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At the start of this year, I made a New Year’s resolution that I would work out a minimum of four days a week until I graduated high school. Except I wasn’t sure where I wanted to do my workouts. Over the years, my mom has built a home gym in our garage that has all the necessary equipment to do all the exercises I wanted to do, such as dumbbells, a squat and bench rack, a barbell, plates of varying weights, a rower, a pull-up bar, a treadmill, and an elliptical. At the same time, my family has a membership to the Columbia Basin Racquet Club, otherwise known as CBRC, because my mom is an aquasize instructor there. CBRC is located off of West Van Giesen Street, which is about a 15 minute drive from my house. From my past experience of working out here and there, I knew that both gym options were a good choice for me. But I didn’t want to bounce back and forth between both gyms like I had in the past. So, I decided to do my own personal research over the first couple weeks of the new year and find my personal preferences. Over the first couple weeks, these are some of the pros and cons that I found about working out at a home gym and working out at CBRC.
Pricing
One of the biggest factors in the decision for which gym to work out at is the cost. In general, most people will choose the cheaper option. So, which is cheaper, a home gym or a monthly membership to CBRC? We’ll start with CBRC. According to their website, an individual monthly membership costs $99.95, a student/matinee monthly membership costs $82.95, a couple monthly membership costs $149.95, and a family monthly membership costs $172.95 (CBRC). Compared to other public gyms, this is pretty pricey. However, this membership gets you more than just their gym, as it offers a pool, tennis courts, and more. But, when paying for just a gym membership, it’s more expensive than most.
When it comes to paying for a home gym, the pricing can vary greatly. Different factors determine how expensive the gym can be, such as how many dumbbells you buy, how many plates you get, or if you want to get some extra equipment like a treadmill, a rower, or a bike. But on top of what you get, there are lots of different brands to choose from that differ in price. Megastar Fitness breaks down the average costs of home gyms, depending on the size and style you go for. Megastar Fitness states that a basic budget set-up could cost anywhere from $200 to $500, the average mid-level set up could cost anywhere from $500 to $1500, and the top-level home gym with premium equipment could range between $2000 and $5000 (Megastar Fitness). At first glance, building a home gym seems like a more expensive task. However, this is a one-time purchase over a long period of time compared to monthly payments. If you built a home gym for $2000, it would take a year and eight months of a CBRC individual membership to add up to the single purchase of a home gym. My family’s home gym costs around $5000, as we have added on to it over the years and it has turned out to be a good investment. Because of how much the gym membership can add up, a home gym will generally turn out to be the cheaper option between the two if used over a longer period.
Equipment
Another factor of choosing a home gym or the CBRC is the amount of equipment offered. At CBRC, there is a large variety of machines and weights available. First, there is a large section of free weights with multiple squat and bench racks, along with rows of dumbbell racks. Next to that section is another section of structured weight machines, including weight-stack machines and cable machines. Going around the outside of all these machines is a track with lanes for walking and running. A separate room just down the hall is a room full of cardio machines, like treadmills, stationary bikes, spin bikes, ellipticals, and stairmasters. CBRC proves to offer lots of options for any kind of workout.
The equipment offered in a home gym depends entirely on the budget, which was talked about earlier in the cost section. When paying for a low-level budget, options are limited to dumbbells, resistance bands, medicine balls, stability balls, and other things similar. When on a mid-level budget, the options are expanded into a bench, a barbell, plates, possibly cardio machines, along with dumbbells and other free weights. And if the higher level budget can be afforded, that can expand into power racks that offer cable machines, bench racks, and squat racks. Cardio machines like a treadmill, a stationary bike, a rowing machine, or an elliptical become options as well. And like the lower options, dumbbells, plates, and other free weights are very common. My home gym is around the mid-level budget, with multiple weights for dumbbells along with a squat and bench rack with plates and a bar. I also have a treadmill, elliptical, and rower, but prefer to do cardio outside and not as much with the machines. But in general, the equipment you get in your home gym depends entirely on how much you are willing to spend and invest into it.
Recovery
One of the biggest upsides is that CBRC offers a lot of good options for recovery. These options include a sauna, hot tubs, a pool, yoga equipment, a track, and more. These options allow for gym goers to properly heal and recover from their workouts, and I have definitely used and benefited from them.
On the flip-side, it’s a lot harder to find those kinds of options when using a home gym. They are possible to purchase, but will generally cost a lot more than any gym equipment. My home gym relies entirely on resistance bands and stretching because of the price of a hot tub or a sauna. So depending on the level of recovery your body needs, a basic set up of stretching and resistance could be enough for you, or the various options offered at CBRC could end up being more adequate. If these recovery options are purchased for a home gym, the price of a gym membership becomes a cheaper option because of the price of the recovery tools.
Environment
One of the biggest differences between the two gyms is the environment you find. When working out at CBRC, no matter what time it is, it is mostly full of other people. When trying to find equipment to use, it can be hard to wait for a rack to open up. When you finally do get a rack, there can be pressure and feel like everyone else is watching you. On the flip side, gym culture can also feel very supportive when you have others around you who support you and your goals. This support system can be a very strong motivation for some people, but for me I didn’t enjoy the pressure while working out.
When working out in a home gym, your environment tends to be just you, unless you work out with friends or family. Your motivation relies entirely on your and what you’re willing to put into it. For me this has been more enjoyable, because I don’t have to worry about what others are thinking and I can do a good job at motivating myself.
Training Programs/Plan
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| Image by Sergio Kian on Unsplash |
When working out at home, your options are a lot more limited compared to the classes at CBRC. The first thing you can do is do your own research and start out on your own. This was what I decided to start out with, along with some added knowledge from within my family. This was a good start for me and gave me a lot of basic knowledge. The next option is to find a family member or friend that you trust when it comes to fitness. This allows them to teach how to do certain lifts, and you can get feedback right away. A step-up from this is hiring your own personal trainer. This is similar to asking a family member or friend, but they are certified and know more about lifting. Similarly, you can hire an online personal trainer, which is the same as an in-person trainer without having them come to your home gym. While there are less opportunities to build a fitness plan, it is still possible to do it in a home gym.
Travel
Another factor to consider is how far you need to travel to get to CBRC. For me, this would be about a 15 minute drive every day. While this isn’t too bad, it can be a farther drive for others depending on where they live. Factoring in driving there and back home every day, this can be a lot of unnecessary gas money spent on top of the membership you’re already paying.
Obviously, when you have a home gym, you don’t have to drive anywhere to get a workout in. This can save a lot of money on gas, and allows for more time working out and less time traveling to the gym. One con however, is that because you don’t have to travel anywhere, it’s a lot easier to convince yourself you don’t need to workout and skip the entire workout completely.
Time Commitment
Working out at CBRC has its pros and cons when worrying about time. One pro is that setting a schedule forces you to go every day and set aside that time, especially when you’re also paying that membership every month. One con however, is that because it takes much more time to workout at CBRC, I’ve found myself able to tell myself I didn’t need to go and avoid going completely. I found that it was important that I would give myself more time than I needed to workout because it takes longer with multiple people using the machines.
When working out at home, the biggest pro is that I don’t have to set aside as much time to workout since I have all the equipment to myself. Another pro is that if you only have enough time for a shorter workout, it’s a lot easier to do that at home compared to CBRC.
Final Verdict
In conclusion, there are lots of pros and cons for owning and working out in a home gym as well as paying a membership for CBRC and working out there. The main benefits for a home gym is less travel, less money paid over a period of time, and it's more convenient. The main pros for working out at CBRC is less money paid over a short amount of time, more equipment available, and more personal training plans. One of the biggest differences is the environment, and that can depend entirely on someone’s personality and what they enjoy. Overall, I found that working out at CBRC and in my home gym are both very good options and can benefit me in many ways.
Works Cited
“Health & Wellness Memberships Richland, WA: CBRC.” CBRC Health & Fitness, 5 Dec.
2025, mycbrc.com/membership/.
“How Much Does a Home Gym Cost? A Complete Breakdown.” MegastarFitness, 27 Nov.
2025,
megastarfitness.com/blogs/wiki/how-much-home-gym-cost?srsltid=AfmBOoow1iZ5OYI
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Hey Parker,
ReplyDeleteYour article is super interesting to me because I have often thought about this myself! I think it's cool that you also set a goal for yourself to work out this year!
Parker Esplin: Home Gym vs. CBRC Gym
ReplyDeleteThe introduction is great. I felt hooked to see whether or not it's worth it to invest in a home gym or to pay for the experience and environment of the CBRC gym. My dad over the years has bought some dumbbells, a bench and other stuff so when I was younger I remember working out with him and getting a somewhat good workout in. However if we were to purchase a few more things it would be worth it to work out at home. I have done a few day passes at gyms such as Golds Gym and Planet Fitness where I had a different experience. It felt more laid out and organized making me feel more motivated so I feel like that's a big factor. The other topics you went into were great to think about whether or not it's worth it to spend a monthly price or to invest in your own equipment. It's great you have two options depending on your mood where you want to work out!
Hey Parker, I liked how you compared the home gym and CBRC by talking about things like the environment. The part about the environment stood out to me because some people like the motivation of being around others, and i know for me an other people feel more comfortable working out by themselves. I also thought it was interesting how you explained the differences in equipment and training options between the two. you did a good job showing the pros and cons of both and explaining why it really depends on the person.
ReplyDelete