How to Get In Shape and Save Money
Tired of spending money on things you don’t use or get very little results out of? I’m referring to your gym membership. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of gyms and love going to them, but when they cost an average of $33 per person per month, it comes down to a combined $792 for my wife and I to attend — and I gladly say, “No, thanks.”
If you are like me, you consider your physical health something that is important and worth taking care of. Staying fit and healthy is the best way to keep from getting sick or simply becoming unhappy with yourself. But why pay a fortune in order to do it?
Photo by Ernst Moeksis via Flickr
Last year, my wife and I ditched our gym membership and spent a total of $50 on a few different products to help us stay in shape (We love creative money saving tips!). There are plenty of things you can do in order to accomplish this, but here are my suggestions.
At Home Workout Videos
My wife loves the new Jillian Michaels videos. Jillian is hardcore! (If you are unfamiliar with who I am talking about, she is one of the trainers on the show “The Biggest Loser”). There are different workouts that you can choose from. If my wife only has thirty minutes, then she will do three 10-minute workouts, but if she has a whole hour, she will do all six.
This is nice because of the flexibility. It also cuts down on the amount of time and fuel driving to and from a gym. The Jillian videos are only about $10 each and can be found at any store like Walmart or Target.
Where else can you find great workout videos? Try Youtube.com. There’s an array of free selections on Youtube. They may be little teasers to try and sell you something else, but hey, just stick with the free stuff. Find videos you like the most and save them to your browser to pull up later.
Get an Iron Gym Set
I’m not talking about a big workout stations with weights and pulleys that costs a few thousand dollars, I’m talking about a simple tool that only cost $30 — the Iron Gym. You have probably seen them in commercials or late-night infomercials. They are the contraptions that hang on any interior door frame and allow you to do pull-ups for your back and biceps, and leg lifts to work your stomach muscles. You can also easily remove it and put it on the ground to do push-ups on.
Whoever invented the Iron Gym deserves a metal, in my opinion. It has helped me stay in shape and save hundreds of dollars in the process. It’s a thing of beauty.
Run outside
I don’t care how cold it is, you can bundle up and make it around the block just fine! Running outside is super healthy and much more fun than going around and around inside a building.
Use things around your house
So, let’s say that it really is too cold to go outside. Use things like stairs and chairs to get a good workout.
You can run up and down the stairs and feel pretty exhausted after about ten times. To motivate my wife to push herself, she will empty a bowl of candy at the bottom of the stairs. Then, every trip down she will grab a piece and bring it back up to put in in the bowl. This ensures that she will not quit until all of the candy is put back in place. Figure out what motivates you to run stairs and you’ll probably find it to be one of the best workouts you have ever experienced.
You can also use chairs for doing dips. Sometimes I set two chairs side by side with about 18 inches in between them. Then I set one hand on each chair, prop my feet up on another chair, and dip up and down in between them. This works the chest and triceps really well.
Schedule your workouts
You will see a lot more progress when you schedule your workouts and set goals before hand. Keep a calendar or chart to track how you are doing. This is extremely helpful.
If you are fine with paying $792 to get in shape and stay healthy, that’s fine by me. But if you are more inclined to spending $50 and putting the other $742 into your savings or your retirement fund, I’d highly recommend it.
Good luck getting in shape for less!
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the run outside is always most preferred by me because you get to see many things that you will not see in a gym and also nothing can beat the cost. it free(minus the cost of an ipod)
A great thing I’ve discovered recently is to use my Netflix subscription to get a workout. I can stream pilates and aerobics videos from Netflix to my computer or TV. I already pay for my Netflix each month, so why not use it for more than just watching movies?
My health insurance company gives discounts for joining the gym. I just joined my local gym and I am paying about $40 a month (for a couples rate).
The Park District also has state of the art equipment in their gyms (and they also have running clubs, basketball etc. The cost is low and they have couples and family rates.
I find developing consistancy with your fitness works better than working with trainers or spending hundreds of hours developing a “plan.” Just get outside and work up a sweat. Rinse. Repeat.
Taking care of your health is a necessity – here are few ways to save money and stay in shape that I would also like to share to everyone: Set up an inexpensive and small scale home gym, Join organized activities for good causes, Incorporate more activity into your daily routine.
I definitely agree with you on this one, I feel gym memberships are the biggest waste of money out there. There’s a lot of great places with lots of clean air to run and walk. Even buying a treadmill or a workout set that can last a half- decade can save you thousands compared to going to the gym.
I used to be a big runner but when i moved to Cairo I realised I would not be able to run outside due to crazy traffic and heavy pollution… I looked around the local gyms and they wanted around $100 a month!!!! So I went the home workout route.
I did p90x for 90 days and it was awesome (although the instructor is a little annoying). I just got hold of Shaun T’s Insanity workout which is a 60day program and am going to be starting on Sunday. I have about 10-15lbs o shed so gotta get down to it! (I linked my post about p90x in my URL if you want to take a look).
Thanks,
Forest.
There are a lot of ways to save money and not have a gym membership. All those listed above are valid. In reality if you own a pair of shoes and some workout clothes, you are good to go – just go hit the pavement.
However, I think having a gym membership is important even if used occassionally. I have been a life long exerciser, and find that variety helps me stay motivated to work out. I have gone weeks without going to the gym, because I run outside, but then that little voice in my head says you are paying for this, get in there.
My health is more important than $30 per month.
It always surprises me to think how much I spend just going swimming for health. The cost of two dollars adds up over time. I wish I were a runner. It is so much more cost-effective.
I like your idea about using things around the house. Ever try using two buckets filled with sand, rocks, or even water as if they were dumbbells? I like it for shoulder and arm exercises.
There was an article on the New York Times website the other day that talked about migrating from gym to gym using their 2 week free memberships. Most people didn’t seem to like that idea. What do you think about that?
http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com.....your-money
@K – Personally, I think swimming is better; especially, for your joints. Also, don’t forget the cost of running shoes — these add up too.
Great ideas for frugal fitness! For ideas on how you can take charge of your own health care costs, check out Whatstherealcost.org.
I saw this post and thought you might like to see a series I’ve started that has to do with losing weight and saving money. I was spending massive amounts of money each month eating out and the fried food was starting to have a negative impact…
http://ryanshell.com/category/get-fit
Ryan
I work out at home now but I used to work out at the gym. I liked it because going there lowered my insurance premium but I don’t have that job anymore. So, now we do what you guys do. We have DVDs and have an elliptical machine and go running. It does lead to savings if you’re creative.