In this series of blog posts you will learn how you can become fitter and healthier by taking control of your own fitness plan. I’m not into exercise AT ALL! This means that for me, easy to do stuff that I can fit round the other stuff I’m doing is the order of the day. And hey, little and often is better than nothing, ever right.

The first post looks at where and when to exercise.

Where & when?

Making the decision of where and when to exercise is a really important step in reaching your fitness goals.  There are so many things to think about, and each one should be carefully considered before you start any exercise routine.  Once you’ve decided on this, you can start planning your workouts.

You’re probably aware that exercising at home has loads of advantages. The financial and time savings being one of the biggest. With high fuel prices, it’s quite obvious that you’ll save money on fuel as well as wear and tear on your car by choosing to exercise at home. It’s also kinder for the environment.

Gym memberships can be ridic expensive and might include other things that you pay for in your membership but don’t need such as child care or swimming pools. You also won’t need to be worried about having loads of expensive exercise gear to look the part.

Benefits of working out at home

Keep in mind that working out at home does require some financial commitment. Even if you only plan to go jogging, it’s really important that you have good quality running shoes.  This applies to most types of equipment that you might purchase to use at home. If you buy cheap equipment, you’ll probably end up getting frustrated because you aren’t making any progress, it falls apart or you even get injured from faulty equipment.

Along with the financial savings, working out at home is also good for those of us who don’t like to work out in public. If you’re worried you can’t keep up, or how you look in gym clothes, it can be very comforting to know that no one else will see you until you’re ready for them too.  Another benefit is that you don’t have to worry as much about trying to fit a trip to the gym into your busy schedule.

Benefits of working out at a gym

If you’re the type of person who is motivated by being with other people when working out, a gym might be a better option than doing it at home. There are also extra added benefits of going to the gym. For instance, you will have a larger selection of equipment and access to trainers. There are also likely to be classes that you might find really motivating and mean you can change your routine regularly to try new things. It’s also a bit more social.

Bottom line….

When it comes to making a decision on whether to exercise at home or the gym, the choice should be based on your goals and personal preference, so that you can determine what type of environment will work best for you and therefore yield the best results.

Once you’ve given it some thought and weighed up the pros and cons, keep in mind that once you’ve made your choice, it’s not set in stone. Our situations and circumstances change and so should our plans and goals to ensure we can still work with and towards them. This makes you much more likely to stick to your plan and achieve your goals.

Keep your eyes peeled for the next post where I’ll be talking about some of the different types of exercises and training techniques you can include in your workouts.