This is the second in a four-part weekly series on Ways to be Healthy Without Breaking your Budget. This series is written by Victoria Carlson. If you missed week 1, be sure to check out Ways to Eat Healthy on a Budget
Staying physically active is essential to overall health. Exercising is crucial to staying healthy physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Depending on where you live and what the weather is like, you may be lacking in the exercise department because of how expensive it can be. While fitness centers, products, and appropriate exercise attire can be a costly aspect of your budget, it does not have to be. There are plenty of ways to save while still being fit.
1) Gym Membership
Even though I work at a gym, it seems as though there is a common misconception that to a prerequisite to being fit is a gym membership. While sometimes this may be the case, it doesn’t necessarily have to be. However, living in Minnesota, having a membership to a fitness center is a really great idea. Yes, they can be expensive, but there are always ways to save.
Most gyms give money off each month just for having certain types of health insurance. Often, these savings are huge if you meet the requirements and go to the gym the minimum required times a month. We have a friend who pays only $7 a month at a very nice gym as long as he goes 13 times a month. Another way to save is to show the company your tax information. Some fitness facilities pay for part, or all, of a membership or programs within the facility based on the income of a household. Researching gyms in your area and comparing prices/discounts of each gym can save you lots of money over time.
2) Outside
Wherever you live, you can benefit from the great outdoors when it comes to physical activities. No matter your lifestyle, being active outside can allow you to be physically healthy without having to pay for expensive workout equipment.
Even if you do not like outdoor sports in particular (I can’t stand playing soccer), you can do still do many different kind of workouts outside. Running on park trails or through the city, boot camp workouts on the grass, playing sports with friends/family, or even chasing your kids around in a park are all great ways to get in a workout for the day without having to pay for the space of a gym. Take advantage of where you live to save money and stay healthy.
3) At-Home Workouts
Working out at home is a fantastic way to save a significant amount of money and still be physically active. Not only are you saving time and potentially gas money by working out at home, you will never have to worry about not getting the exercise machine you want because someone else is using it or being intimidated by others who clearly spend too much time at the gym.
A great piece of technology to achieve a level of physical activity that can produce results is using an Xbox Kinect. The Xbox Kinect
4) Apartment Fitness Centers
Oftentimes young adults or young families rent apartments or townhomes while they save up to purchase their first home. Many apartments have various amenities, including a fitness center. While many of these fitness centers are not large or do not have top-of-the-line fitness equipment, you do not need much to stay active and keep your body in shape. Take advantage of the money you are already putting towards the fitness center by actually using it to stay physically healthy.
What do you do to stay physically healthy through exercise without breaking your budget? What are other ways that you can save when it comes to exercise?
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Photo by lululemon athletica
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Did I read that right? Your friend only pays $7 a month as long as he goes 13 times? That actually seems like a brilliant incentive program that more gyms should adopt. Not only would that seem to increase membership numbers, but they would actually pay you for staying healthy. I would assume that most of the members still don’t make it that often, so the gym still makes plenty of money. However, I assume that incentive gets a lot of people to not cancel as they figure that they can make it there several times a week. Nice post!
@GregatClubThrifty Yeah I believe it’s his insurance that pays the discount. I know other people who have similar incentive programs with their insurance where if they go x number of times a month they get a certain amount of their gym membership paid for.
There are also things like myfitnesspal.com which has great tolls to helping with weight loss and it’s free!
@PlungedinDebt Thanks for the tip!
Tools, not tolls haha.
I’ve started running outside more and being more active with my dog. I also do workout videos at home!
@SenseofCents Nice, there’s so many free/inexpensive options for staying fit. I can’t wait to get our dog as it will motivate me to go on a walk or run every day.
I married my kung fu instructor! ha. Now I get free access to not only kung fu but an amazing cardio workout
Stair climbing is free and a great workout. Head to a parking garage. It’s a great substitute for running every day.
Exercise doesn’t have to cost a thing. You can do some absolutely killer exercises at home and with virtually no equipment. First and foremost, body weight exercises can be a tremendous workout. Don’t believe me? Try holding a plank position for 2 minutes. Do yoga. Go for a run. An excellent resource for free and/or low cost exercise programs is You Tube. Search “home gyms” or “garage gyms” etc. Go to Home Depot and buy a 50 lb bag of sand for $4. Go to a salvage yard and buy a large tire for $10. Buy a $15 sledgehammer….yes, a sledgehammer. Search for sledgehammer workouts on YouTube. Your imagination is the limit.
My wife and I bought an exercise bike a few years ago. It’s great for the winters, or if we want to work out late at night or early in the morning and not have to leave the house. There are a number of other things you can use at home to aid in working out, like stairs if you have them or you can fill empty milk jugs with water to use as weights.
I used to spend a lot on exercise programs, mostly yoga classes. These days, I get my fitness fix for free by running outside or on the company treadmill, doing yoga at home, or walk my dog. It’s just as fun and completely free!
We do a lot of free stuff for exercising. Most of the time we like to do hiking, especially with the pup. Living in Upper Michigan we have many choices on where to hike at and I love them all. Other than hiking we run on trails that are close to our home. Way better and more relaxing than running on a treadmill.
@DebtnTaxes You might laugh but I actually prefer running on treadmills! :0
We actually have a free gym membership! And you’re going to think I’m ridiculous…but I hate working out at the gym! I’d much rather go outside and play volleyball or take a jog. I do have to use it in the winter, because it gets really cold here. Free = the best kind of workout!
@seedebtrun Haha well we have a free workout room at my work and my wife works at the Y a couple days a week so she has a free membership there.
Speaking of Lululemon, the stores in Canada offer free yoga classes every Sunday morning in the store before it opens. You don’t even have to bring a mat, they’re provided! And of course, you can browse/shop there afterwards. Haha…..
@MakintheBacon Oh dang!
Wish my gym paid me to go! I actually use the City Rec Center. It is about $25 per month for a couple if you pay all at once. I go at least 4-5x per week and take my daughter swimming on the weekends, so it’s a great deal. We also like to hike, but we haven’t had much time lately. Maybe in October.
Have you checked out the Nordic walking? It can burn 46% more calories than the regular walking. People can practice Nordic walking exercise at the early morning to get the best result. Thanks.
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