:
Convenience + Low Cost + Flexibility = Consistency
Stories about people not being able to stick to workout routines are just as familiar as the depressing stories about obesity and physical inactivity. Most people don’t like to exercise. Exercise may be inconvenient, boring, too time consuming, difficult, embarrassing, or a combination of all. I think most people’s formula is off. Instead of the first formula I listed, most people’s formula is:
Inconvenience + High Cost + Inflexible = Inconsistency
Into the formula can also be inserted: poor results. Regardless, a workout plan that is so convenient that you have to trip over the equipment to do other things, has costs that are sunk instead of monthly, and is flexible enough that you feel in control, but prescribed enough that you feel purposeful, is the best recipe for consistency. Truly, this is a big reason why I put any work into this website. I am looking for a workout plan that fits this formula:
Convenient + Low Cost + Flexible + Functional + Balanced + Measurable = Consistent Execution = Consistent Results
I know I threw in some extra variables, but the point is, I think a home gym takes care of a lot of the obstacles people have to consistently exercising, while the 320 Gym programming takes care of the exercise being functional, balanced, measurable, and therefore, meaningful.
5. Camaraderie
This may seem like an odd reason to workout at your house. After all, if you stay at your house, how are you going to meet new people? Granted, if you are looking to meet people, then working out in your home is certainly not the way to do that. However, I would contend most people never get beyond surface level relationships with people they meet at the gym. Now, there are always exceptions, and CrossFit boxes can create many more relationships that conventional gyms, but a home gym allows you to deepen relationships you already have. Not only is the obesity and inactivity of the digital age well documented, so is the isolation resulting from many social media contacts but few deep physical relationships.
By working out at 320 Gym, I have a reason to go to my parents’ house 5 days per week. As a 30 year old with my own home and responsibilities, this keeps me invested in the lives of my parents and younger siblings. Among my younger siblings, I have a 23 year old brother that is mentally handicapped and loves watching us workout. He always wants to know if Levi and I are coming over to workout, and, if he is home, he hangs out with us for almost all of our workout time. He really enjoys heavy Olympic lifting.
Now, if you have a home gym, it is probably not going to keep you connected to your parents (but it might). Instead, it is going to allow you to spend more time with your children or spouse. Or, maybe, you’ll have a few buddies that come and workout with you. Regardless, a home gym can allow you to spend more time with the people you love, and people you are pulled away from by work and other responsibilities. If the gym is another responsibility that pulls you away from your children or spouse, that is just another reason for you to be inconsistent.
Conclusion
I know a home gym doesn’t work for everyone. If you are a college student, an apartment dweller, or someone on a very limited budget, you may need to go to a conventional gym or use very limited equipment at home. For those people, a home gym may be something to aspire too. For everyone else, if you pay for a gym membership you barely use, or avoid working out because it simply isn’t convenient or enjoyable, you are spending money on things (memberships or future health bills) that could be going towards your own gym. In this gym, you could be building health and memories with those you invite into the gym with you.
For those happy with their paid gym membership and consistently using it, thanks for listening! This post wasn’t necessarily for you, but maybe you’ll have a time in your future when a home gym makes a lot more sense.
A home gym certainly is not the fitness silver bullet, nor are large gyms, CrossFit boxes, or health clinics, but I do think more home gyms could be a big step in the right direction. And, like anything else, my home gym has been such a blessing to me, that my natural reaction is to try to share the merits with others.
320 Gym 