Getting Fit: Home versus Gym

by Robin Fiedler

The choice between working out at home and working out at a gym is not just about economics; it involves deep psychological factors that ultimately influence success or failure based on motivation.

In Scott Gammon's study "Working Out the Workouts," he reports,"18.5 million Americans exercise at home while 36.3 million use "health clubs." Of the 18.5 million who work out at home, 11 million use workout DVD's. The most popular workout DVDs are celebrity-driven, such as Dancing with the Stars workout DVDs or Biggest Loser's Bob Harper or Jillian Michaels, whomever you connect with. treadmill

Without even buying a DVD, working out at home is cheaper with minimal equipment while watching a workout television program, such as Discovery's FitTV on-demand workout videos. However, a Brown University 18 month study of 115 women, 25 to 45 years old, showed that women who used home exercise equipment, specifically a treadmill, lost 8 pounds more (16lbs vs. 8 lbs) than women who did not use exercise equipment, because of a higher exercise level.

The women who lost the most weight in the Brown University study also exercised in multiple short sessions each day rather than one long exercise session (16lbs vs. 12lbs lost). According to the study then, having a treadmill in the home available for at-will exercise produced the highest weight loss. Not everyone can afford a treadmill or even has the space for one, so a gym membership may be more economical for the second-best weight loss results. Working out at home with no equipment proved to be the least-expensive but also least-effective weight-loss method.

Gym memberships vary widely depending on the facilities, and each individual gym seems to treat the membership price as a negotiation. According to "What It Costs for a Gym Membership," low-end gym memberships cost $25-$35 a month with some as high as $60. High-end spas with golf, tennis, or racquetball as well as a gym facility can cost $50-$200 a month. And the success of a gym membership is common sense; you have to use it. The major factor in going to the gym was how close its location is to home, and the best gym location is onsite at work.

But working out is filled with hypocrisy; we want fun when we work out. Gammon points to research from the University of Thessaly that newbies to the fitness craze "found new media combined with physical education to be more fun than a traditional gym." Gammon notes that in 2009, a study showed 92% "of young adults said they were likely to continuously use a fitness program which included Nintendo product Wii Fit . . ." compared to 47% continuing to work out at the gym. Thus young adults and the Wii Fit are driving the home exercise trend regardless of cost because it's "fun."

Gammon predicts that the Internet will make home workouts more interactive. The just released new interactive Wii game Your Shape Featuring Jenny McCarthy gives users workout feedback in real time just like a personal trainer. For the most part though, Wii's target audience is women and young adults. Men seem to prefer the P90X workout series. For more expensive home equipment, there's Bowflex and Nordic Track.

Still, Gammon argues the largest factor affecting home versus gym workouts is our emotional and mental state, because a gym involves immediate judgment and assessment from the other members. Those who benefit most when it comes to working out at home are the most out of shape. Those in moderate to already good shape maintenance regimes benefit most with gym memberships. Ahhh, the irony--we have to get into shape before we sign up for the gym membership.

Sources

Piccirillo, Chris and Linda Moran. "What It Costs for a Gym Membership." What It Costs.

Gammon, Scott. "Working Out Workouts: Home or Gym." New York University. 4 Aug. 2009.

"Home exercise equipment increased weight-loss success in study." Brown University News Service. 26 Oct. 1999.