Bodybuilding: indoors or at home?
The question comes up often. Is gym registration necessary? In fact, many bodybuilding exercises can be done at home with very little equipment. So what are the real benefits of the gym? Are we advancing more quickly indoors and why?
Tools
In weight rooms, there are many devices that allow you to target different muscle groups but also to adapt resistance to contraction. In our article Dedicated to Muscle Building Training Plans Building Muscle Mass: Basic Principles we explain that muscle workload is essential in this type of training. You will have to perform a series of about ten movements corresponding to a load of about 75 to 80% of your maximum muscle resistance (RM).
Depending on the target muscle groups, it's not always easy! Let's take the example of strengthening the squat. If you perform a series of 10 supported descents on both legs and without additional weight, the muscular effort will likely not be intense enough to effectively develop muscle volume. But there are always tricks: use static or dynamic initial fatigue! What is it ? Stand on one leg and bend your knee. Get down relatively low and remain in the position without moving for 10 seconds. Always keep the other leg in the air and directly connect a series of 10 inclines at a slow speed.
what happened ? Muscle resources are depleted due to pre-exhaustion before using them in a series of 10 movements. It is a very convenient alternative to the pressing machine that is usually found in the weighing room.
In this same exercise, you can create a different form: still resting on one leg, come down relatively low and perform small knee-bending movements, with little amplitude while keeping the knee highly bent. Hold this for 10 seconds, then follow a "classic" series of larger flexion movements at a slower pace. This is called dynamic preset.
For each muscle group, adjustments are possible. All you need is a little imagination! If you want to effectively strengthen yourself at home, a minimum of equipment is still necessary: dumbbells, a TRX exercise belt, and a pull-up bar. Don't forget, you can do a lot of things at "body weight". Machines are not always necessary to get interesting results!
training
One of the most important concerns of the weight room is trainers. They will give you tips to avoid injuries, to use the machines correctly. They can guide you on specific training plans.
Unfortunately, in practice, they often have a shortage of staff in theaters. Choose your room not only according to the price but also according to the staff.
Coaches bring their knowledge and experience, but also motivation, which is an essential ingredient for long-term survival and progress!
Stimulate
Getting real results takes time. At the risk of discouraging you, forget about miracle cures, body transformations in 6 weeks! You will have to change your lifestyle, but not just for a month!
Therefore motivation is necessary and must be long lasting. Many believe that joining a gym will "force" us to go there to make signing up profitable. Is this argument correct? Some gyms display alarming statistics: between 50 and 80% of new registrants in January no longer come in March... On average, new entrants come to the gym 4 times.
The practice of crossfit has been thriving for several years. It offers group sessions with new challenges that must be faced constantly. The group emulation principle seems to work better. Therefore it is an interesting alternative to the "classic" barbells from the point of view of stimulation.
In short, signing up for the gym is not at all an obligation to advance in bodybuilding. Reinforcement will be effective without or with very little material, provided adaptations are found. Achieving your goals depends above all on you and your motivation! So at work, don't give up, don't let go!