Why do you exercise at home?

[Renee McFar]

I am curious as to the reasons other people choose to do their workouts at home. I have been a home exerciser for 12+ yrs. I started because: 1. The closest gym to me is over 20 miles away and they did not offer on-site child care at the time. 2. I feel more comfrotable at home. 3. I have asthma and I was always afraid I would have to be hitting my inhaler during class. How about you guy's? :+

 

[Carol_is_fit]

Gyms are like pick-up bars with weights. LOL!! To be fair ... I know they aren't ALL like that ... but it seems like the ones I went into always were. Silly. Plus, they're expensive. Plus, I never liked having to take the classes they offered, whether I wanted them or not. Plus, I never liked waiting in line for equipment, and with my schedule, I had to go when it was convenient for me, not when no one was there. Plus, I REALLY hated wiping some stranger's sweat off the equipment ... YUCK.

I needed to workout around a child care schedule when my daughter was younger, and now it works around my new job's schedule. I love the idea of getting up and just working out!! No getting dressed to go to the gym ... or having to cart stuff back and forth ... or having to run back home to shower or shower there before going to work! I like just having the freedom to do what workout I want ... when I want ... and without an audience. I never needed to socialize while working out ... LOL!!

Just me ... but those are all the reasons why. I tried several gyms, and just never liked the whole concept, but I do realize they work for others.

Carol

 

[kathryn]

In no order of importance:
1) No good gyms in my town that I know of, and I'm not keen on working out at the university rec center with students;
2) It's easier for me to get motivated to work out at home than to get dressed and ready and go out somewhere;
3) I have **@$&@-loads of equipment and "toys," so I might as well use them!
4) I don't have to worry about dealing with other people's sweat (on equipment or flying through the air) or body odor--or having them deal with mine;
5) I can't find better instructors than Cathe and Tony Horton and Gin Miller, etc.;'
6) I prefer working out with dumbbells and barbells than machines (which are often built with men in mind and don't fit my anatomy);
7) I don't have to wait in line to use equipment;
8) I can modify what the instructor is doing if I find a move risky or just not suited to me without anyone giving me strange looks;
9) I can do the type of workout I want to do, whenever I want to do it, instead of having to follow someone else's schedule;
10) The group atmosphere of a gym is somewhat reminiscent of gym class, where I was always chosen last (until 8th grade, when someone else became the "last chosen."

The only reason I would want to work out in a gym would be to use some of the heavier weight safety equipment, like squat racks, and to have access to some weight machines (leg curl and extension), and maybe so other people can see my cool Carushka outfits .

 

[cjbate]

I loved the gym, but with 3 kids ages 6 and under, the childcare was too much, and getting there was too much of a production. Working out at home allows me to do it almost daily, if I choose. Also, the quality of instruction in the classes at my gym is not the best. Aerobically, I get too bored running on a treadmill or on the street even. I prefer step classes. Cathe is better than the gym classes. Similar issues with weightlifting. Never really had a problem with the gym environment, and mine is fairly cheap ($14 for both hubby and I). Sometimes miss the camraderie of my regular step classes....but I can get some of that here on the forum!

Jen

 

[groundhog]

Three kids, dont have to look presentable, dont feel like you have to compete with anyone except yourself

 

[clareMc]

ditto everything Kathryn said, plus the need to workout at the drop of the hat to accommodate kids' schedules.

Clare

 

[wendybdh]

2 Main Reasons why I work out at home:

1. I can work out when I want

2. I'm not all that coordinated so working out around other people equates to public humiliation for me.

3. I can work out NAKED at 6 am and noone cares (does this fit into not being presentable? (this is ONE good thing about being relatively flat chested!)

I lied - I'm not really naked - I do wear shoes and socks!

I probably have several other reasons but these top my list.

 

[faie]

I did it for several reasons:

1. The nearest gym is about 20 miles from home.
2. My time is a valuable commodity. I work full time, I'm studying part-time and I have an infant son. Where could I possibly squeeze a trip to the gym between my busy schedule?
2. Gyms are like social hotspots here (in Malaysia, that is). Most people go there to see and be seen. And most Malaysian men find women lifting weights an amusement.
3. Membership fees are expensive.

I don't think I'll ever join a gym. Even if I did, just the effort of braving the traffic jams to make it to the gym at least 3 times a week would be a turn off for me to even start working out. The best investment I ever made for my health and fitness was to shell out some money for a step platform, some workout DVDs and several sets of weights instead of blowing off my money on an annual membership to a gym. I'm getting an excellent workout everytime right here in my living room (thanks to Cathe, of course ) and I'm getting some pretty serious results.

 

[Runcrazy]

I can do what I want when I want with who I want! And ditto everything Kathryn said! Also, I'm very motivated on my own so I am perfectly happy working out alone and still challenge myself. There's also more variety so if I don't like an instructor or workout I can trade him/her away and stick with who I like instead of being limited to what is offered to me (is that a control thing???)

Jo

 

[tsut]

i workout at home because my schedule is too crazy to go to the gym. plus, i just love cathe's step videos much better than a real gym class. i've always found her cardio workout to have more intensity than any of the cardio classes i've taken at the gym. another reason is that i hate cardio machines. and lastly, i like the variety of rep ranges and weights i can use at home. when i went to the gym, i used to do the same thing over and over. videos make me try new things.

 

[JAFitMama]

Probably the biggest reason I have stuck with exercising is the flexabiliy I have with my home set up. For the past 13 years I have consistently worked out at home.

I began walking in the morning, when we only had 2 kids and one "in the oven." Then I progressed to Denise Austin and whatever I could find on TV. Some how I started getting Collage Video catalogs and began to try out instructors. Cathe quickly became my mainstay!

Since then we have moved, finished our basement and put in an exercise area complete with a Cybex universal type gym , a treadmill, a semi-recumbent bike, of course my beloved step & hand weights & barbell set. We added the stab. ball and high step. Every piece of equipment gets used OFTEN.

My kids, now teenagers (3 out of 4) even share in the use of the area. Sometimes we even have to coorinate out who works out at what time!

( I still can't get my family to love Cathe yet, but I'm hoping they will see the light. They see her as a drill seargent-kamikazie- exercise-guru. And I say "Yes, so what is your point?" LOL)

 

[kimyenchu]

Hello,

1. Hygiene.
2. Convenience.
3. Inexpensive.
4. Flexible.
5. Effective.
6. No embarassing scenes.
7. No competition.
8. No oggling from men (not that I would get that much attention in my scruffy kit).
9. Peace and solitude which means I can focus on the work out and get it done in as little time as possible.
10. No overpowering BO stuffing up my nose and others.

I do find it very lonely at times because I have to go home and work out instead of going out socialising after work but it does save me money when I do this. Not a lot of people I work with or socialise with like the home exercise method as they say that they would not be able to motivate themselves to do it.

I was working out to a Jane Fonda aerobic tape long before I had ever heard of the gym.

Now, I do other things for social reasons, like running.

Yen

 

[nancy324]

I'm not sure why I don't do my strength training at the gym. My gym is literally around the corner and I pay a small fortune to belong. And I don't enjoy messing up my living room with barbells and dumbbells, etc.

I guess it's because the gym only has one or two machines per body part and there's not enough variety or instruction. And I don't want some personal trainer hovering over me telling me to do one more when I know I can't. Or having to always be making appointments with another human before I can work out. Cathe is always available and ready to go at the touch of a button.

It's simpler, faster and Cathe is always coming up with new exercises or new fun ways to do old exercises. My DH is available to spot, so who needs the gym?

I do all my cardio at the gym though. Go figure.

 

[t_jania]

When I workout, I get really really hot. I sweat, I stink, and I've got to have a fan on me. Because of this, I wear a really small workout outfit very similar to those worn by the girls in my workout videos. Just small shorts and a sports bra. Frankly, I don't think I'd be comfortable walking around in a public place with so little on. It'd be like wearing a bikini but to the grocery store, you know? And it would be really gross if I turned my head too fast and flicked sweat onto the person next to me. Eww!!

 

[Kathy02]

It's more convenient, I feel more comfortable, it's familiar to me now. Plus a gym is very expensive and I have a hard time leaving my child with someone that I don't know, like at a child care facility.
At home I know that I will get in at least 3 days a week, and it seems to take less time, than getting ready to go, getting there, getting ready to workout, showering, getting dressed, getting home. You know?

Kathy

 

[endorphin_junkie]

Convenience, convenience, convenience.......

I split my time up between the gym where I teach and working out at home. I LOVE the variety that I get mixing it up between the two. I have not found the gym to be a meat market at all and have met some wonderful people who have become friends and/or clients.

I started working out at home in '93 and joined a gym for the first time in '98. I worked out at home less and less until I found CK Sales and Cathe and finally found workouts that were REALLY meant for advanced exercisers. When my schedule demands that I workout early in the morning there is just NO WAY that I would drag my sleepy carcass down to the gym before sun up but rolling out of bed and into my workout clothes and waking up 10 minutes into the workout has become very familiar territory.

Take Care
Laurie

 

[cab54]

When I started (1988)--I had little kids--too much trouble to go out, and I didn't like putting them in care centers where everyone put their very sick kids, and mine got viruses from them all the time. x(

I can wear anything I like.

I can get a shower right away--alone.

I am a total klutz so aerobics classes were out. At home, I can just BE a klutz.:+

I like getting down to business and not socializing.

I can work out at 4 am.

Doing vids like Cathe's, I can sort of zone ouot and not have to think about which muscle group need s working next, or whether I've missed anything. Cathe does that for me. ;-) I only have to be aware of form and stuff, and just scissor through the workout. And have fun.

 

[emuench]

I have small children and I love the privacy and flexibility of working out at home. Also I can control the music, can choose my own workout and when I want to do it etc. I never really liked gyms more than home exercise so am not motivated to find one.

 

[Maximus]

I do my lifting at the gym. I also do my cardio there on the w/e. But during the week, since I usually get out of work pretty late, I get up really early a few mornings before work to get my cardio in (either a Cathe tape or a good 3 mile run), & then go to the gym after work to lift.

Personally I would really miss the gym experience--it's a great place to meet people, plus it can be inspiring. Besides, sometimes you can hook up w/a w/o partner, which can give your w/o a little boost.

But I agree that I have never taken a cardio class at the gym that comes close to Cathe's. I use cardio machines when I go to the gym rather than take a class so I can get a REAL workout at my own pace.

 

[jmurphy]

Ditto to everything that everyone said, plus, when I started, I was 40 pounds heavier, (14 years ago), so I felt more comfy in a space with just me and my excess self.