Working out at home is the best, pure and simple.  Four years ago, I would have said the opposite.  I loved the gym.  I loved going to the gym.  I loved that feeling walking into the gym and interacting with everyone, talking, chatting, bs’ing about nonsense.  Then, I decided as my wife and I were planning our new home, to incorporate a large section of the basement for a gym.  As the house came together over the course of 10 months, slowly I started planning how to build the gym.  Half-inch thick rubber flooring from Lowes, check.  Secondhand dumbbell racks from craigslist, check.  Big TV to play my workouts, check.  Heavy bag, multiple benches, weights, etc…check.

Initially, working out at home was boring.  I missed the interactions, the engagements, the camaraderie of all those meaningless conversations.  However, something wonderful happened.  Instead of spending 90 minutes or more at the gym, I cranked up the Sonos, got busy, and was able to complete my workouts in under 45 minutes.  Also, I was sweating way more and more out of breath than usual.  In addition, I was starting to get significantly more gains, quicker, by working out at home.  I realized all the time I had been wasting at the gym with those conversations about whatever, were hindering my workouts and sabotaging my progress.

A few months ago, decided to go back to the gym I used to frequent.  They were offering a free 30 day pass, so I figured, what the hell.  I quickly fell back into my old routine, BS’ing with the same people, catching up on old times.  Then I started to look around, and notice many of the same people I hadn’t see in over two years, still doing the workouts, looking exactly the same, having the same conversations.  While in the two years, I had some significant gains.  I also realized I was annoyed with the constant stares, everyone trying to 1-up everyone else and the little cliques that form within each group.  I longed for my private space, my music blaring loud, and my weights/benches that everyone and their mother hasn’t sweated on and not cleaned.

In the end, while it was fun to see everyone again, I ultimately decided working out at home is definitely the best for me.  While my choice is not for everyone, as many, many people utilize the gym as more of a social engagement, than a true workout environment.  However, I find that I can truly obtain the goals and results I desire for myself, by working out in my own gym with a couple buddies occasionally, than driving to a gym and spending time dealing with the high-school cliques and constant barrage of distractions.