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Creatively
Frugal Fitness
Please share your creative ideas for saving money
on anything related
to fitness: exercise programs, fitness equipment, dieting,
workout gear,
gym memberships, etc.
"This is for those readers who
don't live where it snows or in a big city: WALK! I go out
every morning at 6:00 am and walk thirty minutes before going to
work. Talk about energizing! With careful eating this keeps the
weight off during the winter. I have a pair of 5lb weights and I
use them about 3-4 days per week. Another way to keep weight off
is to eat less meat and have 3-4 simple meals at night....like
steamed vegetables with a little melted cheese or a salad. I
eliminate a lot of desserts for two months after the holidays. Gym
memberships are nice but it is so much faster to just exercise at
home." ~ Janice
"While the weather has been
extraordinarily warm in NC, my co-worker and I walk at lunchtime. We
usually do about 2 miles. If and when it gets too cold to walk, we
plan on bringing in DVDs with exercises on them that we can do in
our large conference room. Being a small office and having a
good boss, we can get away with a few extra minutes if we happen
need them." ~ Anggie
"These are some of the ideas that I do to keep fit and keep
my costs low. They are very winter based.
Walking - All it takes is a decent
pair of running shoes. Dress appropriately for the weather.
Ice Skating - It's free in the
community parks in my city. You can buy a used set of states for a
fraction of the costs. If you buy a skate sharpening card, the
cost is very nominal.
Cross Country Skiing - I found 2
pairs of cross country skis and boots for free on my neighborhood
Freecycling site. We live close to some trails that are lighted at
night. I bought some ski wax and asked the shop owner to
show me how to apply it.
Tobogganing - Ski hills in my area
charge $10 for a tow rope to take you back up the hill. Why not
walk up a hill yourself and ride for free in your
neighborhood?" ~ Christine in
Edmonton, AB
"At work, I park in the last
row of the parking lot. It's not a huge distance, but it adds
about 200 steps a day. When I can't walk outside, I use my
stairs. Instead of taking an armful of stuff upstairs at
once, I make several trips. Great for firming the rear end." ~
Judy
"Two ideas that I have used
successfully:
--Buy used exercise equipment at a
local auction house or from the newspaper or garage sale. People buy
new equipment and rarely use it before deciding to get rid of it, so
you can easily get 'new' items at a fraction of the original cost.
--Get exercise DVDs or tapes and
exercise at home. I began doing this when safety issues became a
problem in our neighborhood preventing exercise outside....and
exercise is not dictated by the weather!!" ~ Mary in IL
"My subject! I am a
trained fitness professional and I tell you, so many people are
being led totally astray by other so-called trainers.
You do not need a gym membership.
You do not need fancy equipment. Do you have stairs in
your house? Near any bleachers? Running up and down stairs
is wonderful exercise both for your heart and for strengthening
your lower body. (just an example)
Remember grade school? Gym class often had those awful
exercises - touching toes, chin ups, jumping jacks, skipping
rope! These are all valid today! Walk! Skip! Jump,
play frisbee with the dog! Play ball with the kids! Roller
skate! Ice skate! The key to fitness is active
living!
How do you get to that stage? If you haven't the energy to get
up and down the stairs or around the block, you may need to
actually limit your food intake to begin losing weight!
Once you lose a few pounds, you may find an increase in energy!
I know I did! I was fifty pounds overweight and I went for
a run~ the girl I was running with thought I was gonna die!
Since then I made exercise my priority and got certified!
I have also joined Weight Watchers because you can weight train
and exercise and still not weigh less (muscle weighs more than
fat!) and that can become discouraging. A proven weight
loss program can help. None of those meal replacements~ they
will not work long term! I used to be a fat chick and I'm
still not at my goal, but I've lost 20 pounds through exercise
and strength training, and I don't look like I have another 30
pounds to go because of it!
Here's a couple of links that can help you get started!
Hope this is helpful to you.' ~
Sheila
"As a
stay-at-home mom of young children, I’ve had trouble using
home exercise machines because I was constantly interrupted, and
leaving the house to go running or bike riding would require a
babysitter. I also don’t want to sacrifice the
productive time I have during their nap to exercise, and my
husband’s long commute didn’t allow him to provide much
childcare in the mornings and evenings. But our local YMCA
offers safe, free child care (up to two hours a day) with a
regular health membership. This isn’t cheap ($74/month for a
family in our area), but the childcare gives antsy kids a
welcome change of pace as well as a chance for me and my husband
to read quietly on an aerobics machine, or catch up on the news
with the TVs provided. When the kids are old enough to exercise
with us, our family membership will allow them to use the gym
too.
My husband and
I figure that if we hired a teenaged babysitter at $5/hour for
the time we ACTUALLY spend at the YMCA per month, we would be
paying $60/month (3 hours per week x 4 weeks x $5 = $60).
Add in the fact that sometimes we exercise one at a time so the
other can run errands (so we end up using the child care
longer), and the childcare alone pays for the cost of
membership.
This may not be the least expensive option, but for us the
health benefits have outweighed the cost and the splurge is
worth it." ~ Shanna
"A creatively-frugal way to find fitness equipment, fitness
gear, juicers or scales for dieting is to subscribe to www.freecycle.com.
Many of your readers are already familiar with freecycle, but
may forget that it is also a great resource to get used (or
sometimes new) fitness equipment, fitness or workout clothes in
your size, and more. I have an Orbitrek stepper that is
perfectly good, and all I had to do was go and pick it up
myself. It definitely gets used." ~ Melanie,
Knoxville, TN
"I belong
to a fitness center at the local hospital. Payment is by the
month and you can cancel at anytime. No contracts. So hopefully
you won't stop going but if you decide you aren't using it you
can stop it and not pay all that money." ~ Brenda
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"When the local library has
its monthly book sale, they often have videos. I purchased
several exercise videos there for $2 each--that's less than
buying one new. If you actually can return videos on time
from the library, you can get them for free by checking them
out. I tend to be late, so the $1 a day late fee turns out
to be too much. So I just bought them." ~ Anonymous
"Denise Austin has two different workouts each
morning at 7 and 7:30 am on Lifetime channel. Each
day is different and focuses on a different body area. I
tape them and then do them when the kids leave for school.
It costs nothing and I don’t have to have the latest
work-out clothes because nobody sees me anyway.
" ~ Pauline
"I am an avid gym goer
but after finding gyms who had the added cost of day
care, I decided to open my own gym in my garage. I asked
my friends if they had any gym equipment to get rid of.
I got a set of weights and found hand weights and
resistance bands at yard sales. Another friend gave me
an ab ball. I found a bike thru Freecycle.
I spent my big money
($60) on The Firm DVD and a step bench that I also use.
The bench that came with the DVDs I use as a weight
bench. We also put an extra TV that we were going to
give away through Freecycle out in the garage and I have
hooked up a cheap DVD system." ~ Janet
"How about using the local library? I borrow an
exercize video for 1 week. If no one requests the video then
I can renew it 2 times. Then I can try out another. I also use a manual
treadmill that only cost $100. I took my mother to a local used sports
goods store to find an electric treadmill for less than 1/2 the
price of a new one. I know other people who have purchased fitness
equipment at yard sales." ~ Ellen
"Personally I did not like gym memberships: too much
noise, too many showoffs. Why pay when I could do it myself by
taking a walk? Now I love the gym because it forces me to walk
faster on a treadmill and the weight machines help keep the
granny body strong. Ask for off-peak-hour membership and the
price is considerably less." ~ Waynette
"My dog and I moved from a house with
a fenced-in yard to a condo 5 minutes down the street from a park about a
year ago. We walk to the park in the mornings and at night, then to the
park and/or around it when it's nicer, for a total of 10-30 minutes each
walk. Just by getting outside with my dog a few times a day, I have lost
ten pounds in the past year and had lots of fun!" ~ Laurie
"We have rediscovered the joy of bicycle riding as a wonderful
fitness activity. We cycle between 75 and 125 miles per week and it has
made a huge difference in our energy levels and overall feeling of
fitness. We also use our bicycle to visit family, ride to the beach and
parks and make weekly jaunts to our favorite Saturday City
Market for fresh fruits and vegetables. We live in a large city that is
becoming fairly cycling-friendly on major roads and have access to a
wonderful 36 mile long pedestrian/ cycling trail. If you are
not up for cycling alone, many cities have great cycling groups. Look
for them online or check with a local bicycle shop. After the initial
investment in a bike, the maintenance is relatively inexpensive,
especially if you or someone around your house can do basic maintenance
and fix flats! If you choose to cycle, please don't skimp on a
helmet!" ~ Marci
"I work at the local YMCA where for working a mere 10 hours
a week you get a free membership. You can also add your family for
half price. Then, I also can get any fee-based classes for myself or
my family for half price. It gives us a chance to work out and make
some extra money." ~ Laura
"I think the key to succeeding in becoming fit is variety. I, too,
look for low cost (or free) ways to become fit. Walking is my
favorite but given that I live in Alberta, Canada the weather is not
always cooperative. I invested in an exercise bike ($100) a year ago.
This has been wonderful exercise for my husband who has a bad knee. Our
community has free skating for an hour in the morning twice a week. I
find that during the day there is hardly anyone there. Once a week I
splurge and attend an aquacise class. If I don't feel like leaving the
house I put in an exercise video (my favorite is Leslie Sansone's
Walking away the Pounds series). In terms of eating habits - don't
think of it as dieting because that conjures negative images and
thoughts of deprivation. I think the biggest thing here is portion
control. Buy healthy and by eating smaller portions of the meal you will
automatically save money. If you use a smaller plate it won't look like
any less food. Fill your plate with fruits and vegetables. Don't deprive
yourself; just eat less. Someone I know will tell herself that she
needs to eat the recommended number of vegetables and fruits before she
can have a 'treat.' Often when she has eaten the recommended number she
no longer feels like eating the treat. Hope this helps." ~ GG
"Living
in the country as we do, and thus quite a distance from such 'luxuries'
as health/fitness emporiums and spas, we live very frugally (sometimes
not necessarily by choice!). With respect to exercising
frugally.....we get a LOT of exercise out and about on our little farm
(gardening, chores, yard work). Walking is about the cheapest exercise
there is, and you can pretty much do that anywhere whether in city or on
the farm. In the winter when it is so cold up here in north-central
Wisconsin (it's snow right now!), my 10-year old daughter and I get our
exercise by virtue of an exercise video on our television. I have
been able to find exercise videos from the 'discard' box (free or for
only .50-cents) at our library. In fact, that is how we obtain almost
all of our movies, too! Some of them are dated, but good stories
never go out of style!
We live
in an area with lots and lots of Amish families, and I am always amazed
(and sometimes feel quite guilty) by their ambitious working habits.
When I am complaining of the sweltering humidity in the summer and
wishing to loll about the house in the coolest corner with a fan blowing
on me, there is nothing like remembering that the Amish women are
canning their summer harvest over a wood-fired stove--so what AM I
complaining about?" ~ Deb in Wisconsin <><
Editor's Note: Thanks to these readers for taking time to share
their ideas!
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