Your Own Gym, In Your Own Home

I receive emails everyday from aspiring lifters all over the world, and one of the most common questions I'm asked is "Do I have to join a gym in order to build a strong, muscular body?" The answer, my friend, is no. With the right equipment and planning you can follow an equally effective bodybuilding program from the comfort of your home without ever having to set foot in a gym.

Maybe you can't afford a gym membership due to your financial situation. Maybe you lead a busy lifestyle and would prefer to save time by training at home. Maybe you're simply too embarrassed or uncomfortable to train in a regular gym setting at the moment. Whatever your reason, don't worry!

I currently workout at a gym with my training partner but have to say that my years spent lifting at home were fantastic. I didn't have to worry about the travel time to and from the gym. I could simply slip downstairs whenever I felt like it and all of my equipment was there waiting for me.

And working out in your own place have some extra benefits. You can grunt and scream through your sets if you are in the mood without disturbing anyone, the music you hear is the music you want and you can focus in yourself and your training.

The best is, when you finished the hard work, you don't have to spend more time driving home. That's the last thing you want after all the effort your workout needed.

The only real disadvantage is that your exercise selection will decrease because you won't have access to certain pieces of machinery such as a leg press or calf machine. You can purchase certain machines if you have the money to spend and plan on training at home over the long term, but for the majority of people this simply won't be possible.

But, even if you can't afford that machinery, you can plan out a proper bodybuilding routine. All that fancy equipment is not crucial, and you can swap some of that exercises for freeweight substitutions.

The basic equipment that your home gym should contain is: a) An adjustable barbell with freeweight plates. b) Adjustable dumbbells. c) A bench with incline adjustments. d) A chin-up bar. e) A squat rack.

If you can't afford a squat rack then you'll have to be creative. Don't ever squat without a safe place to drop the bar! Most full squat racks will also provide a chin-up bar on top, so you can kill 2 birds with one stone if you decide to purchase one.