The Benefits of Joining a Gym vs. Working out at Home

Making the decision to exercise is easy. It gets more complicated when you actually have to do it, the biggest question being: Where are you going to exercise? It’s easy to join a gym, of course, but it’s also easy to pay for that membership while never using it.

It’s also easy to set up a home gym and, of course, even easier to find a hundred other things more important than your workout—laundry, playing a game on your phone, cleaning the lint from behind your dryer, etc.

Whichever you decide, you have to actually follow through and part of that is working out in the environment that fits your needs and budget the most.

Pros and Cons of Joining a Gym

Pros

• Variety and options
• Motivation
• Focus
• Energy

Cons

• Cost
• Hassle
• Other people

Pros of Joining a Gym

If these matter most to you, you have your answer.

Options and Amenities

Exercise is so much easier when you have lots of options to choose from. If you’re a cardio machine person, your choices abound: the treadmill, elliptical, stairclimber, stair stepper, stationary bike, rowing machine…it goes on and on. You also have options for lifting weights. You have machines, free weights, cable machines, bands, and more. And then there’s a big attraction, fitness classes. Sure, you can do online classes at home, but it’s not the same as going to the gym and being around people. There may be other things, too, like a pool, hot tub, tennis courts, etc.

Motivation

Paying for a gym membership can be motivating, but there’s also the boost you get from working out around other people. You can pick up on that friendly competitive vibe that you won’t get working out alone.

Focus

There’s not much to do at the gym but exercise (well, there is the hot tub), which can help you stay focused on your workouts. There are no chores staring you in the face, no kids interrupting you, and nothing to tempt you away from your workouts.

Energy and Community

There’s something about being in a gym, sweating along with everyone else, that gives you kind of a boost. We often draw energy from others and it can even push you to work harder. You don’t want that guy next to you running faster than you, right?

Cons of Joining a Gym

Membership has its privileges, but also its drawbacks.

Cost

No matter where you go, you’re going to have to pay something to join a gym. Some high-end clubs can cost more than $100 a month, while smaller clubs may only charge $10. Still, you get what you pay for.

Hassle

Another thing you have to do if you’re going to work out at the gym is to go there. Pack a bag, fill up your water, get dressed (you don’t have to match, but you do need to wear clothing), drive there, park, go to the locker room, etc. So, your workout time may end up being longer, just because of the drive time. 

Other People

Here’s another thing about the gym: it’s full of people. Sweaty, earphone-wearing, breathless exercisers who are all there to do their own thing. Sometimes that leaks over into your world in the form of talking loudly on cell phones, leaving sweat all over the machines, not putting away their weights or choking you with too much cologne or perfume. It’s a gym. It happens.

We’ve all started a new year off with a fitness resolution haven’t we? “This year I’m going to get fitter” or “This year I’m going to exercise more”. But saying it and doing it are two different things!

More than 9.5 million adults. Don’t become part of that statistic – if you need a little help to take action on your resolution, read the top 8 reasons to join a gym and get moving.

1. Huge health benefits

It’s clear, but we’ll mention it anyway – going to the gym is good for your health and fitness! Put simply, during exercise we increase our cardiovascular fitness through strengthening our heart and lungs and we increase our strength through creating lean muscle. The Australian Government Department of Health recommends five hours of moderate exercise per week, including muscle strengthening activities at least twice per week.

Studies show that regular exercise and an increase in strength and cardio fitness levels can help reduce the risk of health concerns and diseases, including:

• Heart disease
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol 
• Diabetes (type II)
• Depression
• Stress related illnesses 

2. Access to equipment

One of the big advantages of joining a gym is the wide array of equipment available, including cardio machines, strength machines, weights, boxing kits and various functional training gear (TRX, fit balls, resistance bands etc). It might be intimidating at first, but you’ll find friendly experts on hand to help you use it all. Trust us – it’s all a lot simpler than it looks!

3. Make friends

The gym is a great way to be social and meet like-minded people. Group fitness classes will help you work towards your goals and are a fun way to make friends. You might find someone who loves Body Pump just as much as you! Once you connect with someone at your fitness level and appoint them as your official training buddy, you’ll be able to team up and try these partner workouts for maximum results. 

4. Access to knowledge

Goodlife Health Clubs have qualified, experienced personal trainers (many with health and sports-related degrees) on hand who can advise you on the best exercises and workouts for reaching your goals. They can give you individualised direction for your workouts in the gym, keeping you safe and motivating you along the way too.

5. Establish a healthy routine

One of the hurdles in committing to a gym membership is justifying the cost and how much you will use it. It’s easy to establish a healthy routine with a gym membership when you have the use of facilities regardless of rain, hail or shine outside. There’s no soggy ground to worry about, no dogs to hurdle when running and no risk of heat exhaustion on summer days. So flip that financial hurdle into a motivator, establish a routine and you’ll create a new healthy habit well worth the investment in no time.

6. Increased energy levels

One of the side effects of exercise is an increase in energy levels and enhanced mood, due to the release of natural, happy endorphins. There’s no better feeling than leaving the gym after a workout feeling energised and ready for whatever the day throws at you. If you’re looking for an extra spring in your step, it’s a great benefit of joining a gym!

7. Be challenged

If you’re looking for a fitness challenge, look no further! The Goodlife 12 Week Challenge and shorter 8 Week Challenge both offer a targeted exercise and nutrition program to help you achieve long-term and life-changing results. Goodlife gyms also have one of the biggest group fitness class offerings including 30 minute functional workout class – Emily Skye Ignite and the latest fitness trend fusing Pilates, yoga and dance – Bootybarre. 

8. Be motivated

You either love exercise or you have to drag yourself along to get it done! If you’re one of the latter, heading to the gym and being around others who are in the same situation as you can be just the incentive and motivation you need to keep going. You might even find yourself converting into an exercise lover when you’re heading to the gym on a more regular basis, hitting your fitness goals and seeing results on the inside and out!

What does being physically fit mean?Medically reviewed by Daniel Bubnis, M.S., NASM-CPT, NASE Level II-CSS on July 14, 2017

1. Overview
2. Cardiorespiratory performance
3. Strength
4. Endurance
5. Body composition
6. Flexibility
7. Takeaway

Maintaining a good level of physical fitness is something that we should all aspire to do. But it can be difficult to determine what fitness entails. Here we answer the question: what does being physically fit mean?According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, physical fitness is defined as “a set of attributes that people have or achieve that relates to the ability to perform physical activity.”This description goes beyond being able to run fast or lift heavy weights. Despite being important, these attributes only address single areas of fitness. This article provides details of the five main components of physical fitness.Fast facts on fitness:

• Maintaining physical fitness can help prevent some diseases.
• With exercise, body composition can change without changing weight.
• Athletes' hearts show different changes dependent on their chosen sport.
• Muscle strength increases by fiber hypertrophy and neural changes.
• Stretching to increase flexibility can ease a number of medical complaints.

Overview

Being physically fit depends on how well a person fulfills each of the components of being healthful.When it comes to fitness, these components include

• cardiorespiratory fitness
• muscular strength
• muscular endurance
• body composition
• flexibility.

So, you can tell if someone is physically fit by determining how well they perform in each component.Here we will look at them all individually.Cardiorespiratory performanceCardiorespiratory endurance indicates how well our body can supply fuel during physical activity via the body’s circulatory and respiratory systems. Activities that help improve cardiorespiratory endurance are those that cause an elevated heart rate for a sustained period.These activities include:

• swimming
• brisk walking
• jogging
• cycling

People who regularly take part in these activities are more likely to be physically fit in terms of cardiorespiratory endurance. It is important to begin these activities slowly and gradually increase the intensity.Exercising increases cardiorespiratory endurance in a number of ways. The heart muscle is strengthened so that it is able to pump more blood per heartbeat.At the same time, additional small arteries are grown within muscle tissue so that blood can be delivered to working muscles more effectively when needed.