Advantages and Disadvantages of a Home Gym

To install a gym in your home, you must consider certain factors that will make your decision a success or a failure. Thus, we'll share the advantages and disadvantages of acquiring this equipment to train in your home.
Advantages and Disadvantages of a Home Gym

Last update: 13 December, 2019

Attending a gym is one of the ways to keep the body healthy and fit. To find an alternative due to lack of time or convenience, some people decide to install a home gym. What points are in favor and which are against this decision?

At first glance, a gym in your home sounds great since you can use it whenever and however you want. Although, as time goes by, there may be some inconveniences, such as the lack of discipline or problems with the machines. 

Advantages of a home gym

As we previously mentioned, if you’re going to invest in a home gym, it’s best to take note of the advantages and disadvantages that we’ll share below.

1. You’ll save time and money

Having all the equipment and accessories to train in your home, mean you’ll no longer have to pay the monthly membership or spend money on transportation to attend. Additionally, you can manage your time as you choose and not stick to any schedule.

Logically, spending on machines, weights, and other equipment to build a gym is usually not cheap. However, it may be worth making a large investment that will save you in the long run.

Likewise, time is another element in favor of having a home gym. Lots of people are comforted to know that they won’t waste time traveling to a site nor will they have to alter their activities in order to comply with the gym’s schedule.

2. Freedom in every way

By setting up a gym in your home, you have the freedom to decorate it, play the music you enjoy, do the routines of your choice, and wear the clothes you feel most comfortable with, no matter how you look.

Normally, gyms have rules to follow. Sometimes, these rules are limiting in certain aspects such as the use of the bathroom, lockers to store your things, or food intake.

A home gym let's you workout however you like.

Similarly, there are certain times of the day when the gym is extremely crowded. This makes it difficult to train comfortably since you may have to wait your turn to use a machine, weights, and balls, among other elements.

3. Variety

A home gym will never become boring because you have control over the activities you do. Moreover, you can implement all the training content you have access to.

For example, you can do ab routines, yoga, or jogging for a few days; meanwhile, on other days, you can do cardio, weight training, burpees, or other exercises to take advantage of your personalized gym.

Disadvantages of a home gym

1. Lack of space

One of the most common inconveniences of having a home gym is not having enough space for it. People who live in apartments or small houses find it difficult to modify an area of their home to install everything

Similarly, if they manage to accommodate a small space to train and place machines, it’s likely to be quite limited and uncomfortable. 

2. Excuses and lack of motivation, this is common for people with a home gym

The simple fact that you’re home can be a great excuse for not training or training less. Simple distractions, such as television, sleeping, using social media, or even household chores can be very powerful.

On the other hand, the presence of your gym friends and coaches also plays an important role. Being completely alone makes it harder to achieve the enthusiasm to train. You must be in constant search for motivation to not lose the habit of exercising. 

3. Not knowing how to train correctly

Some people try to train on their own, but when they don’t get results, they decide to enroll in a gym. The key is that most gyms include a trainer that tells you what to do to make the best progress.

At home, you don't have a trainer.

Not having a trainer makes it difficult to find the right routines and exercises for each individual. In addition, you run the risk of injuring yourself by doing an exercise incorrectly or using a machine the wrong way.

Each person in the world is unique. For this reason, a home gym may be suitable for some and others will prefer to go to a gym.

Beyond having a gym or going to one, the key is to train and to be fit. The important thing is that you evaluate what best suits your personality and what you feel most comfortable with. Based on that, choose what might benefit you.


All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.


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  • Kapperman, G., & Kapperman, G. A. (2017). You are your own gym. British Journal of Visual Impairment35(2), 178–180. https://doi.org/10.1177/0264619616685375
  • Khaghani-Far, I., Nikitina, S., Báez, M., Taran, E. A., & Casati, F. (2016). Fitness Applications for Home-Based Training. IEEE Pervasive Computing15(4), 56–65. https://doi.org/10.1109/MPRV.2016.76

This text is provided for informational purposes only and does not replace consultation with a professional. If in doubt, consult your specialist.