Begin Bodybuilding at Home or a Gym?

The first step in bodybuilding for beginners is to decide where you are going to carry out your training plan. You can choose to join a gym and begin your regimen their or you can opt to work out at home. Each choice has its advantages and disadvantages.

Bodybuilding at home has several advantages. Gym memberships can by quite costly. In addition to avoiding the cost of a gym membership their are lots of sundry expenses that can be avoided as well. For example gas or other transportation costs for travelling to a gym. Also, let's face it, their are additional expenses for clothing etc, if you workout at a gym. A gym is a social environment and very often members feel compelled to dress a certain way, in more expensive, name brand apparel.  When you train at home, you don't have to worry about any of these superficial distractions and get right to work on weight training and building muscle mass.

Beginner bodybuilders training at home are not completely off the hook as far as financial outlay goes.  You obviously need to purchase the necessary weight training equipment.  You may be tempted to cut costs by buying less expensive inferior home gym equipment, but you run the risk of this choice yielding poorer results.  The home gym equipment may not provide a full range of exercise targeting all the muscle groups.  Additionally your risk of injury may increase.  The equipment maintained by established gyms is normally top quality and well maintained.  There is also often a better selection of machines.

Exercising at home as a beginner offers you privacy as you are getting started bodybuilding.  If you would feel self conscious about how you awkward you may look as you are getting used to the equipment and learning how the exercises are done properly, you may be better off beginning in a home gym.  If you are going to be embarrassed when attending a gym, it is too great a risk that you will find excuses to not go and derail your training plans.

There can also be long wait times for specific exercise machines at the gym.  When you body build at home you don't have to worry about this.  Nor will you feel pressure to get off of a machine before you are ready.

Of course a gym membership may offer amenities that you just can't replicate at home.  A swimming pool is one example.  Swimming is a great source for cardio and if this is something you enjoy, the advantage shouldn't be overlooked.  A running track is another example.  Treadmills are fine, but they are not the same as actually running around a track.

Gyms also have the advantage of having more experienced bodybuilders handy so that you can ask for help or advice.  If you are social in nature this can really give your new bodybuilding routine a big boost.

Like most things, the choice of where to begin bodybuilding will be personal and reflect what is important to you.  The deciding factor, all other things being equal, is which choice is most likely to ensure that you follow through and stick with it.