No Stupid Questions

A bench, adjustable dumbbells and a pullup bar will get you there. Lots of home/garage gym information out there. And then there is body weight training, yoga etc if you don't want to work with weights.

But then there is the motivation and discipline factors. For me it is easy to put on a workout video but also easy to not really put in any effort. I'm bad at holding myself accountable at home. So instead I go the gym. One should also never ignore the social aspect of hitting the gym even if you seal yourself off with headphones and never talk to anyone. You do become part of the group/scene. And if your gym offers them I will recommend classes.

I've exclusively worked out from home for the last 5 years using only an adjustable dumbbell set and a foldable bench (I recently got a exercise bike too but that is a new addition). I'm not huge or anything but I get compliments on my physique fairly often. For me when I tried getting a gym membership I found myself missing days a lot because I didn't feel like going anywhere. I can force myself to work out or I can force myself to go out but apparently not both at once. Just doing everything at home I almost never miss a day. The only downside is space. I'd like to get a squat rack but I don't have room for it.

Your goals sound very achievable at home. I would say I am "lean and fit". I will also say the lean part comes from your diet so make sure you are mindful of that as well.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Canadian_Air_Force_Exercise_Plans

There are other links online to all the exercises.

I started doing these when I was about 25. I'd never done any workouts before and I got great results pretty quickly.

Look up calisthenics routines on youtube or reddit. The great thing about calisthenics is you almost only need your body weight. That means you can do it pretty much everywhere, even if you travel or move. If you can, I would join a group or maybe seek out a calisthenics class to start, mainly to give you tips & help with form. Long story short, it's absolutely possible to workout at home, or outside of gym.

I spend a grand on a nice adjustable dumbbell set and a bench and went from 165lbs to 210lbs over the last 18 months with a combination of weight training and eating better. It’s absolutely possible to work out at home with the resources that are out there these days. I do miss some of the equipment at the gym but the convenience of a home gym is just too good.

I would point out that getting lean/shredded is not a function of the gym, it’s a function of the kitchen. You cannot out exercise a bad or even mediocre diet. You can use a gym to build muscle, increase flexibility, or improve cardiovascular fitness, but there’s no avoiding making changes to your diet if you want to decrease body fat.

I've been working out at home since the late '70s/early '80s, as I found gyms in that era seriously woman-unfriendly. I splurged for a simple bench, a barbell/dumbbell set, a cheap area rug and a book by Arnold Schwarzenegger on workouts for women. At my peak, I was pressing 130% of my body weight, and able to bring my head down to my knees without fracturing a vertebra. Nowadays, my aim is to be able to carry my own groceries 9 blocks home, chase the cat up the stairs and down the hall when it's time for his meds, and defend my wallet as needed.

I prefer this. It allows me to focus, protects me from dorks who think I need their advice or should surrender the machine I'm on because they need it, saves $75-100 a year in membership fees, the cost of 'proper' gym clothes, the time and money travelling and I can work out when it fits into my day. I recommend it, but you will need a level of self-discipline and a daily routine that works for you. Don't just buy the weights and start flinging them around: find a good book or two/a couple of websites and learn about basic nutrition needs, the best times for exercising, and why you need to cycle your exercises and take a day off regularly.

Don't be discouraged if it takes a while to get into it, and see results. If you miss some time, just go back to it when you can. I can't explain how good it feels every day, being fit, but it is worth it!

Personally the home workout route never worked for me. I'm sure there are a ton of people that it has worked for but I need a routine. Having a set time to go to the gym without distraction is really what broke through.

It your looking for apps to track progress check out fitnotes for exercise tracking and OmNom Notes for diet tracking. Took me a while to find good non sleazy apps

It's reddit, but yes, home gym is perfectly fine to become shredded

https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/wiki/kb/recommended_routine/

You can absolutely workout at home with almost no equipment. You will need something for pull ups and that's pretty much it. Google "calisthenics" - that's what bodyweight exercises are called. It's a whole world of knowledge with books, blogs and YT channels covering the topic. Many would argue that this type of exercise is actually healthier than using gym equipment.

I started doing this 4 years ago and I can highly recommend it. I hate public places like gym and I don't like wasting time for getting there and back so exercising at home is perfect for me.

During covid I built a home gym (power rack, barbell and plates) never having touched any of it before in my life, and built a wrestler's physique. It is absolutely possible to go this route. The amount of information available online now is incredible, and in some ways you would be better off teaching yourself versus going to a personal trainer in the gym. They tend to baffle you with BS, and "manage" your program for you with all kinds of wacky exercises.

The recipe is deceptively simple. You don't need a gym full of machines, a barbell at home can get you yoked. If you are interested in going this route let me know I can point you in the right direction

Kettlebells! Kettlebells are a great tool to have for home workouts. You might want to start with a lighter one--even if you've worked out some, you can still wear yourself out with even a 35 lb. kettlebell.

For me, the effort of going somewhere to exercise is a big impediment, and I'm self-conscious exercising in front of people. The low barrier to start a daily workout wins, hands down.

Others find camaraderie just having other people involved in the same process, or really enjoy the variety of machines and options of a well-equipped facility.

You have to figure out which type of person you are. The most important thing is just to do something. (Unless you have specific, Jason Momoa-type goals in mind)

I started with just running outside and some workouts to follow along to on YouTube.

Growingananans channel has some great bodyweight exercises which you can add weights to, and some are with weights as well. There are a lot of others as well. Lots of channels also show modifications for beginners that make the exercises easier until the beginner develops the stamina/muscle to do the harder versions.

I spent a year and a half using weights and you tube exercise videos when I didn't have access to a gym. My apartment complex has a gym included in rent now so I may add well get my money's use out of it, but even then I still use YouTube exercises.

I also really like Paula B's exercises even though they're for older women and I'm not quite there yet. Still her constant movement still gets my heart rate up despite them being more moderate workouts. They're also easy to modify to more heavy/high intensity by doubleing the speed you do them or adding weights, so she's great to begin with and even grow with. Grow with Jo (Gro with Jo?) Is also also someone great to begin with and and intensity to when you are ready.