Is The Gym A Detriment To Muscle Building or Weight Loss?
Most who pursue muscle gain or fat loss feel that joining a local gym is a prerequisite, and so, following a rather calorie friendly December, millions crowd local gyms, signing up for a 3+ year membership, believing that they’ve just made the initial leap towards a muscle building or fat loss transformation. But if we analyze the number of people who continue attending the gym after their contractual commitment, we find that the once motivated fitness enthusiast fueled with zeal for substantial change suddenly decides not to walk through the gym’s front door as February approaches.
Most believe that laziness is the natural enemy that interferes with pursuing a pattern of muscle building or fat loss consistency, and never consider whether in fact the gym environment itself may sap motivation for many, eventually causing most to quit the pursuit of muscle gain or fat loss completely.
Yet, how could this be? Is it possible for the gym to reduce motivation, when in fact such surroundings should be helpful towards achieving results? The answer will be found within the first few workouts, and clearly becomes one of the primary reasons why many lose their fondness for gym attendance long before achieving their physical fitness goals.
Imagine you are prepared for an intense weight lifting workout session, and you encounter one or more friends who decide to train at the same time as you. What will likely happen now? Will they experience the best weight training and cardiovascular workout session of all time, or will the next hour that follows focus upon discussing yesterday’s Monday Night Football showdown? Let’s instead assume you attend the gym and happen to do so without meeting any friends, but as you browse the gym floor, immediately sense that each machine you need for your weight training workout is occupied, with a very lengthy wait for each. Do you think this will contribute to an effective weight lifting workout session, or encourage a visit to the neighborhood drive thru to try and gorge the anger away?
Also, let’s not forget the most many additional common excuses to skip the gym for a day, such as bad weather (ten feet of snow might make traveling the highway inconvenient), automobile breakdown (a flat tire always offers justification to take a nap), and traffic jams (shouldn’t be late for a date with the TV)! Some may say that these obstacles cannot occur often, but once consistency is ruined, and even one workout is missed, the mind becomes far more lenient of the next skipped weight lifting workout session, and this negative attitude will soon lead to a new habit, one which is much more enjoyable; couch sitting, without the distraction of a gym visit for your weight lifting workout.
So, what is the alternative? I perform my bodybuilding in my basement, having gained over 60 pounds of new muscle and lost 50 pounds of body fat, without use of a gym, proving that neither fat loss nor muscle gains requires waiting in line for machines or paying expensive bodybuilding gym fees. In fact, my muscle gain and fat loss success was produced in my basement, with inexpensive weight training equipment, and I was able to achieve far more discipline with my weight lifting workout regimen than most who must combat the often frustrating gym environment, specifically because I am in control of my surroundings, and can remove distractions that obstruct my ability to perform my weight lifting workout session.
I am not claiming that achieving a bodybuilding caliber physique or producing consistent fat loss is impossible through gym training, as many with such memberships produce excellent results, but for those who have the option to purchase some basic weight training equipment, I believe doing so is extremely convenient, offers no distractions, and is far less expensive over a several year period than joining a local gym facility. Achieving success in muscle building or weight loss is in large part due to mental focus, a factor which suffers greatly when subjected to an uncontrollable set of circumstances, and this is why I have always opted for training at home, and produced very impressive muscle building and fat loss progress specifically because I have always been able to proceed with my weight lifting workout sessions in a methodical fashion.
Don’t frown upon performing your weight lifting workout sessions at home until you’ve experienced the inconveniences of attending a gym, but if you choose to sign up for a local gym, make sure to avoid signing a long term membership until you have consistently trained for three months and have ensured yourself that the distractions and roadblocks will not interfere with remaining committed to your weight lifting workout plan.