I mean, I guess it depends. I row often, and I don’t wanna do it in a gym, so I purchased a rower. But if I didn’t want to spend the ~$800 on a nice Concept 2 rower, a gym membership for $20/mo would give me about about 3.25 years of rowing before I hit the cost of the rower. Then I also get access to every other machine they offer, free weights, other amenities such as pool and basketball court, classes they offer, trainer access (probably not great but better than winging it). That may be valuable to you or it may not, but it’s an option. You could run on a treadmill or lift weights at home, if you purchased the items. Sure, running outside is free and you can pick up/put down stuff whenever, but weather gets in the way, and unbalanced or unwieldy weight isn’t always safe.

Home workouts can be effective and many make it work, but some people like/need the separation. Sometimes when I get home, if I sit down, I’m just not gonna get up and workout at that point. Stopping at a gym in the way home gives a clear delineation between still working physically and being done with your days work when you get home. Or if they go in the morning, I can’t row at odd hours I may want to because of neighbors (it’s not quiet). I can go to some gyms at 5am or 2am if I really wanted to, where I couldn’t currently at home.