Body Building: Can I Do It At Home?

Many aspiring bodybuilders want to know if they have to join a gym to get a good workout. Of course, the answer to that is no. While there are both advantages and disadvantages to working out either at home or at the gym, there's no reason you can't get just as good of a workout at home as at the gym-if you do it right.

Typically you will find a lot more variety and equipment in a fitness center or gym, and usually there will be professionals on staff, so that might also make it safer. But the downside of working out at a gym is that other people can really be annoying! They may be chatting all the time when you want to work out or using the equipment you want to use at the time you want to use it.

If you work out at home, you don't have to share equipment or visit with other gym users you don't want to talk to. You don't have to travel or park, there are no fees, and you can listen to whatever you want during your workout. In addition, you can take your shirt off and make all the noise you want when you workout without drawing any stares.

The biggest drawback to a home gym is that you have to buy all the equipment, and that can be pricey. (Although you may be able to resell it in the future if necessary.) The other downside is that other people who live with you may not appreciate all the space it requires.

If you can overcome the cons, having a home gym makes it easy to work out whenever you want. Consider the following five tips if you decide to create a home gym of your own and work out there.

1) Look for a large, solid space, preferably on the ground floor. A spare room, part of a garage, or a basement often works well. Be sure it is waterproof-to keep your equipment from rusting-and well ventilated for comfort.

2) Empty the room out except for your equipment. You don't want to have anything in your home gym that could be damaged by swinging or dropped equipment-like a fish tank, plasma tv, or laptop. It might be amusing to see these things get damaged by someone else's barbells, but it's not all that funny when it's yours.

3) Buy the basic equipment to start. You will want to purchase a weight bench, a workout mat, a set of cast iron barbells/dumbbells, a pull up bar, and a squat stand. Be sure you select a good brand of high quality for long life and durability.

4) Create a workout for yourself. Using the equipment you've purchased, design a workout to build your muscles. Do compound exercises that combine squats, pull ups, bench presses, and dead lifts with sets of upright rows, lunges, barbell curls, shoulder presses, bent over rows, and lateral raises, among other exercises.

5) Keep it safe. Always lift with a spotter-even in your own gym-or take extra safety precautions. For instance, don't push for extra reps when you're getting tired. And install pins on lifts so that you can set barbells down above chest level and extricate yourself from the machine without crushing yourself.

If you set up a good, safe home gym, you can enjoy the convenience of working out right at home and building muscle without leaving your house.