Home Gym vs Gym Membership – The Pros and Cons

Most of us have thought about the home gym vs gym membership question on at least one occasion. For some of us, the answer is obvious and straightforward; for others it’s a case of choosing between “good” and “better”.

…but what if you’re a famous singer like Jake Miller? Is either of these options preferable for a man who is constantly on the move?

In this article we’ll look at the pros and cons of a home gym vs gym membership from the point of view of a celebrity singer to help you look at this important question from a different angle. You probably heard that he recently packed in his gym membership and has set up a home gym instead.

But is a home gym right for you? It’s an important question because if you choose the home gym option, you’re going to spend some hard-earned money…with the added benefit of being able to work out whenever you want to.

A lot of research has been done on how to remain motivated to go to the gym (Homonoff, Willage, Willén, 2020). However, not a whole lot of research has gone into the studying the home gym vs gym membership question – actually zero, as far as I can see.

For Jake, money is not a question. So, what motivates him to quit his gym membership may not be the same rationale that applies to you.

Let’s break this down into a simple pro/con analysis to see if it makes the choice any clearer for you.

Pros of a home gym

First and foremost, for Jake, the main benefit of having a home gym is the ability to work out whenever he feels like it. He doesn’t have to worry about whether the gym will be crowded, causing him to waste time and momentum while he waits for a particular space to become free.

He is also now able to personalize his own space. He chooses the music, the paint on the walls, the air temperature, the lighting and so on. He can even choose the color of his plates. He can leave his shoes there, keep towels stacked and even prepare his setup for the next session. There is no chance of this ever happening in even a high-end commercial gym, even for a superstar singer.

If that wasn’t enough, he also doesn’t have to worry about other people watching him lift and taking sneaky pictures while he is pumping iron. When you have a home gym, you can exercise in complete privacy.

It’s also worth remembering that another big factor in the home gym vs gym membership question is time. Most of us can’t walk to a commercial gym so time is wasted in traffic. And when you’re an in-demand singer like Jake, time is money. All this wasted time adds up and could be avoided if you can simply walk a few steps to your home gym.

Cons of a home gym

For Jake, the biggest drawback when it comes to a home gym vs gym membership is the lack of social interaction. Granted, he could also invite his buddies over to train at his home gym, but it’s not quite the same as those oftentimes fun, random, gym meetings.

Even though Jake is wealthier than pretty much all of us, he still had to pay to set up his home gym. He has easily spent the equivalent of a few years of gym membership on home gym equipment. Although if he is consistent with his training, he’ll easily recoup those costs. We can mark this one down as a con all the same though.

As you’ve probably seen from Jake’s social media profiles, he has a big area for his home gym. However, most of us don’t have the space or ceiling height to accommodate some of the larger pieces of equipment. Thankfully, even if you’re working with a smaller space, pieces like our M1 Smith Machine package has a footprint of only 22.46 square feet and features an array of training equipment normally only found in commercial gyms: dual pulley cable system, plus plate storage, and a landmine attachment.

Pros of a gym membership

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think the decision was an easy one for Jake. There are numerous benefits of a gym membership.

First, unless he has a world-class home gym setup, he doesn’t have access to things like a sauna, pool, steam room, etc., in his home. Many of the larger commercial gyms include these as part of a gym membership. So that’s definitely a loss for Jake.

He also has to factor in the maintenance aspect into the home gym vs gym membership discussion. Sooner or later he’ll have to repair equipment that is wearing out in his home gym. This costs time and money. In a commercial gym that’s done for him. However, in my eyes, this is a smaller point because well-made gym equipment lasts a long time. Also, many commercial gyms often take ages to fix machines, if they ever do.

Cons of a gym membership

There are many disadvantages we could list in this section. For Jake, dissatisfaction with the commercial gym experience was one factor that caused him to think of the home gym vs gym membership question in the first place.

Choosing a gym membership meant he was probably locked into a contract, meaning that he would have to pay if he wanted to leave before the contract expired. Also, what if Jake was having one of those days where he just wanted to be alone and put his head down and pump out some heavy sets? In these cases, he would have preferred to be in the comfort of his own home gym.

Summary

For me it’s obvious why Jake Miller made the decision he did when contemplating the home gym vs gym membership question. However, you’ve got to figure out what’s right for you given your personal circumstances and according to your unique situation.

However, I think it’s pretty clear who wins this debate. Long term cost savings, reduced time wastage, the ability to personalize your space, increased convenience and comfort…these are all real things that add up to make your home gym training experience more enjoyable and long lasting. And if a major figure like Jake Miller sees it this way, it should give you something to think about.

References

Homonoff, T., Willage, B., Willén, A. (2020). Rebates as incentives: The effects of a gym membership

reimbursement program. Journal of Health Economics, 70.