I'm in the US. Virginia

I have a home gym and a membership to Spectrum.

One thing I hate about Spectrum is the potential for GERMS, GERMS, GERMS. They have a guy who does nothing all day but rotate about the gym floor and wipe-down equipment with disinfectant. Despite all this, I still can't help but suspect many of my colds & flus have been spawn from visits to the gym. So you can't beat the cleanliness of your home gym!

Spectrum Gym, upside:
Lots of equipment, more variety of exercises can be accomplished
Fun to take breaks and chat here and there, can be educational
Fun to people-watch
Fun to go to a machine that some stud thinks he just rocked, then up the weights and slam-out more reps easier then him
Love the 25-meter indoor pool; length = greater productivity
Love the spinning class....group-thing is fun!

Spectrum Gym, downside:
GERMS, GERMS, GERMS
Sometimes have to wait for equipment
Some people can be rude or obnoxious (includes body-odors)
People can be distracting & waste time
gas/time spent driving there & back


Home Gym, upside
Guaranteed germ-free!!!!!
Privacy
No distractions
Can wear whatever you want
I can take business calls so I can sneak-in workouts
Can play my own music or tv as loud as I want
Drinks, food, bathroom steps away
No commute or gas/time wasted

Home Gym, downside
Limited equipment
Sometimes boring/lonely
Nobody to spot you or be there in an odd emergency


This may sound weird, but recently I added mirrors in my home gym. It's nice!!! The room seemed to double in size and got brighter....but there are two other benefits that I really like:

1) I can now really observe my form. Quite often I feel like I'm in proper form and it seems like I'm doing it right....but now I can see in the mirror and really focus on what I'm doing. It's almost like being your own trainer. There really is value to observing/monitoring yourself while working out!

2) I actually like watching my progress in the mirror. It's like enjoying the fruits of your labor for all your hard work. The thing is, in the Spectrum gym I'd be too embarrassed to be caught checking myself out in the mirror...but in my own gym it's kinda fun to get a good pump and be able to freely see in the mirror what you're achieving. It's not vanity, it's pretty much the same thing as stepping back and admiring something you just built. In the public gym, it looks ridiculous when people flex and check themselves out the mirror, and it's creepy when you catch other people checking you out when you look in the mirror and realize someone across the gym is watching ya!

A few people know this about me and I don't mind saying it. In the privacy of my own home-gym I usually wear a wrestling singlet....it's super comfortable, ideal for exercise and you can really see your body while you workout....and it's nice seeing results as you lose weight & gain muscle. Plus, afterwards I jump right into my pool and everything, outfit & me, are clean! At Spectrum I would never wear anything that revealing....it's sorta nice not to have the social pressure. Combed hair or not, shaven or not......just you & exercise and get it on!

In conclusion....I'm about 50-50 between the home gym and the Spectrum, each have their strengths & weaknesses.

Couldn't agree more ...I simply couldn't imagine a home set-up without at least a few mirrors.

I still have form issues with some exercises ( lateral raises, standing scarecrows, lunges ....and a couple more ) and for many of them I simply couldn't feel 100% comfortable that my form is correct by doing them without mirrors.

Don't be so concerned about other people may or may not think at the gym.

If you ' get off ' by flexing and admiring and checking yourself yourself out in the mirror ...then go for it.

btw, wrt " it's not vanity " - if that's the case, then when would checking yourself out in the mirror by flexing and admiring yourself out in the mirror be considered a reflection ( excuse the pun ) of vanity ?

I suppose if you really want to maximize the opportunity to " see your body while you workout " another option is to just workout with no top on at all - just wear cross trainers and regular gym shorts.

btw - what do you wear at the gym when you weight train ?


Guess it depends on what time of day you workout.

For quite a few years, I'd be in the gym by 6:00 a.m. - I'd just bring my
suit to work and shave and groom after my workout.

You have to take something into consideration; I'm in the Los Angeles area and things work a bit different out here then they do in the rest of the world. My gym ranges from being light to moderately full, but you rarely find yourself with any semblance of privacy.

About the worst thing you can be, in the gym, is a poser. The serious people take pleasure in mocking and laughing at the posers. How can you spot a poser?...they spend 1/3 their time moving weights (but always light amounts and with a dramatic & intense look on their face), another 1/3 of the time chatting with people, and the last 1/3 checking themselves out in the mirror and covertly watching to see who else might be checking them out.

You know these 'players'....their hair is combed, they're shaven and they're wearing brand-name apparrel featuring a muscle-shirt that they can't really fill properly. They probably drive Vette's or have large 4x4's that have never actually been off the pavement. Still not feeling it? Okay: they wear Hockey jersey's and they don't even play or follow hockey!!

As for me, I'll watch myself as I workout to follow my form...and I may even give a quick flex just to see how it's all coming together, but anything more then a quick glimpse really sorta smacks of being a poser/player. I see the same thing in spin-class....some of these people just love watching themselves in the mirror. Ya just don't wanna come off pretencious or vane.

In my home gym, I'll admit to occassionally taking the time to really check things out. Heck, this is a mission: I'm trying to lose weight, get in shape and look the best I can. All too often people say "don't worry about the scale...it's what you see when you look in the mirror"...heard that before? I don't think there's anything wrong with that...we work HARD, sweat for hours and part of our reward is shaping up. In the privacy of my own gym, I'll turn sideways to see how the gut looks and maybe even try a few of the body-builders moves...it's good to practice; you never know when you might stumble into a bride's stag-party and they won't let you go until you put on a good show. Yeah, it could happen!


At the gym, I'll wear regular gym shorts and a t-shirt, or maybe a running shirt....nothing that stands-out.

In my own gym I still prefer the singlet. Why the wrestling singlet?...it's very comfortable, offers some leg/thigh compression and the way the fabric lays right against the body just shows the shape of the body perfectly. Shorts don't do that; depending on the size of the shorts and where they fall, they can visually throw you off...and it's a bit raw of a look. And for reasons that are hard to explain, the singlet is better for perspiration management. Plus, it somehow hold's ya to a higher degree of accountability...it hides nothing but still lets you feel like you're wearing something. And on a personal note, back when I gained a LOT of weight fast, I have some stretch-marks n' stuff that I don't like seeing. I realize it's a bit unorthodox, but it's my own gym and it's part of the committment....and the wife dig's it!

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I like my gym a lot. That said, I do wish I had a home gym, and I'm really looking forward to being able to set one up once I'm living in a bigger place again.

Hey BikeSwimLaugh, I am also in the Los Angeles area. I go to 24 Hour Fitness tho. They have very big gyms with many features. Not to mention they have gyms open 24 hours! Not saying I want to work out at 3am...but its nice to know i could if I wanted. :-p Funny, looking at Spectrum on their site, you would never guess they had an issue with cleanliness! Pics can be deceiving I guess, huh. I haven't had an major issues at 24...and I hope I won't!

Has anyone had experience with 24 Hr before?

Oh, don't get me wrong, Spectrum's a clean gym. It's basically like 24-hour but a wee bit more "exclusive"...meaning, it cost a bit more so some people are discouraged. I like it for the racquetball. They have a cleaning staff that rotates all day disinfecting the equipment...but still, sick people breath air & touch stuff. It happens.

Funny...most the people at the gym are mid-age, so you've got a lot of parents exposed to kids, and schools are like germ-factories! Perhaps the younger-age gym is less prone to waves of colds & flu's going around?


I know, I sent you a pm inviting you to check out some local mountain bike riding trails!

weights - gym
cardio - at a local park or on the trails of Town Lake

Yes, germs are everywhere! Haha...They have a racquetball court at 24 Hour Fitness. Just never actually played that game before. I have tried the basketball courts. Sports are a fun way to exercise.

What you mean more exclusive? And when you say costs more...how much more? I pay $29 a month, but they have different membership offers to meet people's budgets...this just happens to work for me.

Spectrum runs about $75 per month, and they too have different plans based on age, military service, if you play racquetball or not, etc.

At that price, they expect and figure it's not the gym for everyone...accordingly they feel they have less members and things are less crowded. They're also responsible for providing a more up-scale environment; nicer/newer equipment, sauna, jacuzzi, indoor Olympic pool, more classes, etc. Is it worth it? Do they deliver? I dunno...but it's the only place around here that has racquetball and so there I am. I also love the Thousand Oaks Spectrum...the indoor Olympic pool is like a 5-star hotel; huge skylight, nice tile, very bright & clean, no kids in the pool, almost always a full lane available. They literally run a day-spa in that place.

From what I understand, a new placed called Equinox is opening...and it's said to be even more "exclusive". If you're a trainer, you may wanna check it out. $$$$$ employment opportunity?

Home gym is the only way I will workout. I'm not there to chat with anyone or weight for machines to be free, Got my home gym and happily use it everyday.

It's the only awy to go...undisturbed.....

I am very happy and comfortable with paying $29 a month! Standard "Olympic" size is 25 Meters, and 24 Hour Fitness meets the standard. IMO, They really do offer all those great features the "up-scale" clubs offer at a more reasonable price.

They're INDOOR Olympic size, 25-meters. You can't be 24-hour for price, value & convienence!

Btw, Equinox is $135 per month, they say the setting is like a bar and they only hire attractive trainers AND tell them openly if they fall off the weight-chart, they get dinged/warned and then fired! Pay isn't too good and they make you go through some silly programs. My own trainer worked there for a while, said it was horrible...she's back at Spectrum.

The fact that 24 Hour Fitness offers quality/clean gyms, convenient locations, and reasonable membership dues, is enough to keep me on board. I don't feel the need to join a gym that is 4 times the amount I am paying now, simply because they have so called "attractive" trainers!!

Totally agree!!!!!!

Again, I've got an extra bike and all the goodies.....you let me know when you want some great bike-cardio, the hills are all green and it's absolutely amazing/awesome out there!!!!!

...course, if you're chicken, I'll understand