Q:  Are home gyms good enough to get an ample bodybuilding workout on? I see all of these infomercials with Chuck Norris and others, talking about various home gym systems and I’m wondering if I could either supplement gym workouts with these, or replace the gym altogether – I live far out of town and need to have some options.

A: This is a good question and in a basic sense, I would say that any resistance exercise – provided it is hard for you to perform for more than 8 reps, is going to be effective in terms of building muscle. People might laugh at home gyms, but the fact is, they are certainly better than the alternative of not working out at all. If you live a ways away from a gym, it only makes sense to have options. The more options you have, the more likely you’ll set yourself up for success. So, for example, with home gyms such as Bowflex, which uses power-rod resistance (a patent of the company) and is supposedly the best “feel” of resistance next to free weights, the idea is to lift heavy without putting strain on joints. Certainly, anything that helps you remain injury-free is a plus. I’ve never tried one, but the point is, you can add more resistance without fearing injury. Most people are at a level – including novice bodybuilders – where they don’t really need the weight they think they do in order to make gains. Truth is, resistance is resistance is resistance, plain and simple. It’s consistency that really matters, along with ample recovery and a “smart” approach to workouts – (variety, creativity, etc). I would say if you have $2200 to spare, and you think you’d use it, you’d definitely benefit. But if you are trying to save on gas money, I think you’d have to take trips into a $30/ month gym hundreds of times to actually see value after a large expenditure like that. Will you get a good and complete workout? Sure, I believe you would. Would you occasionally benefit by driving into town to use a gym for $5 or $10/ day guest pass to supplement with power workouts, such as squats, deadlift and traditional powerlifting workouts? You bet.

If you like this article, click here to share: