Healthy adults should perform a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise on all or most days of the week, according to the American Heart Association. While it's difficult for most busy adults to find the time, energy or motivation to exercise, exercising at home offers advantages that may make it easier for you to meet your workout goals more frequently.
Fewer Excuses
The social nature of the gym provides some people with all the excuses they'd ever need to talk themselves out of working out for the rest of their lives. Many women feel uncomfortable changing in front of other women in the locker rooms or comparing themselves to the other women they see working out. The gym trainers that roam the floors, constantly trying to sell expensive training sessions, can both intimidate and annoy those just looking to log some treadmill time. While some people relish the idea that someone interesting might hit on them at the gym, the idea petrifies other people who would prefer to exercise in privacy.
Convenience
Working out at home offers several conveniences. If you have children and work out at home, you don't have to worry about hiring a babysitter or dumping your kids at a gym daycare center every time you want to exercise. You don't have to worry about when your gym is going to be crowded or closed when you work out at home. You never have to wait 15 minutes just to spend 20 more on an exercise machine. If it's hard to find 30 minutes of solid free time in your schedule, at home you can work out in multiple 10-minute bursts, a strategy endorsed by the American Heart Association. You don't have to spend the time driving to the gym or worry about the roads if it's snowing or raining outside. If you really can't afford to waste any time during your day, you can even multitask while working out at home, stopping to check on your work email, dinner's progress on the stove or look in on your children while you exercise.
Expense
Joining a gym or health club is expensive. In a January 2010 article entitled "Six Ways to Cut the Cost of a Gym Membership," "The Wall Street Journal" estimated that the median cost of the first year of a new gym membership in the United States is $775, and the average annual cost of an ongoing membership is $511. For the cost of a single month's membership, you could equip yourself with some hand weights, a yoga mat and a jump rope. Free workout videos are available online, or you can rent them for a pittance from online video retailers. You can even buy a new stationary bike to add to your home gym for less than $200. If you work out at home, you'll also be less likely to blow hard-earned cash on cute workout clothes.
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