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One thing I wish I realized earlier in regards to strength training: It's very easy to do at home if you have the space for it. You don't need an expensive ma

One thing I wish I realized earlier in regards to strength training: It's very easy to do at home if you have the space for it. You don't need an expensive machine. A used power rack and bench can be found for cheap. I now get my workouts done in the amount of time it would've taken me to drive to/from the gym. Listen to whatever music I like. Don't have to worry about other people. Don't have to worry about weather.

cameldrv 9y ago
Very true. Dialing it down even further, a bench and a set of adjustable dumbbells can be had for even cheaper and take up a lot less space. You won't be able to progress as far, particularly with leg exercises, but a small flat bench with dumbbells under it fits in the corner of a room when not in use. The power rack, bench, weights, and barbell may not be too expensive, but the extra room to hold all of them is. That said, I'm a huge fan of the home workout. There's at least an hour worth of time overhead in going to the gym, and there's mental activation energy too. At home, I can easily start a workout, I never wait for a machine, I change in my bedroom instead of a locker room, I'm using my own shower, and it takes zero time to get there. Especially for beginners, the downsides of only having dumbbells are dwarfed by the benefits of doing it at home.
- fuwafuwa 9y ago
  If you're really hard up for space or money, resistance bands offer one of the best tradeoffs. The modular sets scale up to high weight and will last a while. The issues that I think hit most people are not really with equipment, though, but time/motivation/energy. For that, it takes ordinary habit forming and logging progress.
- Chris2048 9y ago
  Honest question: I live in a small apartment, is another issue not smell? i.e, the room with gym equipment may begin to smell of sweat?
  - hokkos 9y ago
    Not it won't, your SO will notice the smell after a session, but with proper ventilation it will be quickly gone. But the coating of the weight may smell very bad, it depends on the material : un-coated plates won't smell, but will make lot of noise when stacked together and will easily put a dent in a wooden floor rubber coated plates are silent, but will smell horrible for months, depending on the storage where you brought it, I had to clean mine 3 times with lots of recipes, and put it on the balcony for weeks, and even now I still notice a smell in the room. I would go for urethane plates, won't smell and are silent.
trentmb 9y ago
One can get pretty far with just a pull up bar and gymnast rings.
- pmoriarty 9y ago
  For many exercises, you don't need any equipment at all. Push-ups, squats, burpees, l-sits, planks, and a whole ton of isometric exercises can be done at home, without needing any equipment. Check out r/bodyweightfitness[1], their Recommended Routine,[2] and r/isometrics.[3] [1] - https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/ https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/ [2] - https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/wiki/kb/recommended_routine https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/wiki/kb/recommend... [3] - https://www.reddit.com/r/Isometrics/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Isometrics/
- hfourm 9y ago
  Yes, I am all about the calisthenics. I don't have the best set up now. But my Walmart style iron gym pull up bar for my door, with gymnastic rings hanging on it, goes a long way. Sure, if I needed to progress further in the future, I would probably need more space for the rings, but it suits my workouts. Hiking up mountains is for the leg workouts.

cameldrv 9y ago

Very true. Dialing it down even further, a bench and a set of adjustable dumbbells can be had for even cheaper and take up a lot less space. You won't be able to progress as far, particularly with leg exercises, but a small flat bench with dumbbells under it fits in the corner of a room when not in use. The power rack, bench, weights, and barbell may not be too expensive, but the extra room to hold all of them is. That said, I'm a huge fan of the home workout. There's at least an hour worth of time overhead in going to the gym, and there's mental activation energy too. At home, I can easily start a workout, I never wait for a machine, I change in my bedroom instead of a locker room, I'm using my own shower, and it takes zero time to get there. Especially for beginners, the downsides of only having dumbbells are dwarfed by the benefits of doing it at home.

fuwafuwa 9y ago
If you're really hard up for space or money, resistance bands offer one of the best tradeoffs. The modular sets scale up to high weight and will last a while. The issues that I think hit most people are not really with equipment, though, but time/motivation/energy. For that, it takes ordinary habit forming and logging progress.
Chris2048 9y ago
Honest question: I live in a small apartment, is another issue not smell? i.e, the room with gym equipment may begin to smell of sweat?
- hokkos 9y ago
  Not it won't, your SO will notice the smell after a session, but with proper ventilation it will be quickly gone. But the coating of the weight may smell very bad, it depends on the material : un-coated plates won't smell, but will make lot of noise when stacked together and will easily put a dent in a wooden floor rubber coated plates are silent, but will smell horrible for months, depending on the storage where you brought it, I had to clean mine 3 times with lots of recipes, and put it on the balcony for weeks, and even now I still notice a smell in the room. I would go for urethane plates, won't smell and are silent.

trentmb 9y ago

One can get pretty far with just a pull up bar and gymnast rings.

pmoriarty 9y ago
For many exercises, you don't need any equipment at all. Push-ups, squats, burpees, l-sits, planks, and a whole ton of isometric exercises can be done at home, without needing any equipment. Check out r/bodyweightfitness[1], their Recommended Routine,[2] and r/isometrics.[3] [1] - https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/ https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/ [2] - https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/wiki/kb/recommended_routine https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/wiki/kb/recommend... [3] - https://www.reddit.com/r/Isometrics/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Isometrics/
hfourm 9y ago
Yes, I am all about the calisthenics. I don't have the best set up now. But my Walmart style iron gym pull up bar for my door, with gymnastic rings hanging on it, goes a long way. Sure, if I needed to progress further in the future, I would probably need more space for the rings, but it suits my workouts. Hiking up mountains is for the leg workouts.