Why it was time to quit the gym...

The last time I used a gym properly was around 2011, back then I followed a program drawn up by one of the Gym staff and I stuck at it for a couple of months, but I can't say I found it particularly enjoyable or that it did much for me in terms of weight loss. After that I basically bounced from gym-to-gym when I moved and did a few weights and little bit of cardio.

Fast forward almost 6 years to the end of 2016, I'm paying 35 Euros per month to go and pedal on a stationary bike for 30 mins a couple of times a month and occasionally use the eliptical for 15 mins. My gym was about 5 mins from my apartment but did that stop me from avoiding going over if it was raining after I'd walked home from work, hell no!

The financial absurdity of this and the fact that really it was achieving nothing because I was eating more than I was burning hit me in November 2016, when for health reasons I realised I was going to have to get my weight down otherwise my hip and back were going to be in agony. So I put my month's notice in at the gym, cancelled my recurring card payment and set out looking for some exercise equipment.

I picked up an adjustable Barbell/Dumbell set, some floor mats and a couple of kettlebells for under a hundred euros. I already had a swiss ball (admittedly that has mostly been used as a foot rest up til now lol) and a few bits of Avon fitness gear (Pilates Ring, Resistance Bands,etc). I set about searching Youtube for some beginner level videos and found the HASFIT Channel, they have over a thousand different videos for all fitness levels, everything is free and they also do calendar based exercise plans.

Now that my homegym is staring at me from the corner of the living room, it's the first thing that I do when I get in from work on a weekday and the first thing I do when I get up on a weekend. I feel far fitter than I have in years and more importantly I haven't had any major issues with my back or my hip in 3 months. I workout 4-5 days per week a mixture of beginner/mid level strength training and low impact aerobics videos. I am steadily increasing the weights, I started out with 2.5kg dumbells and now using 4-5kg with the intention of avoiding muscle loss whilst eating in deficit.