Some people have asked me if the only way to have a strong, muscular body is to spend a lot of hours working out in the gym. Well, yes…and no. Yes, you’ll have to work out for hours if you want to have huge muscles, they will not magically pop up. But no, you don’t have to spend that time exactly in the gym. You can do it in your own home and achieve the same (or even better) results.

There may be a lot of factors that make you decide not to go to a gym. Maybe you can’t afford the membership, or you don’t like the ones close to your home. Or you don’t like the guys in that gym. Whatever your reason, it’s ok, there’s still chances for you.

I currently workout at a gym with my training partner but have to say that my years spent lifting at home were fantastic. I didn’t have to worry about the travel time to and from the gym. I could simply slip downstairs whenever I felt like it and all of my equipment was there waiting for me.

If you analize it, there are a lot of benefits of being in your house instead of the gym. You hear the music you want, you can train shirtless if you felt like it, you don’t have to smell the sweat of the guy next to you. You worry about nothing but you and your workout.

When the workout was over, I could sprawl out on the floor in exhaustion and know that my post workout shakes were just a few steps away, and that I wouldn’t have to hobble to my car and spend anymore time driving home. It was great.

The only real disadvantage is that your exercise selection will decrease because you won’t have access to certain pieces of machinery such as a leg press or calf machine. You can purchase certain machines if you have the money to spend and plan on training at home over the long term, but for the majority of people this simply won’t be possible.

But, even if you can’t afford that machinery, you can plan out a proper bodybuilding routine. All that fancy equipment is not crucial, and you can swap some of that exercises for freeweight substitutions.

Here is the basic equipment that your home gym should contain: 1) An adjustable barbell with freeweight plates. 2) Adjustable dumbbells. 3) A bench with incline adjustments. 4) A chin-up bar. 5) A squat rack.

So there you have it; the 5 pieces of basic equipment that are needed to set up a home gym. As long as you have these basic tools in your arsenal you can perform an equally effective workout without ever having to join a traditional gym.