Closing the gyms has always been the worst thing to me. Do anything you want but don't close the gym

Most fit poeple I know are still working out. Then again, they actually are fit, not pretending to be such at a gym.

This is uncalled for. Lot of exercises cannot be done at home without required equipment unless you are a Hollywood actor and have a huge mansion with private gym and equipment. Think of weight lifting, power lifting etc. Impossible to do at home for most people (meaning not rich 0.1%).

Powerlifting can’t be done at home? That’s strange, almost all of r/formcheck seems to be in home gyms.

Power rack: $300-500

Weights: $200-800

Bench: $100

Bar: $75-100

Plywood and rubber: $40-100 max

You are assuming you have spare room for this equipment (ignoring that the prices you quoted are quite high and actually it costs more for serious equipment if you want realistic weights of 200-300 pounds which is not even that heavy).

I rent a room in downtown of a big city and I simply don't have space for equipment (my room is mostly just bed with small kitchen and bathroom). Don't assume everybody is rich and owns a house with spare room / garage where you can put equipment.

I am 30+ years old and never lived in a place where I would have spare space for gym equipment. You must be very privileged if you have that (top 1% at least).

Thanks for downvote though.

I didn’t downvote you. (I don’t downvote if it’s worth commenting.) If I had to guess, people downvoted the hyperbolic nature of your comment. Lifting is clearly a middle class activity. If it’s too expensive for a working software developer, then they have other priorities, which is fine.

And by the way I looked at that reddit and almost all posts are from the gym, to do any of those exercises (seriously, I mean normal weight like 200-300 pounds for squats or deadlift) at home you must be very rich and have a large house with basically a private gym.

I agree it’s hard for city apartment dwellers to build a home gym (although a set of kettlebells can get most people by). But anyone with a small house and/or a spare room can easily and fairly inexpensively build a home gym.

I agree, if you got a house with spare room then it should be easy to build a basic gym, if you don't drive and don't need car, you can even use garage as a small gym. But in apartments it's not so easy unless they are quite big. Once I own a house I would probably convert garage into a gym as I don't really have interest in cars or driving.

Good luck finding equipment at those prices. I was looking to pick up some extra equipment a little while back and everywhere was either sold out or crazy marked up because everyone is trying to build a home gym now. Just rechecked dick sporting goods and "Due to exceptional demand, Weight Sets are unavailable in your area".

Lots of people don't have SPACE for a home gym regardless of cost of materials. This is especially true in the cities.

This is a very America-centric comment. Not everyone has that much expendable income, nor do they have a big house to build their private gym in.

A person can workout on the cheap though, and still gain strength and mass. A few kettlebells and a pull up bar can deliver a crushing workout to even the most in fit person. Kettlebells in particular are easily portable.

Pull up bar is not something I can't install in my apartment as landlord won't approve. I am only renting so can't do many modifications here. I would love to have that option.

The door frame pull up bars are non-permanent, and can work in many cases. At most you might have to paint a bit.

If you're in a city there has to a playground nearby providing all sorts of options.

I think people just get too tied to a gym, when there are countless options to get really good workouts if the gym is unavailable for a period of time.

I don't think I can deadlift 140kg+ with a few kettlebells.

As someone who power lifted for many years I get it. I needed > 500 pounds in order to max. But, I also know that's on the extreme end. Even then though, give me a 70+ pound kettlebell and I can crush my posterior chain using cleans and snatches.

It is possible to get good workouts with minimal equipment.

Floor with a high enough pounds per square feet: ~5-10K

Yes, I agree that a second floor apartment is a bad place for a gym. I disagree that this equipment is the domain of the super rich. What I listed is less than the cost of a decent, not fancy, road bike.

Yeah consider the additional rent you have to pay excluding the machines. An additional room for your apartment is more expensive than a $50 gym subscription.

Without a gym I'm not going to work out at all. Gyms are for people who don't get enough exercise in their daily life.