I prefer to workout in a gym since there you have all the equipment and facilities, and you can also get instruction from the gym trainer and partners as well.
I guess part of it is convenience. The other part might be motivation provided by being n that dedicated facility. When I was working in a highly populated metropolitan area, I passed any number gyms on my commute. Where I live now, the nearest one used to be 20 miles away, but one of those 24 hour places opened up about 8 miles up the road. I hired a trainer at one time. It was a waste of money. I'm not a body builder, so basically I was paying someone to BS with as I worked out. I don't think that most of us require instruction if we're working out for general health. Perhaps a one-time basic instruction on how to use each piece of equipment might be advisable, but that's about it. So do you work out regularly, Matt? I used to several times a week (on top of playing racquetball and lots of bike riding), then I only did every few years when I gained weight and returned to the gym to take it off. I've thought of joining the nearby Anytime Fitness, but the chain has issues.
We have stuff at home, used to have more. Given the things one can do with one’s own body (e.g. crunches, push-ups, etc) we have reduced our at home equipment to a set of dumbbells and a recumbent trike. That covers a lot of ground and we like having it at home. No one else has been sweating all over it and it’s much easier to do. After we move, both of us plan on eventually attending a Pilates class that’s offered in the community to see what it is like. I believe it’s also something one can do at home after receiving some instruction on how to do it.
We aren't the "workout" type of couple, although we do have the Wii Game. Since we haven't been using it lately, I unhooked it from tv and packed it up for our upcoming move. We both get quite a workout when we do some work on our 20 foot powerboat and when we launch it and retrieve it at the boat ramp. Gyms and fitness centers aren't our thing.
Exercising at home didn't work for me. I joined a fitness center and just being there and watching all the people work out gave me the motivation I needed to start working out myself 3 times a week. Added bonus is social interaction, making new friends, and in general, a reason to get out of the house!
I tried a fitness center and didn't like it. Too many people. You get all sweaty and then jump in the car and go home. I lift dumbbells, then sit ups and push ups for upper body strength. Walking and cutting the grass for lower body strength and cardio. You often see the elderly take a tumble because they sit too much.
I LOVE our fitness center ! Although I do get exercise at home, it is by working outside in the yard or garden area, or maybe walking with my dog. I really do not enjoy just doing exercises for no reason except to do an exercise. I find it boring, i guess, and need more motivation than just doing an exercise. However, our fitness center has the pool and hot tub and a sauna, as well as a steam room. I love swimming and do not mind doing exercises in the water, somehow it is all a part of having fun when i am in the swimming pool.
I did both in my exercise life. My mom's generation, washed walls, painted walls, scrubbed floors, washed windows, hung clothes on the line, up and down stairs....those were their workouts.
My mom worked hard as she was married to a blue colar worker and on the other hand my friend's mother was married to a white colar man and the mom was in the country club set. Today it's get out the plastic and charge away and push buttons.
I wish I could push a button to do the vacuuming, dusting, window washing, yard work, grocery shopping, floor mopping, cooking, kitchen clean up and other chores around the house. I can't seem to find the buttons for those things.
Perhaps it’s a bit off topic but I do not exercise; I train or workout and to be on topic, I’m much more focused and motivated at the gym. Thank heavens we’re back to going to the Wellness Center every other day. Yvonne for the pool and myself, for the machines and free weights. One thing I have noticed is that lately, Yvonne has a lot more energy to do her gardening and other stuff and I attribute a lot of that to her workouts in the pool. For me, I lost some muscle mass and gained weight over the winter by only training once a week or so but now, I’m losing the weight and have regained what muscle mass I lost and can now concentrate on building even more mass and feeding my 9-10 year long addiction. We do have a small home gym but the room is pretty much a catch all and cramped and to be sure, staying totally focused is difficult at best. The big thing that got me hooked on the gym is we used to have 3-4 natty builders and of course, a couple of pin cushions but all in all, they were guys I could watch and glean some good information from. * note* The key words are “used to” because when Covid hit, the Wellness Center closed down but there were a couple of private back-door weight rooms that were open strictly for body builders so after things opened back up, the builders stayed where they knew they could train without another possible interruption in their regimen. Still, even though the builders are gone for a while, I watch and when I see someone exhibiting good form with their workout, I can work to correct any bad form that I might have accidentally fallen into.
What Is Better: Exercise In The Gym Or At Home? I don't believe either is "better." The fact that a person is exercising at all is the important piece. I don't like public places so I have a small exercise room in my home, but it's pretty much the loneliest room in the house.
Well, I like the socialization of a gym and I don't have a house to have a work out room and no matter what, gyms or working at home or a lot of house work exercise, one still does end up with arthritis. By buttons I mean the modern world of conveniences...and as I've gotten old I don't let houseWORK get me....I ignore a lot and it's only me and I don't fret about dirt and some dust.
For me going to the gym is a chance to get out and it keeps me in reasonably good shape but it's not vanity I can say that.3 years ago during a vascular surgery the Surgeon made a mistake with blood thinners whilst bridging and I had a stroke during surgery.I am thankful that all I lost was my perifferal vision and while I was on the stroke ward I asked the Universe(trying to be politically correct here)to please let me get back to the gym to survive the next surgery.And I did so I go because as long as I have a Rheumatic heart and vascular issues the gym makes me strong enough to recover.Kind of a visious cycle.