Muscle Sport Magazine

Serious Bodybuilding At Home: Is It Possible?

Typically when you think of bodybuilding your mind heads straight to a commercial gym, whether that be your locally owned fitness club or some international chain like 24 Hour Fitness. It’s an understandable thought process; commercial gyms have tons of equipment at your disposal, not to mention tons of weight, so therefore they are the best option for developing the incredible physique you’re looking for.

 

With that said, in recent years a lot of people have been shifting towards the home workout scene. But why the change? It’s not like people woke up one day and just started hating their local Gold’s? Well, I’m just speculating here, but I think the change was due to two notable reasons.

 

One is technology. The internet has made working out from home way easier, especially for beginners, thanks to the huge number of home workouts available online. Not only are there exercise guides so anyone can learn to lift from home, but a ton of personal trainers are actually taking their services entirely online so they can reach more clients.

 

The other notable reason, which I think is actually the bigger cause for the home workout switch, is the massive amount of home gym equipment that’s available today compared to 10 years ago. From basic equipment like barbells and dumbbells to full-blown power racks and functional trainer setups, you can literally buy any piece of equipment you’d find in a 24 Hour Fitness and easily set it up in your garage. Well, take the word ‘easily’ with a grain of salt, but the point is: the gym is no longer your only option to use a squat rack or a bench press. You can now get all this stuff at home.

 

So this begs the question of the day: is it possible to become a serious bodybuilder at home? Based on what we just talked about above, the answer is yes, but it does come with a catch – you’ve got to have deep pockets. If you want to rebuild your local 24 Hour Fitness in your garage, you’ve got a ton of options when it comes to equipment, but this equipment is not cheap by any means. Check out this list of recommended home gyms and head down to the $2,000+ section. You can see there are several high-quality free weight machines and functional trainers for sale, but they all bear a pretty hefty price tag.

 

Now, I’ll play devil’s advocate here for a second. If you ARE interested in building up your own home gym, the costs may be big up front, but then you won’t have a monthly membership to worry about. You can also start with cheaper equipment and slowly build as you need things. For example, you could start out with a simple dumbbell and barbell set, and then work your way up to the more complex equipment as you need it. Working out at home is also nice because you have the freedom to do whatever you want, whenever you want. You want to workout in pajamas? Go for it. You want to blast Katy Perry? Well…that might be a little questionable…but at least no one can tell you otherwise.

 

Working out at home certainly has its pro’s and con’s, but at least we’ve established that it IS in fact possible to become a bodybuilder from home if you really want to go that route. I’m more of the type of guy that likes to lift with my friends at the gym, but for those who like the peace and quiet of working out at home, feel free to give it a shot.

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