Do you want to exercise at home or go to the gym?

There is no standard answer - the best answer is the choice that suits your current pace of life and allows you to stick with it for a long time.

When I lived in my old community two years ago, the nearest gym was a 20-minute drive away. The time I spent stuck in traffic during the evening rush hour was enough to do a set of core exercises. After changing clothes and warming up for half an hour, I almost ran out of energy by the time I actually touched the equipment. I basically practiced at home this year, with a foldable yoga mat, two pairs of adjustable dumbbells, and a horizontal bar nailed to the wall. With a little combination, I could cover all the movements of my shoulders, back, and legs. The total cost was less than 1,000, which is cheaper than one-third of the annual gym membership.

But now I go to the gym three or four times a week. I moved last year, and there is a 24-hour gym downstairs. Two minutes after walking there, I rarely touch dumbbells at home. It’s not that I’m not good at practicing at home, it’s that I don’t have much self-control. After practicing two sets at home, I wanted to collapse on the sofa. I took out my phone and watched short videos for half an hour. When I came to my senses, I didn’t want to move anymore. The gym is different. The people next to you are pushing your shoulders and pulling your back, and you feel embarrassed to sit on the side and paddle. In addition, the household equipment available on the market is limited after all. If you want to practice heavy hip thrusts and high pull-downs, you still have to rely on the gantry frame and Smith frame in the gym.

I have a friend who works as a back-end developer. He is a typical social phobia. Even when he goes downstairs to pick up express delivery, he has to wait until the corridor is empty before going out. If you ask him to go to the gym to grab equipment from others and perform movements in front of strangers, it is better to kill him directly. He practiced at home for two years, following Jeff's videos to learn the details of movements, and his body fat dropped from 24 to 17. The total weight of the three major items exceeded 400kg. His only regret was that he did not dare to put too much weight on the deadlift for fear of shocking the neighbors downstairs.

There are also those who have stepped on pitfalls. A young girl from my former company was new to fitness. She practiced deadlifts blindly at home by following internet celebrity videos. She failed to master the core power points of her waist and abdomen and her waist slipped. She lay down for a full half a month before she dared to get off the ground. Later, she honestly went to the gym and found a trainer to adjust her movements. Now after practicing for half a year, her waist no longer hurts and her waistline has appeared. She now always tells the novices around her that if there is no one to help you keep track of your movements, don’t blindly figure it out at home in the early stage. If you make the wrong movements, you will hurt yourself, and the gain will not be worth the loss.

In fact, there are two groups of people arguing in the fitness circle. One group says that those who practice at home are wild methods and cannot produce results without professional equipment. The other group says that those who go to the gym pay IQ tax and can still practice at home. I think this matter is nothing to argue about. A certain sports platform published a survey in 2023. In fact, 62% of people who exercise all year round actually mix the two modes. They have no time to run in the gym after get off work in the middle of the week, so they take 30 minutes to do HIIT or core training at home. If they have enough time on weekends, they spend the afternoon in the gym and do heavy weights. How to do it whatever is convenient? There is no black and white standard answer.

Speaking of which, both options have their own bad moments. The last time I practiced kettlebell swing at home, I accidentally threw it half a meter away, smashed the freshly brewed lemonade on the table, and squatted on the ground for ten minutes to wipe away the water and glass shards. This would not have happened in a gym. But there are also situations in the gym that leave people speechless. The last time I was waiting to use the lat pull-down machine, a man sat on it and checked Moments for 15 minutes. I stood beside him and waited, either leaving or leaving. It was so embarrassing that I could squeeze out three rooms and one living room. At that time, I wanted to run home and practice immediately.

Really, if you are confused about which one to choose, you might as well try them all. First practice at home for two weeks, and then go to the gym to get a weekly card to experience for two weeks. Whichever one you can practice on time without forcing yourself is the right one. After all, fitness is essentially to make your body more comfortable, not to get some "standard fitness equipment", and there is no need to choose something that is not suitable for you just to save face. Only those who can persevere are really useful.