If you really want to lift and get befits, scour Craigslist for the proper equipment. I scored a Weider 575 Pro in excellent condition for about $150. I then later scored a barbell, weight tree and a slew of plates for... $100 (Olympic). Sure, the barbell and weights were a bit rusted but that is what CLR and steel wool are for.
In fact, you really don't need a bench/machine for lifting. Just the barbell (or dumbbell handles) and plates and knowing how to use them. I only wanted that gym because it has a safety spotter so I could lift alone in perfect safety (I do some HIT training or absolute max to failure so I really needed that feature lol). Otherwise, I could have done without (I'd just be forgoing chest isolation; not a great loss for us until after top surgery really).
So, I'm just saying it can be done and for a very reasonable cost. Just takes the time to look. You will get the best benefits from lifting than cardio because while you're lifting you are actually doing cardio (notice how your heart pounds in heavier lifts? Lifting really is good for that too), but when you're done that's when the real magic happens. Metabolism is permanently (well, as long as you stick to lifting to maintain gains) boosted from increased fat-burning muscle mass.
Its the only way I've ever gained any real results in both muscle mass as well as trimming down fat. They go hand-in-hand if you're doing it right. I honestly never had any real (and lasting) results from cardio alone. In fact, standard old cardio trims your muscle mass down because the body wants to move faster and muscle weighs more. Ever looked at marathon runners? That's why they're so lithe and simply toned not necessarily muscled (or 'ripped'). It really is a matter of either or here. I mean really, at that last... ever looked closer at even UPS drivers? They're proof that eventually cardio just doesn't cut it alone because your body adjusts and needs more. But if you're already running around all day what else could you do to offset? Weights, serious lifting. It really amazed me how many of the older of them are overweight despite having physically demanding jobs. Just my personal observation of having worked with those guys and ladies three peaks.
Also, it is an unfortunate misconception that lifting itself will hulk you out. In reality, there are three principal training styles necessary to attain certain results (that was the polite way of stating that it takes more than just brawn; it also takes brains. It's a science):
Strength: 1-5 reps, heavy weight.
Hypertrophy: 6-12 reps, mid weight.
Endurance: 13-20+ reps, light weight.
First, you have to find the amount of weight that you can only do once for every lift. Once you find that, you then reduce it by 2-20lbs (etc. depending on which rep range you're going after) of that 1-rep max until you can consistently lift that amount within the rep ranges for the results you want and therefore the training you need to stick to (periodically you must recalibrate your 1-rep max as you improve; same process). This is the beginning of every lifters journey in this exercise and if you skip it and "just do whatever", you're not going to see much happening because it really does take this rep range/training style system to get where you want to go with it. Otherwise, you will mostly be wasting your time and effort.
Hypertrophy doesn't happen to bodybuilding effect unless endurance and strength are blended because it is moderate weight at higher repetitions together that force the muscles to bulk (e.g. to "get pumped" and just to the point of them getting little tears in their fibers that then heal larger via scarring. That is truly all that's happening in hypertrophy). If you're only doing endurance you're not going to see much more than toning happening. Why? Because low weight at high reps isn't enough to really cause those little tears that become scar and which therefore is the mass. It really is that simple. If you're sticking to low weight at high reps, you're basically doing cardio but better cardio because it still tones and firms the muscles (where by and large, that would only happen in traditional cardio in the lower half). It just won't make them much or at-all bigger.
Now with strength (high weight, low reps), you're getting some hypertrophy but not nearly as much as actual hypertrophy training. It is the higher repetitions in hypertrophy training that really open up those little tears and make them all the more larger for that. So, what's the point of strength training? Muscle-memory. The more you challenge your muscles to lift heavy, the more you're going to be able to lift until you max out and the stronger you're going to be (can be quite useful if you're caught in a bad situation for whatever reason. Just saying. Beach muscles won't do much without the strength to really put them to use).
Now, a wise lifter targets all three and rotates them (randomization stave's off plateaus). It takes all three to get solid, large, strong and quick muscles (this is where the majority of people fail to get their desired, well-rounded results because they can get the mass but they'll be more infirm and weaker unless they also work on toning and power too; thus enter the other two types).
So just thought I'd clear that up. I had to learn this the hard way. You don't have to.
