Investing in your physical fitness can often be quite expensive. Just like the stock market, you can choose to invest in fancy holdings, or you can stick to the basics- the things that are proven to work time and time again. Whether you like it or not, you should probably be investing in your physical fitness, right now.
Should I get a Home Gym?
Wondering if a home gym is worth the investment? Staying fit can cost a lot of money and time. Depending on where you live and how many amenities you’d like to have, a regular gym membership can run you anywhere between $30-150 a month. That’s just to use the facility. You also need a few outfits to wear to the gym, a pair of workout shoes, and possibly a gym bag to bring a water bottle and a few other things. Then, don't forget about the cost of eating an optimal post workout meal after each workout. If your gym is far from where you live, you may have to spend approximately 30 minutes commuting back and forth to the closest gym, as well as another 60 minutes working out. Physicians simply don’t have that kind of time to spend! And, when your “living like a resident” you just don't have that kind of money to spend. Physicians often feel that it's hard to make fitness work, but by utilizing the highest yield training programs, investing in a home gym you can make it happen.
Why Should I Invest in a Home Gym?
Dr's Brittany & Alex Robles
There are many benefits to owning a home gym:
1. You save money on gym membership costs.
2. You save time commuting to and from the gym.
3. You don’t have to worry about inconvenient gym hours or unexpected closings.
4. You don’t have to worry about crowded gyms and waiting for equipment.
5. It helps to instill the value of regular exercise to your family, as your kids often imitate what you do.
6. You Improve your physical fitness which has the potential to save you a ton of money in the future!
Do you need any more convincing?
Isn’t Gym Equipment Expensive?
Gym equipment has the potential to be extremely expensive, and there are so many different things you can purchase. Fortunately, there is no need to spend thousands of dollars on all the fancy stuff you see at commercial gyms. Funny enough, the most expensive gym items tend to be the least useful! This post will go over the items that you actually need so that you can spend your money and your time on other worthwhile investments.
How to Build Your Own Home Gym on a Budget
When setting up a home gym, it is important to get only the stuff that matters and not a random assortment of equipment with a lot of bells and whistles. We will focus on the essential equipment that is most likely to give you results in as short a workout as possible. This is one of those situations where the quantity of your training is nowhere near as important as the quality of your training.
The key functional exercises of a high-yield training program are the squat, deadlift, bench press, and overhead press. These exercises are your biggest return on investment. Here is the equipment you'll need in order to do the “Big 4” as well as most other exercises that can be added to a strength training program:
1. A Power rack or Squat stand
2. A good quality Barbell
3. A stack of Weight Plates
Let’s go over each one individually.
The Power Rack: The Single Most Important Item in Any Gym
Just like a retirement account, this is the first thing you should invest in. A power rack is a large metal frame that allows you to support weights at varying heights for different exercises. They are extremely versatile and allow you to perform almost all major compound barbell exercises. There are many different kinds of power racks, all with varying levels of sophistication and attachments. If the power rack has a pull-up bar attached at the top, that’s icing on the cake. Another great addition to the power rack are pegs that allow you to store the weighted plates alongside it. The Rack should be able to support about 1000 lbs of weight and should have hooks that you can adjust to various heights. This kind of power rack can cost you anywhere from $500-$1500. If that is out of your budget, you could also get a Squat Stand. Squat Stands are a simplified version of a power rack without any of the fancy add-ons. They can still be adjusted to allow you to place your weights at any varying height to perform the major exercises. Squat Stands are about $200-$400.
An Olympic Barbell
Too many people make the mistake of thinking that a set of bow flex dumbbells are a good investment. While they look nice and high tech, dumbbells should not be the first piece of gym equipment you buy.
What you need is a Barbell.
Barbells provide several advantages over dumbbells:
1. They can easily be loaded to any desired weight.
2. You can lift more weight using a barbell than a dumbbell
3. They require A LOT less storage space than a full set of dumbbells
A good quality barbell can cost approximately $100-300. It should weigh 20kg/45lbs and it should be an Olympic barbell that can easily support 500+ lbs. of weight. If you are a beginner or a smaller individual, you can purchase a lighter Olympic Barbell of 35 lbs. Most of the exercises that you can perform with dumbbells can also be performed with a barbell.
Weights
The last things you need are weight plates. You should buy approximately 285 lbs. of weights in this fashion.
4 plates of 45 lbs.
2 plates of 25 lbs.
4 plates of 10 lbs.are
2 plates of 5 lbs.
2 plates of 2.5 lbs.
This can be the most expensive item in the home gym. Each plate will roughly cost $1.50 per pound. This will be plenty of weight to start off with and will allow you to get any combination of weights you may need. Of all the types of weights, metal plates are the cheapest option. They are extremely durable, but they may rust over time.
Where to Purchase Your Home Gym Equipment
Websites that sell good high-quality gym equipment include Rogue Fitness, Vulcan Strength, and Elite FTS. (I do not have any financial relationship with any of these companies). You could find some items on Amazon too, but just make sure that the reviews are great and hold up to the standards described above. The best way to purchase cheaply is to search Craig's List or your local classifieds to find high quality used equipment.
Total Costs of Your Home Gym Investment
Those are the big three. I will call this the bare minimum of gym equipment that you need to achieve great results. If you only owned these three things, (Just like the three major funds: total stock index, total bond index and total international stock index) you would be fine. All of these things can be purchased for under $1000. That may seem like a hefty upfront investment, but it's one that can pay dividends for a lifetime.
The gym should pay for itself after about one year of regular use, especially if someone else is using it too.
Extra Credit Items
If your budget still allows you to get more equipment, here are a few other high yield items in order of importance.
Adjustable Bench
A bench will allow you to perform many different exercises from varying angles. These include exercises while lying flat on an incline or completely sitting upright. It is also necessary to perform the ever-popular bench press exercise inside your power rack or squat stand. A good quality adjustable bench can be purchased for ~$300. If you would like a cheaper option, you could get a non-adjustable bench, without wheels to keep the savings going. A high-quality nonadjustable bench is about $150.
Flooring/Heavy Duty Mat
This item is most important for performing deadlifts or any other exercise where the barbell starts on the floor. This helps protect your floor and also your weights. You can also use the mats to perform floor related exercises such as planks, ab wheel rollout, and lunges. You can purchase rubber mats that can be pieced together, a full Oly, or Deadlift Platform. This item can cost anywhere from $100- $300.
Adjustable Dumbbells
Finally, adjustable dumbbells are worthwhile, but only after you have purchased the aforementioned items.
There is no need to purchase the fancy ones from the commercials, as dumbbells are just dumbbells. You can get adjustable dumbbells for a significantly cheaper price with the same utility.
You can get 200 lbs. worth of dumbbells for ~$200 (Which is more than you will need).
Dumbbells should only constitute a minority of your exercise program as you will get the biggest bang for your buck using compound Barbell and body weight exercises.
Dumbbells represent holdings that you would get in a taxable account, only after you’ve maxed out your 401k.
Final Words on Designing Your Budget Home Gym
It should go without saying that you should design your gym in a place where the floor can handle heavy weights, such as a basement or a garage.
If you only had the bare minimum that we described above, you will be able to perform >80% of all the exercises that you will ever need to do.
Focus on large compound exercises that look like real-world movements.
Start light and make small progressions using the smallest margin you can think of. Check out our series on training, starting with 3 Essential Principles of Successful Training to learn more.
Don’t major in the minors. Build yourself an effective home gym, an efficient training program, and improve your fitness!
What do you think? How have you stayed fit as a busy professional? Would you consider building yourself a home gym? Comment below!
Don’t want to pay for a Rogue rack? Get this:
https://www.titan.fitness/hd-power-rack.html
Don’t want to pay for a Rogue barbell? Consider it, it’s worth it. Here’s mine:
https://www.roguefitness.com/rogue-ohio-power-bar
You can get cheap weights. Here’s one example:
https://slickdeals.net/f/10936475-fitness-gear-300-lb-olympic-weight-set-149-99-with-free-store-pickup-dicks
I could probably ramble a lot more but won’t. Need more inspiration? Go here:
http://www.reddit.com/r/homegym
These are great! Titan is another good option.
I would caution against the barbell and plates from Dick’s however, as they don’t last. If its in the budget, I think its worth it to buy a nice quality set so that you only have to buy them once.
I agree with the principle but have pursued it in a different direction. As a runner (for the last 30+ years), my first priority was to have a treadmill, for inclement weather days, and we bought one with our first home over 20 years ago and have had it ever since.
As we aged, we realized that we needed to diversify our aerobic exercise and added a recumbent bike and elliptical about 10 years ago. We also added some dumbbell weights, balls, bands, and mats so that we could do some basic strength training.
Having it all at home allows at least one of us to use the workout room (attached to basement, under our family room addition) every weekday morning without excuse, without having to drive, make a class, or weight for a machine.
I thought ellipticals were for hanging clothes on?
Hahahaha
As long as it gets you moving, then thats all you need :).
While aerobics are great, it is also important to participate in some form of strength training. Sounds like you are getting the best of both!
No need for a treadmill to hedge against inclement weather, we just invested in a house in California. No need to worry about bad weather anymore!
Great article!!! Physician wellness at its best!
I have a home gym which I have built over the years and truly love it. Spend the money on a rack, and barbell. Everything else can be purchased used for less. You can do whatever you want in your home gym without having to worry about rules of a commercial gym, driving back and forth and waiting for equipment.
The flooring is important, and an even better way to save some money is to buy horse stall mats instead anything labeled “gym flooring”. They are far less expensive and just as, if not more durable. You can also. Get can also get creative and build your own lifting platform.
We have horse mats over a significant portion of our garage. Combined with bumper plates, you can pretty much drop the bar from standing without breaking anything.
We re-did our med school weight room two years ago with a similar approach to what’s described above and horse stall mats were huge. The flooring marketed for weight training purposes is so needlessly expensive, especially considering that horse stall mats are the same exact thing (really, they are).
Absolutely! (You also don’t have to deal with obnoxious people either) The horse mats are a great idea, will keep that in mind.
Great article. I would also say that when it comes to investing, we are focused on how to make more money – often to be able to buy time – either now, or in the future. This article is great now only because it highlights how to make a home gym affordable, but also because it highlighting investing in YOURSELF. The time (and any money) you place in your physical fitness will likely pay huge dividends in the future, one that isn’t easy to put on a graph or excel spreadsheet the way returns in the market can be. Investing in your physical health now will likely give you more time, better quality of life and REDUCE healthcare expenses – how much is all of that WORTH?? I do not exercise nearly enough and I would guess MOST physicians don’t either. We need to start putting ourselves first and taking care of ourselves. Taking the time to exercise is probably one of the BEST investments you will ever make.
I couldn’t agree more. I actually wrote a guest post on this exact same topic on Physician On Fire’s website. Its called Invest In Yourself Now, Save Money Later. I argue that it is pointless to have a robust retirement portfolio but a frail body.
Exercise is supremely important for physician wellness. Helps lower stress and improve your health.
Someday I’ll have a house big enough to accommodate all of this stuff. I will say that I have adjustable dumbbells for now because they take up the least space. I live in a 1100 square foot home with a one car garage that has a…. Car in it. Literally nothing else can fit.
I’ll probably follow this to a “T” when we get our next house. For now, just sticking to HIIT training, push ups/pull ups, and some dumbbell work.
Thanks for encouraging fitness! Really important to fight off burnout.
Thanks for reading. Exercise has so many benefits that its difficult to enumerate them all. If you only did HIIT, pushups pullups and dumbbell work, then you would be just fine!
All of the equipment above allows for a nice progressive strength training regimen (which is extremely fun and rewarding).
Keep up the great work!
Perhaps your definition of a gym is different than mine , Our main focus for our home gym is aerobic. Long ago I was angry my husband doesn’t just go outside to run, but he is not going to wake up early enough for the cool weather I seek for my dog walking . By the way, Alabama has had a late spring and I have been shocked and delighted to be willing to cover my mile or two walking after 9 AM and even yesterday afternoon in April of all months. Last year I did not walk after 7 AM in April . Anyway he has made his running machines last several years each, well worth the price he paid for them. Unfortunately it is so loud the both of us need to use headphones when he is running.I was personally happy with an elliptical trainer but the home one we had just did not have a big enough stride for him, and we passed that to someone my size for more room. My favorite machine just arrived this year, a fit desk ( cycle with a convenient desk and our modifications for drinks and a mouse pad ). I now try to cycle while I watch TV (and it is quiet enough not to need headphones ) and sometimes even surf the web there. An hour on the fit desk online goes by pretty quickly. However, with our climate our garage is a steamy mildew trap and while we store our inversion tilt table upstairs since we weren’t using it too much and it was often in the way, the weight bar, running machine, fit desk, and several yoga mats are all downstairs in the living room so we can watch TV. And so we actually use them regularly.
I hear you. As i mentioned in a comment above, aerobics is extremely important, but so is strength training. We are big advocates of walking, but far too many people ignore the immense benefits of strength and improving lean muscle mass.
Increasing your strength levels on a dedicated gym routine is much more enjoyable and rewarding than you’d expect!
in 2009, I did a round of P90X (a DVD fitness program) adding it to my sprint triathlon training of four hours a week. The P90X program and a book called “You are Your Own Gym” got me hooked on body weight exercises (many different types of air squats, different push ups, pull ups with a variety of hand placements, and other exercises that require no equipment. They can be done anywhere, although pull ups are hard to do without a proper bar.
I have been able to stay fit and strong with this combination: Three sprint triathlons every summer (bike/run training is about 2 hours a week), swimming a half mile (14:30) or a mile (30:00) at lunch at the YMCA that is 2 minutes from my work (but costs $41 a month), and body weight exercises as noted above. In 2015, I did 100 push ups, 100 squats and 100 dips daily, at work, between appointments. That was 2000 of each per month. Unfortunately, the patient load increased progressively to the point that this became impossible in 2017, and soon after I quit that job. My new job turned out no better as to volume, but I still get a real lunch hour.
At age 54, the free weights, barbells, dumbbells, weighted squats, dead lifts and the like are simply too hard on the joints and have given way to the body weight exercises, swimming, and hiking. I enjoy climbing a “walking” mountain more than running these days.
Good luck against the battle of the bulge. Mix it up to avoid injuries. Eat fewer carbs, and knock out 100 each per day of dips, pushups, pull ups and squats, and you will be strong and fit, especially with an aerobic component (bike, run, walk, hike, swim). The body weight exercises allow you to scale up or down to easier versions as you are starting out or getting stronger. I have yet to master the “Pistol Squat” or the one armed pull up.
Anyway, to each their own, but I recommend checking out body weight exercises with very little or no weights. No gym is needed and minimal equipment is needed. Adding weights does allow one to build more muscle which is helpful to perk up the slower metabolism of the 40-75 year old but does increase the risk of injury a bit. I am currently at 199#, about 13% body fat, and my Ironman scale shows increased muscle mass from age 45 to 54. I have been able to keep my weight in a fairly tight range (192 to 202) for the bulk of the past decade, but it has become harder from 50-54 and I got up to 204# recently and had to reassess my program (had to eat fewer carbs).
Kudos! What an amazing fitness career. Thanks for sharing.
I agree with you. Bodyweight exercises are fantastic, and it is important to mix it up every once in a while to keep your joints healthy and decrease injury risk.
Thank you for posting this. There are lots of misconceptions in the realm of fitness that could use a good debunking. Of the minority of Americans who do any exercise at all, most of them probably just do cardio or mix in some crunches and maybe weight machines. A lot of people could really benefit from compound free weight lifts and re-aligning how they think about strength.
My father would occasionally say “strong body, strong mind.” It didn’t quite resonate with me until recently, but strength training can truly improve multiple facets of your life. Women shouldn’t be afraid to put on some muscle, too!
As for me, I have plans to build a home gym down the line, once I can afford to live in a home with enough space. For now, I’m using my hospital gym for $60 per month.
You’re welcome.
Yes, absolutely! There are way too many misconceptions regarding exercise and strength training. Even Plato used exercise to keep his body healthy so that he can then focus on using his mind to its fullest potential.
Thats awesome. I wish my hospital had a gym.
I have always had a home gym because it is removes the hassles of going to a gym that I would use to skip out. In fact, the first thing that I did when I got my first locum check was buy my dream gym. It was thousands and took up my whole basement at the time, but I still use it well over a decade later. We have a bigger basement now, but moving it there was brutal.
One issue that deserves mention is safety. Yes, barbells can give you big bang for the buck/space and are safe for the vast majority of exercises. One downside though is if you use a bench – you don’t want to get pinned by a bar (been there, done that) . My wife wouldn’t be able to help me much, plus she is an “angry exerciser” – so we avoid serious workouts together. Some possible solutions are to use dumbells, spotting cage, or other self-spotting system. Any of those are an increased expense, take more space, and are not needed if using lighter weights. So, I agree with the barbell/power rack approach when starting out or if cost/space are major factors, but I like having the other options when working out alone.
I hear you. Safety should always be number one. I always recommend that if you are getting to the end of a set, its always better to rack the weight one rep too early (especially in bench press). If you are unsure about the next repetition, simply do not go for it unless you have a spotter.
Thankfully my wife and I workout great together. She is my spotter. I trust her even with 300+ lbs of bench press :).
What a lot of people don’t realize is the spotter doesn’t have to lift 300 lbs. They need to lift 30. I mean, you could lift 300 a rep ago, you can certainly lift 270 now. My kids can lift 30.
Good to know, next time I’m benching 300 I’ll have one of your kids spot me for my 20th rep.
Ha ha. Good for you. If I were doing 20 reps I’d be benching 100 lbs!
Another safety tip if you have your wife spot you… Never leave the toilette seat up.
Oh yea, I’ve made that mistake many times before
I don’t even use a spotter for my heaviest lifts. I do bench press within the squat rack. Line up the safety bars to the lowest point possible, where if you dropped the bar, it would not hit your chest (but would be 1cm from doing so), place the bench within the squat rack, etc.
Yes, that is another great strategy to stay safe on the bench. I personally like to get help during the initial lift off though
So just do both. Spotter stands behind the rack and gives you a liftoff. Then you bench in rack with safeties.
As you age you have to adapt. In my youth I did exercise regularly at a gym with a trainer. Now I count my steps and walk. Podcasts and the ability to watch tv on my phone have really made this non-boring. I walk for bone density. I wore an elliptical out but did not replace it because it does not help bone density. As I have gone to part-time I am taking yoga and a light weight and balance class. These classes are currently costing me $30/mo.
I have also begun to harness the power of walking. It is by far the most important exercise we could ever do. We combine our resistance training with a nice walk several times a week.
My personal fitness program costs me about $130 every 2 years. That money goes toward good quality running shoes. I lifted free weights for over 2 decades using a set of home weights I got when I was in high school, but as I got older I began to accumulate mild injuries from lifting, so I transitioned to 100% body weight exercises. I was bummed at first, but this has worked out way better than expected once I learned how to increase the difficulty of the workouts (one arm pushups for example).
A related health issue is that if you’re so “ultra busy” that fitting in a workout is a challenge, then you should probably consider simplifying your life and getting rid of some responsibilities. Busy-ness is a disease that too many people wear as a badge of pride in this country, and increasing one’s free time and ability to rest and sleep properly is just as, if not more important than how much a person can deadlift.
I totally agree with you. Busy-ness is truly a disease and one that is probably killing us slowly.
As far as injuries go, it is important to know how and when to dial back, and also how to modify your training to work around them. Its a very difficult skill to master, especially since so many people believe the “no pain no gain” mentality.
Depending on your miles, you may want to replace your shoes more frequently. The cushioning plastic (EVA) in running shoes degrades far faster than the outer tread of your running shoes wears out. I go through shoes every 4 months because I am very heavy in muscle mass & tall and wear out the EVA (soft pale spongy stuff in the middle of running shoes). The EVA usually wears out before there is any discernable wear in the tread. I suggest you look carefully at the white spongy foam of your shoes instead of the tread at the bottom: if you see a wrinkle in the EVA then your shoes have lost 60% of their cushioning.
Star Trac treadmill and recumbent bike-great commercial type products reasonably priced
The only other few items i’d add to a home gym is an adjustable kettle bell, jump rump, and set of resistance bands.
As someone who used to stick to home workout routines like P90X, Insanity, or my own lifting I have now joined a crosstraining gym and much prefer it to working out by myself. I simply can’t push myself as hard at home. I did find one within ten minutes of my house to keep driving to a minimum.
Good point. Kettle bells are another great versatile option.
I agree, that is one downside of a home gym. However if you can get some good music down there that might help 🙂
We have a power cage, bench press, rowing machine & peloton spin bike. Just wanted to throw it out there that adding a rowing machine (we have the concept 2, purchased off craigslist) and a spin bike (granted, the peloton is $$$ but I use it more with the classes) are great additions to the weight training.
Great post – the vast majority of my clients are age 65-90. The difference in mental & physical condition compared to their exercise level/eating choices is marked. (I also typically have access to the past 20 years of their medical records and can review them, so I get a picture of changes over time.) Truly motivating to keep a fitness routine going forward.
Also agree the Peloton is a good investment for the cardio aspect of fitness. Didn’t think so when I had to fork over $3k upfront but both my wife and I use it every day and have done so for a year now. The rides are entertaining and the metrics are robust. Personally I just like to race people as well as beating previous times. Anything that allows us to get more fitness time in with busy schedules and raising 5 kids is worth the cost.
Yes – the competitive aspect keeps me going too!
I have a Rogue setup which I use almost daily. I also have an ancient spin bike (I use it 1-2x/wk for sprints). Also a concept model B purchased off craigslist for $300 (plus upgraded the monitor, handle and seat); I put a minimum of 10k on that thing every week, sometimes as much as 60k…truly one of the best purchases I have ever made. Finally, have an incline treadmill…I just put it at 30 degrees and walk, watching a movie; not exactly a way to get fit, but I suspect it is heart healthy.
Unfortunately, my wife still wants a gym membership, primarily for the pool. I point out that we have a beautiful lake close by the house, but she is nonplussed.
In my honest opinion, walking is one of the best thing you can do for yourself. We were designed to walk. Keep it up!
I’ve been hearing great things about the Peloton. It definitely sounds like a great investment.
Fitness has always been a vital element to my well-being. After having to end a long and passionate tennis career four years ago at 55 due to repetitive back injuries, I switched to cycling and and free weights in the basement. This was an inadequate solution, as cycling outside works only 5-6 months a year where I live, and my unfinished basement is not an appealing place to spend time.
About a year ago, I fixed this problem, and the solution makes me happy every day. I turned my living room into the gym. I still have a family room with TV, fireplace, etc for group hanging out, but now I also have an accessible, inviting place to work out and I couldn’t be happier. Since the gym is prominently located in my house (it’s the first thing you see when entering the front door), aesthetics was more important than if located eleaewhere. That’s why it was well worth it to me to get attractive high-quality gym flooring. Fresh paint on the walls, mount a TV, bring up the weights, rack, bench, spinning bike, and some mats, and voila! Could not be happier with it!
What a great idea. It will also promote fitness as a vital component to your family!
Great article. We have had a home gym for 12 years. It started when I realized I had become a couch potato and wanted to get back into shape. I hired a trainer at the gym to get me started for 3 months. I wanted to workout with my wife but she would not go to the gym. She didn’t like other people watching her workout. So we brought the gym home.
We got 2 sets of Select Tech dumbbells, two large balls, pull up bar for the doorjamb, stationary bike, bands, yoga blocks, and an elliptical walker. We also picked up several sets of exercise programs from beach body such as P90X, Turbo Jam, and Insanity. And bought a tandem bicycle to ride together in the good weather. It worked! We were exercising daily together and I got beck into shape. Three years later I won Oregon’s best all around rider award from the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association (OBRA) and had ridden in several century rides (100+ mile rides).
I think a home gym is a must for busy doctors. We don’t have the time to go to the gym. I especially like that I get date points with my wife while we work out.
Dr. Cory S. Fawcett
Prescription for Financial Success
This is awesome. Congrats on winning that award. I love hearing the fitness successes of others.
Something else to consider if you’re not into a rack and barbells. Beachbody On Demand is about $8 per month (like Netflix for workouts). Huge variety of workouts including cardio and strength. Minimal equipment, mostly body weight. No need to create a separate home gym. No need to figure out what to do next–just push play. My wife and I use our TV (Roku) in our bedroom at 5-5:30 am (no travel, minimal transition to shower). Teenage kids use it as well using the free app on their phones. Like Netflix, you have it wherever you have internet, so I keep up my routine when I travel. Lost 6% body fat (from 18%-12% as measured with BodPod). I have a small bench in the closet with some dumbbells (PowerBlock 50s) and a TRX type set up for added resistance options. My personal favorite is Insanity Max 30; it will kick your butt, but it’s over in 30 minutes. You’ll feel 10 years younger (and might look it too).
That’s great. As long as you find something that will keep you up and moving, then it’s always worth the investment!
Refreshing to see an article on this topic and even more refreshing that it focusing on building strength vs. slogging away on a treadmill. Aerobic capacity is very important, but not at the exclusion of strength! For those interested in cost-effective aerobic additions, check out liquidation auction sites for cheap treadmills/ellipticals/bikes. I’m a huge fan of full body aerobics; you can often find used AirDyne or similar style bikes for cheap. Or just get a jump rope! As mentioned above we revamped our med school weight room two years ago using many of the same principles you describe. Got rid of the treadmill, built platforms, put horse stall mats down, bought new bars and weights. A commenter above mentioned the Rogue Ohio Bar and I can 100% vouch for its quality and value. We only have one in the room and I hate lifting with anything else now. Needless to say it has taken a beating and is still in great shape.
Couldn’t have said it any better. Strength training is extremely important, and far too many people ignore it.
Thanks for reading and for your comment.
This was a great post. After completing school and then working a crazy schedule I gained a bunch of weight. Since 2016 I have been going to the gym (and tracking food) and had alot of success. I also have been watching Craigslist like a hawk and have scored a pretty decent home gym. Maybe you could write more on maintaining health? – Diet is SO IMPORTANT too and there is so much misinformation out there. Also – mindset and momentum – what are ways to not “fall off the wagon”?
I found out that I really like going to the gym, at least this one. Why?
1) Male camaraderie – as a dentist I’m around women all day, everyday – it’s nice to now have lifted with the same set of guys (and some girls) for the last 2+ years. They are cool guys and I enjoy the banter and being out of the house and worshipping in the “Temple of Iron”
2) Accountability – if I miss a week, the people at the gym will straight up call me out – “where have you been, bro?”
3) Bigger mix of equipment. I did the big 4 for the first year and got bored. I like having more variety with cable machines, hammer strength, and strongman equipment. I tend to switch out exercises every 8-12 weeks. Also I found out that my shoulder just isn’t compatible with traditional barbell bench press due to a previous injury and I prefer other pressing exercises.
All in all great post and I’ll keep an eye on your website too now!
Thanks for your comment. Those are all great points.
You are absolutely right regarding diet. I actually have written a few posts about it on our site, as well as using walking as another great measure to maintain your health.
In regards to the Big 4- those exercises are starting guidelines. They themselves can be modified in several ways to create numerous variations. I advocate for the same thing as you…. I recommend swapping exercises every 8-12 weeks to keep things interesting and decrease injury risk.
I used to go to the gym regularly- it was in my office building, only cost $30/month. Then I had a baby and decided I actually wanted to spend time with him while he’s awake, which meant staying late after work to exercise really didn’t make any sense. We built a house last year, had an extra room finished in the basement to be a gym- it now has a treadmill with a TV (for netflix while running, or yoga/pilates videos). Definitely an up front investment but so worth it. And it means in my next pregnancy I won’t get the critical glares from people silently judging my running while pregnant (never mind that I am an obgyn!)
Haha I hear you. I’m an OBGYN resident and I usually tell my patients the importance of keeping a routine during pregnancy. Most ignore the advice anyway.
Me too. Anecdotally patients in shape do so much better in labor
Same thing with my wife! Before my home gym, I would get those glares as I was doing crossfit-style workouts with our infant quietly next to me in the babyseat…finally a midlevel bureaucrat told me I couldn’t bring the baby. Combining this with the folks sitting on exercise equipment reading magazines, I finally broke through my inertia and bought a new house that had space for a gym!
I am a big fan of exercise videos, although I’m guilty of not doing “real” exercise. It’s not easy undoing years of bad eating habits, studying in the library, and lack of motivation for exercise.
It all starts with taking small steps. The smallest things you could think of. Easy actions that you can integrate into your daily life.
As you start to accomplish small goals, you will begin gaining momentum and all of these small tasks will cumulatively make a difference.
It’s a journey. It’s never too late to start.
Great post, definitely agree with almost everything you said. I would say a bench of SOME type belongs with squat rack, bar bell, and weights as an absolutely essential item. You correctly identified bench press as one of the four essential lifts. How are you gonna do that without a bench?
Curious as to how you think about auxiliary lifts and isolation exercises. We can all agree that any effective weight training program is built on a foundation of the major four compound lifts. But to really take things to the next level, I believe you do need SOME isolation training to supplement the main workout. Are there budget options for adding a cable setup? I like to do cable crunches, tricep pulldown, face pull, etc. as supplemental lifts.
Thanks for reading. You are correct, a bench is definitely essential, however if you could only get 3 items I would still stick with the ones I mentioned.
You could use different pushup variations to train the same muscle groups until you can afford to get a bench.
I agree that isolation and anciallry exercises have their time and place. I use an 80/20 rule to divide up split.
Cable machines tend to be super expensive. A cheap easy alternatives are resistance bands, the closed loop ones that come in various colors and strength.
Two words: Planet Fitness
Planet Fitness is terrible. They only have machines. Not a single free weight to be found.
Great article! Never been athletic, but after my second child realized I couldn’t go to the gym even sporadically- did the home gym method and have loved it. 5 years later have added a treadmill (100$ craigslist), stationary bike ($50 yardsale) and elliptical (25$ yardsale) and a smattering of dumbbells etc. have increased from 1-3x a week up to daily for the last 15 months and feel awesome. I do all free workouts online- hiit on amazon prime, Zumba on you tube ( have also loved Zumba/ just dance on my husbands Xbox Kinect – $3 at used video game store), yoga on you tube ( scads of options- yoga by Adrienne and Leslie fightmaster are my faves). I vary what I do, my kids can do it with me ( and do regularly) and it’s cost me less than $300 the last 5 years…
May think about more of the weight set as I’ve started getting into strength training more the last 6 months. Thanks!
You’re very welcome.
Im glad you’re starting to do strength training, you won’t regret it!
White Coat Trainer! I read your post on POF last year. After reading, my husband and I started working out! Exercise can be so complicated, it’s easy get stuck knowing where to start. We had a free session with a personal trainer. I told them I want to get stronger, and I want to do compound exercises.
Initially, I was squatting the bar. I’m a petite chick amongst a bunch of rescue swimmers working out at my gym. But hey gotta start somewhere. It was an exercise in courage. I’m noticing pains that I didn’t even register anymore are gone. I enjoy feeling stronger. I also didn’t realize that with strength training I don’t need to always go 100% in my workout. It’s ok to make slow gains. Thank you for getting me started.
I’d love to have a home gym one day. Thanks for pointing out this possibility.
I’m happy to hear that you guys have taken the first step.
Listen, even the empty barbell, will provide a decent exercise stimulus to some people. Keep it up.
And you’re absolutely right. It is never necessary to go 100%. This is certainly a marathon and it’s ALWAYS better to take your time and let your body adapt slowly.