First off I have no clothes you’d ever wear to a gym. I wear jeans and a t shirt pretty much daily (think Hank Hill). Second, I don’t get what you do there. I hated gym time in school (workout gym, not like throwing balls and running around gym, thats fun) and I don’t get what you do. Run on a treadmill and lift some weights? I feel like I could do all of that at home. Gym memberships are insanely expensive. Are home workouts actually effective? Does one even enjoy gym time?
To answer the title question, you work out your body. That specifics of that question highly depends on your current situation. Like age, current fitness level, what you are training for (strength, cardio, weight loss, etc), and what you have access to.
I loathe gyms, they are usually full of smelly obnoxious people.
The alternate I found is putting on running shoes, headphones, and go outside.
You’re absolutely correct that you can do all that at home. Will you? I find that going to a place puts me in the right state of mind to do the thing. They do have a lot of equipment available, but you can mostly replace it at low cost by running outdoors or buying a few dumbells.
Likewise for the costume - when I started going, I was very worried about making sure I had gym shorts and running shoes and a sweat wicking shirt and a gym bag. I got that stuff and it did help, just mentally put me into the place for it. But after a while I realized I could just go in casual clothes (though my gym bans jeans) and it’s fine. Up to you what’s more motivating - workout clothes or reducing friction by wearing what you’ve got.
As for what to do there - again, it’s your call. Generally they have several flavors of weight machines, cardio machines, free weights, usually some kind of aerobics space.
You set your own goals and routines. In contrast with something like school, no one’s going to force you to exercise. You have to want to - whether that’s for the fun of it or to achieve some health result.
Gyms also tend to offer classes, or personal trainers you can hire if you want more structure.
I have spent years using public gyms and now have a home gym. Home gyms are better in every way if you have the motivation to push yourself. At a public gym its easier to find that motivation because everyone around you is focused on the same task.
You have all the things you need in one space and you can’t leave easily and go home.
As a person who never goes to the gym and doesn’t have a home gym either, are you trolling?
Honestly not. I just do not understand gyms or how people get into it
As someone else that doesn’t go to a gym, it is a combination of: they enjoy working out or do so for another reason, they don’t have the space for gym equipment at home, they can’t afford to buy and maintain the gym equipment they want to use, the gym they attend offers classes or personal training guidance, they enjoy the atmosphere and encouragement of working out with other like-minded individuals.
It isn’t something magical, it may just not be for you.
Agreed. Excercise is good but never limit yourself to just one. Try out new things that excite you, that will work better for your health.
Sounds like you need sports as a conduits for your work out.
God knows I do. 🏸
This is my gym. The bar was picked out of the trash and it was an old broomstick someone used as a fire poker.
With body weight exercises and a small weight set you can make from junk, you can get an amazing body.
You start very light, and you just take baby steps from there, I can help you build a routine.
Most of the YouTube people are way too hyper focused on ‘blasting’ this and that, really you just need to do some simple exercises.
I’ve seen plenty of jeans at my rural gym. Just don’t wear them on leg day.
Otherwise, you might exercise too hard and end up like The Hulk.
Its mostly for the social aspect, people will say its not, but with how expensive they are, especially in Aus where i live, itd be cheaper to buy your own equipment than pay for a couple years membership.
You need the room for the equipment. I had to go to gyms when my rental was too small.
You lived in a shoebox, thats not very common, you are a distant outlier.
I lived in a 3 bedroom house with 3 other people. No room was available and not many would have been big enough anyway. I need at least 2m squared
Okay? Did you read what I said?
That’s a lot of questions, but I’ll try.
What do you do at a gym? Use dedicated equipment to lift weights and build strength, work with a coach to help set workouts, and workout with other people who have the same goals.
A gym membership can be a way to meet other people and build community. If you see the same 5 people regularly due to similar gym schedules, you might build some friendships.
Primarily a gym can become a place where you are expected to exercise, so you’re more likely to do it. If you have a treadmill and some dumbbells in your bedroom, your brain might not give you the motivation needed to use the equipment. You might hop on for 5 minutes, but then get distracted and stop using it. But if you traveled 20 minutes to a dedicated exercise location, then you’re much less likely to stop and leave right away.
So what do you do? Well, depends on what your goals are. Did you want to get healthier? Some cardio where you get your heart rate up improves your cardiovascular health. Lifting weights, can help build muscle and bone health, which would make it much less likely to be injured, and much more likely to recover from an injury quicker.
If you can motivate yourself to workout at home, and if you can find a good routine that meets your goals, you can certainly do that all at home, even without much equipment at all. The problem is, are you actually doing what you need to do, or are you just moving around and wasting time with little actual effect? A coach that knows what their doing would be able to help you actually use your time.
Yes, because a lack of a pair of shorts and tshirt are the reasons why. /s
Have a home gym don’t have a treadmill or stationery bicycle, to me that is weird, I can run around outside and I have a bike that i ride regularly. That said, decent gym equipment is expensive.
Im 58, I’ve been lifting weights since I was 17, (with some breaks) for me it’s more like meditation. You can’t win at it and it’s not a game. My parter lifts with me, she said she likes it, so i will take her at her word.
There’s any number of studies showing how good resistance training is for you, especially as you age.
Henry Rollins did the best reason why.
First I unpack my tripod, mobile phone and water bottle and set them into position in the most annoying direction possible. Then i hit record. Pump some irons getting upset at each and every passer by as it’s obviously about me not them. All the while intermittently berating those stupid Nord, Beton and Thalmor wannabes as inferior chuds to my faithful Khajiit follower’s. Then I strike some epic posses, admiring my strikingly beautiful ears, furs and tail. Of course I check the phone to make sure my benevolent masses of one follower shower me with praises. Thanks mom!
This one is disappointed with Maiq’s use of pronouns.
Gym memberships are insanely expensive
Wait until you see the price of weight plates and dumbbells.
You go to the gym to work out. You clearly don’t know how to work out, so go watch some exercise guides on YouTube.
I got a bench and all the weights and bars I could ever need for a couple hundred bucks on Craigslist after looking for deals for about a week. They even came with little bars so I can use the smaller plates as dumbbells. Obviously it’d be harder for someone in a more rural area, but exercise equipment is usually pretty easy to find relatively cheap second-hand. Way better than a gym membership so long as you’ve got a bit of space in your home for a bench. Paired with basic body-weight maneuvers and some running shoes, you can get all the exercise you need without all the fancy stuff at a gym.
According to Atomic Habit, we tend to form a habit when there is a reward.
First you you can’t wear jeans to work out. If people have to argue, then they have never worked out before.
Then, reward. When you workout by yourself, then is almost no reward, no motivation. In the gym, you can see how for some people are and that motivate you.
With no goal and no motivation, hiding in the basement/garage lifting some weights and wearing jeans, I doubt that person will work out much.
I work out at home and watch movies that usually have some fit people in them, which removes the need for real humans in the room.
Work out and watch Kung Fu movies - actually a great idea
Yeah it’s great. I’ve always already seen it and it’s always an action movie so I don’t need to pay attention all the time. Latest watch was Aliens, so good!
Weightlifting can require insanely heavy weights, they take up a lot of storage and cost a lot of money. Gyms also offer the benefits of having specialised machines that focus on specific muscles. I used to go to a commercial gym then built a home gym, I’ve spent over £2,000 and I’m still not close to finished.
Sure you can do bodyweight stuff, or limited exercises with adjustable dumbbells and resistance bands, but you won’t get nearly as strong as a good gym, training plan, and diet.
