Should I join a gym?
- Thread starter loser2
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Warboss Alex
Master Don Juan
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join the gym. 
or buy a fully equipped home gym.
(hint: the 24hr is cheaper!)
or buy a fully equipped home gym.
(hint: the 24hr is cheaper!)
I do almost all my weightlifting at home. Its easier for me having it right there, and it opens the door to more experimentation as to what your body can handle. It also saves so much time just popping in there for 20 squats anytime I want to over the gym's routine which may involve waiting for someone. :\
Here's my scenario for building my at-home weights set. I'm well off because of my job but I'm horrendous at managing my finances so this shouldn't be hard:
Step 1: Do interval running (sprint, then walk a few times per run) every morning for 5-10 minutes for two weeks if you're in absolute **** shape. Reach 70% effort during each sprint. For god's sake its only five minutes of your time and you'll feel great for the rest of the day, afterwards.
Step 2: Join a sport, martial art, w/e. Learn about your body through something interesting. Gyms are boring. Once you're interested in the "fun" of body shaping & weightlifting from whatever activity you sign-up for then buy a pull-up bar. Buy 20lb dumbells. The kind that aren't adjustable. Do wall-pushups for your back. Do regular pushups for your front. Do some form of crunches for your abs. The sport/martial art should give you an idea of what you want to work out. Experiment with it. Maybe you can have huge triceps? Maybe that's at the cost of your forearm & pec size with your current diet, etc.
Step 3: Buy adjustable dumbell bars. Save up for an olympic sized bar + weights. You now have deadlift & row (among other) capabilities! Woot for compound exercises at home!
Step 4: Save up for a bench that can do squats, too. Buy more weights.
Ok at this point you should have enough bodybuilding exercises to keep you busy for the next six months experimenting until you have a good routine.
I'll admit for supplemental weights I'll go to my Apt. complex's facility to do Lat pulls & upright machine flys (or w/e they're called) for my pecs. And I'm fairly active with other sports and such. I also do wide push-ups, upside-down wall push-ups, and other random **** I've figured out to maintain my body the way I want it.
The main thing isn't to fall into the category of aspiring dj's that do bull**** exercises at home without ANY heavy weights for compound exercises. Like some guys will preach about a million push-ups and situps but they fail to realize that's not very sustainable in the modern world. Their gains are **** for the time & effort they invest on non-compound exercises. Time > Everything. Maybe these guys are highly active and it works for them, but usually they're not. The same concept can be applied to gyms, why waste time driving to them? Sure if you like the atmosphere I can fathom & respect that, but beyond that its usually pointless to go. Chances are starting out you'll probably be insecure lifting next to the other weight veterans, also, so that will distract and frustrate you.
When trying something new, its easier without distractions. When managing your life its easier if an activity takes less time, and you can do it ANYTIME you wish. Get an at home weights set if you can afford one. ONE WITH SQUATS. Even with other compound exercises its very hard for me to achieve a good physique without squats. Squats are crucial. The health&fitness section of DJ forums should be renamed to DO SQUATS. Thank you to everyone here who ever recommended them, notably alex, above.
I could just say "I prefer to workout at home, its just the way I am", but that isn't true. I do it at home because it seems more efficient & sustainable that way. With the setup I have now, why would I EVER stop lifting? If I went to a gym, I could think of a thousand reasons why I would stop going: #1 being weightlifting is relatively boring.
A guy the other day asked me how I stayed motivated working out at home. Easy, if I'm unmotivated one minute, I'm usually motivated the next. A better question is: How do you stay motivated having part of your life revolve around going to the gym!?
Here's my scenario for building my at-home weights set. I'm well off because of my job but I'm horrendous at managing my finances so this shouldn't be hard:
Step 1: Do interval running (sprint, then walk a few times per run) every morning for 5-10 minutes for two weeks if you're in absolute **** shape. Reach 70% effort during each sprint. For god's sake its only five minutes of your time and you'll feel great for the rest of the day, afterwards.
Step 2: Join a sport, martial art, w/e. Learn about your body through something interesting. Gyms are boring. Once you're interested in the "fun" of body shaping & weightlifting from whatever activity you sign-up for then buy a pull-up bar. Buy 20lb dumbells. The kind that aren't adjustable. Do wall-pushups for your back. Do regular pushups for your front. Do some form of crunches for your abs. The sport/martial art should give you an idea of what you want to work out. Experiment with it. Maybe you can have huge triceps? Maybe that's at the cost of your forearm & pec size with your current diet, etc.
Step 3: Buy adjustable dumbell bars. Save up for an olympic sized bar + weights. You now have deadlift & row (among other) capabilities! Woot for compound exercises at home!
Step 4: Save up for a bench that can do squats, too. Buy more weights.
Ok at this point you should have enough bodybuilding exercises to keep you busy for the next six months experimenting until you have a good routine.
I'll admit for supplemental weights I'll go to my Apt. complex's facility to do Lat pulls & upright machine flys (or w/e they're called) for my pecs. And I'm fairly active with other sports and such. I also do wide push-ups, upside-down wall push-ups, and other random **** I've figured out to maintain my body the way I want it.
The main thing isn't to fall into the category of aspiring dj's that do bull**** exercises at home without ANY heavy weights for compound exercises. Like some guys will preach about a million push-ups and situps but they fail to realize that's not very sustainable in the modern world. Their gains are **** for the time & effort they invest on non-compound exercises. Time > Everything. Maybe these guys are highly active and it works for them, but usually they're not. The same concept can be applied to gyms, why waste time driving to them? Sure if you like the atmosphere I can fathom & respect that, but beyond that its usually pointless to go. Chances are starting out you'll probably be insecure lifting next to the other weight veterans, also, so that will distract and frustrate you.
When trying something new, its easier without distractions. When managing your life its easier if an activity takes less time, and you can do it ANYTIME you wish. Get an at home weights set if you can afford one. ONE WITH SQUATS. Even with other compound exercises its very hard for me to achieve a good physique without squats. Squats are crucial. The health&fitness section of DJ forums should be renamed to DO SQUATS. Thank you to everyone here who ever recommended them, notably alex, above.
I could just say "I prefer to workout at home, its just the way I am", but that isn't true. I do it at home because it seems more efficient & sustainable that way. With the setup I have now, why would I EVER stop lifting? If I went to a gym, I could think of a thousand reasons why I would stop going: #1 being weightlifting is relatively boring.
A guy the other day asked me how I stayed motivated working out at home. Easy, if I'm unmotivated one minute, I'm usually motivated the next. A better question is: How do you stay motivated having part of your life revolve around going to the gym!?
Tomatoes
Master Don Juan
loser2 said:
Gym membership is always the best way to go. Dumbells will only work so many mucelces. At a gym you can work all of them. Plus when you want to lift more weight you will need a sitter...Things like that. All more availble at the gym. Not to mention it being the 3rd best place to PU.
Driven2Succeed
Don Juan
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loser,
yeah i'd def say join the gym..
grr,
i think having ur own gym is a good idea too and definitely makes it easier to train and harder to find excuses not too.. but in loser's case i think joining is better, just because it gets u out there into an unknown place with strangers and its a social place in some ways..
go either way.. u can usually get a good bench and weights and dumbells for like 250 or so.. gym membership will be prob 300-500 a year depending on location and gym.. but u will get access to tons more in the gym and its safer to have a spotter and u might be able to get a training partner..
i should also say that i am partial to gyms mainly because in the military we have free access to gyms and they are niiiice.. one of the gyms out here on pearl harbor can easily rival any gold's gyms ive seen
yeah i'd def say join the gym..
grr,
i think having ur own gym is a good idea too and definitely makes it easier to train and harder to find excuses not too.. but in loser's case i think joining is better, just because it gets u out there into an unknown place with strangers and its a social place in some ways..
go either way.. u can usually get a good bench and weights and dumbells for like 250 or so.. gym membership will be prob 300-500 a year depending on location and gym.. but u will get access to tons more in the gym and its safer to have a spotter and u might be able to get a training partner..
i should also say that i am partial to gyms mainly because in the military we have free access to gyms and they are niiiice.. one of the gyms out here on pearl harbor can easily rival any gold's gyms ive seen
Definitely join the gym, it's cheaper, you meet people, you can ask the more experienced guys questions, and you can get someone to spot you. The bad part is having to drive there, but I just found a gym close to my house. It's close enough that I walk there sometimes when it's nice out.