I used to belong to a gym. I really liked having access to a pool, a sauna, hot tub, steam room… okay so it sounds more like a spa than a gym but swimming is one of the best workouts you can do. It is a full body workout and uses every muscle in the body more fully than any number of machines combined.
Unfortunately there are a bunch of downsides, especially for someone with a busy daily schedule who is trying to fit their workout in as best they can. For one thing, you don’t just have to change into and out of workout clothes, and shower afterward, you also have to deal with drying off and carrying a wet swim suit home. There is also the matter of limited swim lanes. Any gym is inevitably going to have more elliptical machines than they do lanes in their pool. Get there at the wrong time and you may have to wait. Basically, swimming takes more time before and after than other exercises do.
So I moved to the elliptical. It gives both an upper and lower body workout, low impact on the knees and is the best machine substitute for swimming. Still, occasionally you get there at a busy time and are left waiting. My gym had televisions at each machine, which was great but I like to watch certain shows and not others. I can’t just watch *anything*, there is a ton of garbage on television. This of course meant that if I got a late start then I might miss the show I wanted to watch, or it would end before my workout ended and I’d be bored for the remainder of the time.
There was another thing bothering me to: going to the gym. This was probably the closest thing to a gym being “on my way” to work or home, but it still wasn’t really. It was a few minutes out of the way. Then I needed to park, go in, it’s a whole process. I also must admit I don’t like dealing with other people. I’d rather use my own shower at home. I don’t like the crowd, the blasting music over the PA.
So I got my own elliptical for my home. I also have a television with a DVR so I can start my shows exactly when I start my workout, any time, any day. I still might get some liposuction on the stomach down the line when I’m ready to pay stomach liposuction prices. As far as working out is concerned, I’m not dedicated enough to do more than 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week, but I’m happy and I think it’s a pretty good idea for anyone to try. My elliptical cost me less than a year’s gym membership, and I use it twice as much because I don’t have to go out of my way and I’ve made the experience exactly what I always wanted it to be.