Are Home Workouts As Effective As The Gym: by an ex-gym goer

As an ex-gym goer, I get it when someone wants to start working out at home but is unsure if home workouts can work for them. Especially they want to know if home workouts can be as effective as the gym and provide them with similar results like exercising in a gym environment.

In this article, I’ll keep things practical and will try to help you choose between home workout and gym workout based on your personal preference.

So, if you want to know are home workouts as effective as the gym then read on.

Having a gym membership gives you access to a large number of workout equipment while you will have less equipment at home.

While it’s not necessary to have lots of equipment at home to make your home workout effective.

Having some essential workout equipment like 1-3 dumbbell sets of different weights, resistance bands, workout mat or yoga mat, abs roller etc can help you get better results exercising at home in less time.

Even if you don’t want to spend anything for home workouts then still you can improve your body strength and get in shape by training with bodyweight exercises. However exercising without any equipment makes your home workout less effective than a gym workout, especially for building muscle volume.

Can a home workout be as effective as the gym? Insights from an ex-gym goer

In most cases, whether you are exercising at home or at the gym doesn’t matter that much for achieving your fitness goals.

What is important to get the right results and make your workout sessions effective is you need to choose the right types of workouts for your specific fitness goals.

For example:

• Don’t do only bodyweight exercises if your primary goal is to build muscle and want to look like a bodybuilder. Do a combination of weight training and bodyweight exercises for fast and better results.
• To lose weight fast follow a workout routine that focuses on burning the most calories plus some weight training if you want to get a toned body or build some muscle mass.
• If you don’t want to learn about what exercises you should do to train specific muscle groups and how to do them with the right posture because you have limited time then it’s best to get a personal trainer.

To put it simply if you want similar results from home training without going to a gym add weight training. You can do most of the exercises you will do at the gym with some free weights and some light home exercise equipment.

For muscle gain

If your fitness goal is to build muscle and look like a bodybuilder then for most people exercising at the gym might be more effective than working out from home.

I say this because most people might not have the budget or space to build a small to medium-sized home gym.

But if you can be satisfied with building moderate amounts of muscle then following a muscle-building home workout routine can help you gain muscle while training at home.

I’m also not saying working out at home will not make you as muscular as someone who goes to the gym. But achieving similar results will require you to exercise at home for some years consistently and you need to be disciplined about eating protein protein-rich healthy diet. And you must workout with weights or you will need to workout a lot if you are only doing bodyweight exercises.

For reference here’s a picture of how muscular you can get exercising at home with the right training.

For beginners

If you are someone who doesn’t have much exercise experience it’s better to build some body strength first with bodyweight exercises then do weight training even if you decide to join a gym.

I would recommend doing bodyweight training for 45 days before you do workouts with weights.

So, for a beginner working out at home can be a better option to start with.

However you need to learn the correct posture for different exercises, you can find many tutorials on YouTube. But if you don’t have extra time then getting a personal trainer could be useful. You can also visit our article section to find many home workout tutorials and guides.

Is the gym more effective than home workout?

With the right home exercise equipment and home workout routine, at-home workouts can be as effective as a gym workout. However, without the right workout schedule, workout routine and equipment – the gym can be more effective. Especially for building muscle mass.

There are many advantages of home workouts over gym workouts. So, ultimately comes down to personal preference. Here’s why I shifted to home workouts over gym workouts.

Switching between gym workouts and working out at home

Why choose one when you can have the best of both worlds? Alternating between gym workouts and at-home exercises can be a game-changer for many.

If you want to get in shape faster and need some help from a personal trainer to learn about the proper form of exercise then you can join a gym. Once you get in shape and learned the correct form of hand full of exercise you can then shift to at-home workout to enjoy the benefits of home workouts.

After you get in shape you enter the phase which is called the maintenance phase. You can easily maintain your body by exercising from home.

It’s also a good idea to familiarise yourself with workout equipment and based on which workout equipment you most frequently use or like at the gym you can have a better idea of what you want to get for your home workout setup.

Tips to make your workouts effective at home

Here’s how you can have a good workout at home and make exercising at home much more effective.

• Start your home workout journey with the most effective bodyweight exercises like – pushups, squats, jumping jacks, burpees, lunges, crunches etc.
• After you mastered some of the best bodyweight exercises, include some advanced bodyweight exercises in your home workout routine.
• The next step is to include some dumbbell workouts or weight training.
• In the beginning, get used to home workouts and workout for 10-15 minutes 3-5 days a week.
• Once you get used to home workouts increase your workout time. For busy days keep your workout short up to 15 minutes. On other days 30-45 minutes. 45 minutes of home workout is the sweet spot for getting the best results.
• For losing weight combine walking or jogging with your home workout. It’s important to do cardio exercises if you want to have an effective workout at home that’s optimised for weight loss.
• Improving your diet and consuming unhealthy foods less often it’s also vital to see results from exercising at home without working out a lot.

Closing thoughts

If you do it right exercising at home can give you good results. Ultimately it comes down to where you enjoy exercising the most. It’s harder to stay fit without exercising at least three days a week (2-3 hours of total workout time a week) unless you are good at eating healthy and have a high metabolism rate.

Home workouts offer more flexibility and you can exercise from the comfort of your home but do require some effort and self-discipline to stick to your home workout routine.

So, if you are thinking of doing home workouts – do it for some weeks and find out if it’s the right fit for you.