Home fitness equipment is generally a waste of money

Yesterday a friend of mine who lives in the same building as I do said that he was thinking about getting a set of dumbbells for his room so he can exercise in front of the TV. I found this to be a completely ridiculous suggestion seeing as how our own building has a small gym that is complete with a full set of dumbbells that probably cost $1000 for the place to acquire.

The gym in question is a mere 2 flights of stairs away from my friend's apartment, yet he still wants to get some of his own. I quickly told him that I think it is a terrible idea for him to purchase not just this, but any home exercise equipment.

I have brief memories of being a kid and there was a bench press rack in the basement complete with those plastic weights that were filled with sand and probably weren't very accurate. The scene around said bench press rack was similar to the above picture in that nobody was using it. I never once saw my father or anyone else ever use that thing and I never asked my parents why we had it. My father was a pretty fit fella and maybe he stopped using it after he had kids. I don't know for sure but we ended up selling in probably the same fashion that we acquired it - for almost no money on a garage sale to anyone that would give us a few dollars for it.

I'm a big believer in exercise needing to be a conscious decision and unless you suddenly start getting chased by killer clowns on your walk home, isn't something you are just going to do by accident. I don't know anyone that has home gym equipment, cardio or weight-oriented, that actually uses that equipment with any sort of regularity. Sure they might bump out a set here and there, but it isn't enough to make the purchase worthwhile.

When you go to a gym, they have purchased an amount of these sorts of things that would be impossible for an individual outside of the rich and famous to ever purchase for their own home. They have all of the possible equipment in most medium-to-large size gyms and many times this can be hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars worth of gear.

There are other reasons to go to a gym as well and no, I am not talking about ogling hot chicks although that is sometimes a benefit as well. There is a certain amount of "fitness mentality" that exists inside of a gym that almost certainly doesn't exist in your living room. Everyone is working out and therefore, you subconsciously feel compelled to do so as well. I know that this same phenomenon applies to my own small gym in my building because since there are only about 20 of us in the entire building, there is a very good chance that nobody is going to be in there when you go. Whenever I am alone in the gym I find that I feel less compelled to get a move on and will frequently get stuck in to looking at my phone for 10 or 15 minutes in a row. I would never do this at the large and crowded gym that I pay a membership at.

In my house right now I have a $10 ab-skate for abdominal roll-downs or whatever you call those. I bought it for the same reason that my friend is considering getting some dumbbells for his house.... so I can knock out some sets during the boring parts of whatever series I am watching on Netflix. That skate has been in my apartment for 2 years and I have maybe used it a total of eleven times. I am someone who is quite dedicated to fitness as well so imagine how little someone who isn't dedicated at all is going to use their new purchase?

I truly believe that spending money on home exercise equipment is a complete waste of money unless you live in a rural area and don't have access to a gym. I have never known anyone that had a home gym that was in good shape is what I am trying to say. For virtually everyone, and I realize there are going to be exceptions, a home gym quickly becomes something that boxes and clothes are stacked on top of and it just sits there and gathers dust. At the same time if that same person had just joined a gym, they would feel compelled to go there and also to do the work while they are there.

This is before we consider the fact that unless you are a millionaire, the equipment at most gyms is going to be of considerably higher quality than you would ever buy for your own home.

It might seem like you are saving money because gym fees can sometimes seem excessive and in many cases I believe they are, especially in a populated city like the one I live in. However, it has been my experience after many years of being involved in this game that the home stuff just simply doesn't get used and even if you do manage to buy it on my parents' garage sale for few dollars, it is a waste of money.

Buy some good quality shoes and a headband and head to the gym instead.