Gym Vs Home

[Anivair]

Ha!  No holy war.  Besides, I'm a huge MovNat guy.  No weights required.  But I do like the big lifts for what they are:  they're just really effective.  they are certainly not NEEDED, but i think they're a nice shortcut. 

[Waldo]

 

Ha!  No holy war.  Besides, I'm a huge MovNat guy.  No weights required.  But I do like the big lifts for what they are:  they're just really effective.  they are certainly not NEEDED, but i think they're a nice shortcut.

Shortcut?

You can only gain muscle mass as fast as your surplus/genetics allows. It isn't a process you can shortcut.

[Wolfhorde]

Don't think he said anything about muscle mass but you definitely have a point but I'd reckon it's not too uncommon that in such things our perspectives might skew the reality.

[Waldo]

 

Don't think he said anything about muscle mass but you definitely have a point but I'd reckon it's not too uncommon that in such things our perspectives might skew the reality.

Building muscle generally implies adding muscle mass.

[Wolfhorde]

Oh, I'm aware of that - I guess we were using that term differently. I often hear the term "muscle mass" as in getting bulky and putting on a lot of weight.

[Relic]

I have no alliance but here's my thoughts...

I think that weight lifting is easier from a mental perspective. As in, you get on a good progression, add weight to the bar every workout (or week, or cycle) and every time you do that you get a mental (or ego) boost that lets you know you're going in the right direction.

Many of the more advanced bodyweight movements take a very long time to move from one progression to the next. It takes more patience and more precision if you are logging workouts.

For weightlifting I would argure that squats are more important that deadlifts because squats have a lower recovery cost. Deadlifts may work more of your body at once but increasing squat numbers has the tendency to improve the deadlift.

It seams like bodyweight work also needs less coaching. Deadlifting or squats usually injure you if your form is bad. If your form is bad for a pistol squat or free HSPU you tend to just fall over, and if your form is off for static holds it tends to make the movement easier (bent arms, sagging hips...). Not a universal truth, just a trend.

[Waldo]

Oh, I'm aware of that - I guess we were using that term differently. I often hear the term "muscle mass" as in getting bulky and putting on a lot of weight.

How is that different than adding a little muscle weight?

[Wolfhorde]

How is that different than adding a little muscle weight?

Because there's a difference between claiming that you'll solely gain mass and look like Schwarzenegger (which is basically what I was referring to and also kind of wrong) and adding a little weight and look like a Hindu warrior, Eastern martial artists or Ryan Gosling. At least from my perspective that difference can be significant.

[Waldo]

 

Because there's a difference between claiming that you'll solely gain mass and look like Schwarzenegger (which is basically what I was referring to and also kind of wrong) and adding a little weight and look like a Hindu warrior, Eastern martial artists or Ryan Gosling. At least from my perspective that difference can be significant.

One takes a lifetime of dedication, favorable genetics, and (usually) drugs.

The other takes a few weeks/months of work.

[Rob__]

I'm a little late to the party, BUT, I'd also like to chime in against the you'll run out of weight if you work out at home thing. On top of everything Waldo already said about modifying things to make them harder and make better use of the weight that you have, if you have enough money to pay for a monthly gym membership, you have enough money to purchase more weight.

 

The average gym membership will allow you to add 70lbs+ of (dumbbells, plates, kettlebells, whatever) every single month. If you're running out of weight at home at that rate, you're running out at a gym also eventually. Two more 45 pound plates added to my weight lifting corner every few months don't take up significant space. Especially if you store them piled up vertically when they're not in use.

 

You'll never be able to lift big weight at home is a myth propagated by the gyms because they'd rather you spend your money at their establishment, than spending even less to purchase your own setup. I currently have 400lbs at my disposal at home. When it's not enough, I'll be purchasing more. Over the last year and a half of working out, I've spent less on equipment than had I purchased a membership at a local gym... If you have the space and lack the money, working out at home is more than reasonable and effective.

[Relic]

IF you have the space...a home barbell set (and a pullup bar) is better than a gym membership.

At least bodyweight training (and weighted varieties) take almost no room for storage, just a little more knowledge and maybe some creative rigging.

I pay less than $15 a month for my gym but I would still jump at the chance to get rid of it if I had space at home for a barbell setup. I would even be willing to give up deadlifting/squats if all I had was a permanent place to hang my rings.