When you finally decide to work out consistently, you’re faced with several decisions—the most significant being whether to exercise at home or the gym.
The location for your exercises usually depends on how seriously you want to take your fitness journey.
Home is usually the best place to start for people who want to just engage in mild and casual exercises.
On the other hand, people after a more robust and intense workout routine will prefer the gym.
For a while now, fitness enthusiasts have had to stay away from the gym due to the emergence of Covid-19.
There’s been a need for people to get creative in working out because of the restrictions placed by authorities.
Slowly, things are returning to normal again as gyms have started reopening while observing protocols.
The modern-day gym has moved from being just a space where people come and work out and go back home.
Nowadays, gyms have become more of a community, addressing the specific needs of each customer.
This, coupled with the world-class facilities and expert instructors, makes the gym the most conducive place for fitness development.
Research shows that people who visit the gym have satisfaction and feel more productive when working out. Also, the same study shows that gym participants seem to have more control over their lives and have a lot more emotional and psychological resilience.
In the beginning, joining a gym can seem like a daunting experience because of the cost, the level of commitment, and the commuting involved.
But there are some exclusive benefits, and this article details ten advantages of using a gym for exercise.
It improves your overall wellbeing and health
The moment you consistently visit the gym and start getting involved in cardiovascular exercises and lifting weights, you will see a massive improvement in your overall wellbeing and health.
You will start to develop more muscle and feel stronger, you’ll have a healthier heart, and all your organs will be in good shape.
Working out in the gym also helps prevent risks of picking up injuries and sicknesses such as osteoporosis, heart disease, high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
Moreover, partaking in weight lifting activities can prove to be an efficient way to help you lose weight aside from cardiovascular exercises such as swimming, cycling, and running.
The reason why lifting weight helps you lose weight is that it increases your metabolism rate. It uses a lot of calories to regenerate and maintain your newly built muscles.
Access to well-trained experts and world-class equipment
The gym can be seen as the center of working out, with every tool you need to stretch any muscle. From treadmills to rowing machin
es, saunas to bench presses, free weights to dumbbells. No matter your fitness goals, there’ll always be the appropriate equipment available at the gym to help you reach those goals.
Another benefit is the presence of qualified experts at the gym who will help you use the right machine at the right time. In addition, these instructors will guide you on using the equipment and provide insight into these machines’ level of usage.
Having access to the right equipment and qualified instructors at the beginning of your fitness journey can come in very handy.
There are many exercises you can do at home on your own. However, you expand your horizon once you step into the gym due to the endless expertise and resources available.
Belonging to a community or class
According to research, motivation and commitment to work out increased drastically when people belonged to an exercise group.
The sense of community in exercise groups pushes people beyond their limits to even do better.
Being with like-minded people with similar fitness goals gives you an extra advantage over exercising alone at home.
The sense of belonging allows people to cope with the challenges and stress of committing to consistent workout routines.
Many gyms nowadays incorporate classes at different times during the week to help suit your fitness needs. For example, various dance classes, including afro dance, samba, ballet, and the like, are offered at Fitness One gym.
These dance classes create a community that sees you learn, make mistakes, and get tired together.
Gym classes offer creative ways for you to burn calories without being fully conscious of it. For example, choosing to learn the latest afro dance moves for 30 minutes could see you burn over 200 calories without realizing it because of the fun you are having with your peers.
These peers, over time, become friends with whom you can connect even beyond the gym.
Significantly become fitter
When it comes to exercising, most rewards are reaped by those who are more consistent.
It comes as no surprise to see a link between gym participants and a healthy lifestyle.
Research conducted by Iowa University in 2017 showed that gym participants took part in more exercises such as strength training and aerobic activities than people who exercised outside the gym. To put it into perspective, people who worked out in the gym were 14 times more physically active than those who didn’t. This enabled the gym participants to be more likely to pass muscle strengthening tests. As a result, people who used the gym experienced more cardiovascular health benefits
The same research shows that these health benefits were even drastically bigger for people whose gym membership lasted for more than a year.
This shows that joining a gym will drastically increase your chances of being 14 times fitter than you were.
Long periods of consistent workouts will only help your body develop into an admirable physical form. As you lose excess weight, tone your muscles and eat healthily, your body posture also improves
Your body posture is essential because a bad posture could lead to chronic pains. For example, failing to exercise regularly and choosing to stay in the office most of the time could lead to lower back, shoulder, and neck pains.
You can choose to exercise at home, but expert instructors’ absence could lead to poor posture or form during workouts.
A lot of strength and weight training activities require the body to be in good form, so you don’t develop pain.
Partaking in these activities at the gym will get you access to an expert opinion, so you maintain good posture.
It makes you more committed and motivated
Exercising at home can have its positives, with convenience being the most significant one. But, on the other hand, it can get tricky to stay committed and motivated, so you reach your fitness goals.
A recent study found that 75% of people with gym memberships met the minimum amount of physical activity expected each week than the 18% of people who didn’t have gym memberships.
When at home, you’re always within proximity of your biggest excuses and distractions. This could lead to procrastination and feeling lazy, which affects your fitness development.
Even with a well-spelled out routine and focus, the home environment will always pose as a hindrance to remaining consistent with your workout.
Heading to the gym clears your head because everyone in that space is focused on their goals. Such a committed and determined environment gives you the platform to stay motivated.
In the gym, there aren’t any distractions. Instead, there are good equipment, expert instructors, and pumping music to help you get over the line regarding your fitness goals.
In the end, you become what you are due to your past actions.
Working out consistently can be extremely tough due to the number of hindrances. However, just walking through the front door of the gym, hearing the music, and seeing people sweat profusely can be enough motivation.
It could be the difference between you working out that day and you not.
The key is to remain consistent, and you want to ensure you give yourself the best possible chance of doing so.
Your environment is crucial when it comes to exercising because it can make or break your fitness journey.
Choose a gym, commit by paying to attend at least three times a week, and see the difference it’ll make.
Sticking to a routine helps you create a positive habit that will ultimately shape who you become.
References
Doğan, Ceren. “Training at the Gym, Training for Life: Creating Better Versions of the Self Through Exercise.” Europe’s journal of psychology vol. 11,3 442-58. 20 Aug. 2015, doi:10.5964/ejop.v11i3.951
Stødle, I.V., Debesay, J., Pajalic, Z. et al. The experience of motivation and adherence to group-based exercise of Norwegians aged 80 and more: a qualitative study. Arch Public Health 77, 26 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13690-019-0354-0
“To Improve Health and Exercise More, Get a Gym Membership, Iowa State Study Suggests • News Service • Iowa State University.” Www.news.iastate.edu, www.news.iastate.edu/news/2017/01/23/gymmembership. Accessed 25 Nov. 2021.