Exercise At Home Or At A Gym? Free Weights Or Machines?

Debate time! Alright, not really. If we are intellectually honest, there are always pros and cons to each system. Today we will be exploring two such controversies, more specifically we will be examining the pros and cons of each. You may have heard that there are many ways to skin a cat. Well, in this case, there are many ways to get healthy.

Making the decision of where you will exercise is important for reaching your fitness goals.  A lot of factors will go into this decision, and each one should be evaluated well before you start exercising.  Once you have made a decision on where you will go to exercise, you can move on to deciding how you plan to work out.

As you probably know, exercising at home has many advantages.  It is quite obvious that you’ll save money on fuel as well as wear and tear on your vehicle by choosing to exercise at home. Memberships to a gym can often be quite expensive and may include other things that you don’t need such as child care or swimming pools.

However, bear in mind that working out at home does require a bit of financial obligation.  Even though you may plan to run outside during good weather, it is very important that you have high quality running shoes.  This statement applies to any type of equipment that you may purchase to use at home.  If you go out and buy cheap equipment, you’ll probably end up getting hurt or getting frustrated because you aren’t making any progress.

Along with the financial gains, exercising at home may also help those who don’t like to work out in public.  If you are worried about how you look in gym clothes, it is very comforting to know that the only person who has to be with you when you exercise at home is you.  Also, when you exercise at home, you don’t need to worry about time at all i.e. hogging machines.

For those of you who are motivated by being around people, a gym may be a better idea than working out at home.  At the gym, you’ll also more of a selection of equipment as well, far more than you’ll have at home. If you need other services than just weights and equipment, the gym may have just what you need.

Gyms will also offer you classes that you may find very motivating.  If you attend class on a regular basis, it might be the better option for you. All in all, making the choice of exercising at home or at the gym is a choice you should make based on your goals and personal preference.  The most important decision you’ll need to make is to determine what type of environment you want to be in and how you want to accomplish the fitness goals in your life.

Once you have given it some thought and weighed out the pros and cons, you’ll have no problem making the choice.  Always keep in mind that once you’ve made your choice, you can always switch if you aren’t happy with the choice you made. Quick tip though: regardless of which option you pick, it would be good for you to get a set of resistance bands. Those that we offer here at Granite Fitness also include instructions, so you know you are doing it right and making progress.

Now comes the next question, more for those who have selected the gym option – free weights or machines? First, let’s explore something fundamental.  Whenever you do any type of exercise, the movement of your body during the exercise is known as the range of motion.  The more difficult the range of motion is, the more effective the exercise will be, because your body has to work twice as hard to perform the movement.

Take for the instance the classic dumbbell bicep curl.  If you aren’t familiar with the exercise, it is performed by standing up straight with your palms facing forward, and a pair of dumbbells held down by your sides.  You’ll contract your biceps to bring the dumbbells up to your shoulder height, then repeat the exercise as many times as you wish.

Using that same movement for exercise on a bicep curl machine, you should sit down, brace your upper arms on a pad, grasp both handles that are in front of you, then perform the same movement as above to move the handles in an upward motion. Now, looking at the muscle contractions, working out your biceps is pretty much all you are doing. This may not be a bad thing if what you want is focus.

A lot of people argue in the fact that free weights are the best for your body.  While this is normally true, many people out there feel that machine weights are the best.  There are pros and cons with both machines, although free weights have been around a lot longer and have been proven time after time to achieve dramatic results. In a nutshell, free weights will use more of your muscles than the machines do, which makes them more effective overall.

The decision on which to use for you should be based on what you hope to achieve with lifting weights and where you plan to use the equipment, such as home or at a gym.  Both systems are great for your body, although the free weights are best to use if you want the best possible workout, and always ensure that your muscles are getting the right workouts they need.

Alright, what did you make of the debate? Once again, in the interest of being academically honest, each system has its pros and cons. I’m now going to take the opportunity to spruik the resistance band set at Granite Fitness once again. Like everything else, it has pros and cons, but the pros far outweigh the cons. Click on it to learn more about why this is the case.

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