Exercise. The bane of my life! I am the first person to admit that I am not the biggest fan of exercise. I know it’s important. I know I should do it. But, just, not a fan. I have had gym memberships. A waste of money! I have tried various things and I just don’t particularly enjoy it.
But, it is important.
However, exercise can be very expensive. The keeping fit industry is huge! The cost of a gym membership can add up to quite a substantial sum each year. The higher end gym near us is £42 a month. That adds up to £504 a year! Suddenly, keeping fit and exercising is costly.
There are, however, different things you can do to save money on exercise.
Firstly, walking outside is free! Weather permitting, this is the best option for exercising and saving money. Go for a walk where you live; explore somewhere new! I’m sure there’s many different places near us that I have no idea exist.
Do yoga at home. Me and Mr FC are currently doing this as an option. We are following DDP yoga, as I got Mr FC the dvds for his birthday. We did have to buy a couple of yoga mats so we had one each – this is the one I own – but we are trying to do this every evening. There are many health benefits to doing yoga. DDP has a book about the benefits of doing yoga regularly. It’s worth a look! Also, his dvd sets are currently 30% off, as you can see on his website.
Do an exercise dvd. On a similar theme to what we’re doing, there are hundreds of workout dvds to choose from. When asking friends about this, a couple have recommended the Lean In 15 workout, though I haven’t tried it personally. Again, all the cost of this is just the dvd in the first instant. Apparently, the Darcy Bussell Pilates dvd is the best one to use for that. Exercising and saving money, definitely.
If you’re feeling like a bit of DIY, you can make your own gym equipment for your home. If you take a look at this post, there are lots of ideas! I’m not the best at DIY (read: really rubbish) but I’m sure if you are good at that kind of thing, you could make these.
Skipping! The humble skipping rope, loved by primary school children everywhere. In all seriousness, skipping for 30 minutes can burn an insane amount of calories and can keep you incredibly fit. Looking on Amazon, skipping ropes are not expensive, at all. This one is just £5.
If you want to get some gym equipment, remember to check ebay for cheap listings in your areas, or other selling groups. People are always trying to get rid of gym equipment as it takes up quite a lot of room. If you’re patient, you could get a bargain that way.
So, lots of ideas to exercise and save money. We are enjoying doing the yoga as a couple, once Frugal Baby is fast asleep in bed. It is also a great way to wind down at the end of the day.
What exercise do you do that is frugal or free? I’d love some more suggestions!
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If you have a smart TV that you can access YouTube on, there are loads of free workout videos you can do in the comfort of your living room. Saves having to buy DVD’s.
Popsugar fitness channel on YouTube is great for different workouts, and a mixture of short or longer workouts.
Our council have installed free gyms in some of the outdoor parks although I’m yet to try them out but think they’re a great idea!
Actually I think my gym membership at £26 a month is excellent value. I attend 3 or 4 times a week so each visit costs £2 or less. Included in this is parking, use of the exercise machines, hands on instructors, two exercise dance classes every week and free coffee ( usually 2 cups) and a lovely meeting are where I sit and socialise with the friends I have made there during my 5 year membership. As a member I can borrow books and magazines from the ones which members donate. The thing is, no matter how good my intentions, I absolutely know that I would not go for walks, skip or follow exercise DVDs at home. When I needed physio for a hip problem, both the doctor and physio not remarked how flexible I am for someone in their sixties. I put this down solely to the gym. Gymophobics is aimed at middle aged women and is brilliant value.
My £26 a month gym membership is amazing value. I attend 14- 16 times a month and have unlimited use of equipment, 2 Callanetics classes per week, free parking and coffee all for less than than £2 per visit. I have made several friends over my 4 year membership and we socialise every visit. We also have a members book and magazine swap bookshelf. I agree that walking, yoga, DVDs at home are all good ideas but where is the motivation to actually do the exercise. I might plan to but in reality it just wouldn’t happen.