From paying expensive membership fees for equipment and services they’ll never use to waiting for machines or weights to become available, there are many reasons why people avoid the gym. Plus, there’s the chaotic environment and fitness enthusiasts with questionable gym etiquette to consider.
However, regular exercise has been proven to bring numerous health benefits, both physically and mentally, such as enhancing your mood and reducing your risk of chronic disease.
The following tricks will allow you to stay fit without having to deal with inconvenient closing hours and other people’s sweaty pieces of equipment.
Read on to discover 13 cheap or free ways to take care of your physical health without hitting the gym.
#1 Stair-Climbing
Why use the steps at the gym if you have steps at home? The best part of this simple exercise is that it requires no equipment.
Research shows that stair-climbing helps strengthen and tone your leg muscles. It keeps your leg arteries flexible, allowing blood to move more easily.
A healthier blood flow in your legs, in turn, equals a healthier heart and body, the Mayo Clinic’s Sports Medicine writes.
Only two flights of stairs climbed per day can lead to 6 lbs (2,7 kilos) of weight loss over one year. You can also double this by challenging yourself to take two additional flights of stairs than what is needed every day.
The same situation applies to the workspace. When you’re at the office, you should consider taking the stairs instead of the elevator.
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#2 Jumping Rope
Jumping rope makes for a quick, affordable, and effective full-body workout.
With only a pair of training shoes and a jump rope, you can exercise your lower body muscles (calves, thighs, and buttocks), upper body (shoulders and biceps), and abdominal muscles, as per Healthline.
Plus, many people find jump rope more enjoyable than other cardio workouts, like running on the treadmill or jogging.
Image credits: Charlotte Karlsen
#3 Outdoor Activities
The outdoors provide an excellent alternative to the gym, especially if you dislike the crowdedness and lack of privacy in those spaces.
Choose an outdoor activity that best matches your interests: if you’re not a fan of jogging, you can grab your bike and choose a trail you know won’t be impossible to complete.
If you live in a mountainous area, consider hiking, but avoid opting for a long, steep hike if you’re a beginner. Otherwise, chances are that you won’t get up from your couch in the first place.
Whatever physical activity you do, remember to allow time to digest your food properly before you begin your exercise. Experts recommend waiting 1-2 hours after a moderate-sized meal and 30 minutes after a snack.
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#4 Household Chores
While chores may seem tedious, seeing them as an opportunity to get up and get your body moving can add some needed motivation.
Cleaning windows, mopping, vacuuming, and gardening may not replace the morning jog, but they can actually contribute to your daily physical activity.
Image credits: Nathan Cowley
#5 Active Transportation
This one is rather straightforward. Instead of driving or commuting to nearby destinations by bus, you should consider biking or walking.
If you struggle with this tip, here’s a little fact to motivate you: in addition to reducing your carbon footprint, walking 1 mile (1,6 kilometers, a block and a half) makes your body burn 100 calories, says Timothy Burnett, Ph.D., an instructor of kinesiology at Oregon State University Cascades.
There’s still another factor to consider, according to Burnett.
“If you weigh more than 150 pounds (68 kilos), you will burn more than 100 calories per hour and if you weigh less, you’ll have to walk farther to burn the same number of calories. The more you weigh, the more mass you have to move around, meaning you’ll burn more calories.”
Image credits: Cole Keister
#6 Fitness Video Games
If you’re a gamer, you’ll be pleased to know there’s a broad range of fitness video games to choose from that can make exercise more enjoyable.
Virtual reality fitness games can up the immersion, with games like Beat Saber being capable of putting you in a zen-like trance that will make the minutes pass by quickly, GameSpot explains.
But you can also get up and move with non-VR games, such as Ring Fit Adventure and Fitness Boxing on the Nintendo Switch.
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#7 Gardening
While tending your garden, you perform squats and lunges without realizing it.
Additionally, this therapeutic activity allows you to strengthen your arm muscles while you carry bags of mulch and other supplies and when you dig, rake, and use a push mower.
Anyone with a green thumb will tell you that, sometimes, a busy day in the garden can equal an intense gym workout.
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#8 Online Workouts And Fitness Apps
Thousands of personal trainers share routines, tips, and tricks on YouTube. You can type exactly what type of exercise you’re looking for—e.g., a 15-minute Zumba lesson, how to do crunches the right way, or a weight-lifting everyday routine—and there will be a video to guide your workout.
There’s also a variety of fitness apps that serve the same purpose, such as Future, which pairs you with a real-live personal trainer based on your personality and preferences, and Nike Training Club, which is free and offers a fair number of workouts, some as short as 10 minutes.
Image credits: Kari Shea
#9 Find A Workout Buddy
If you feel self-conscious about jogging outdoors or can’t find the motivation for calisthenics in the park, you can ask a friend to join you. That way, you can both encourage and push each other to reach your goals.
Making excuses to ditch your workout for a new episode of your favorite show is harder once you’ve set a time and place to meet weekly with your friend.
Unless you live in a fitness community, you probably have at least one buddy who finds it difficult to get up from the couch, too.
Image credits: Andrea Piacquadio
#10 Wall Pilates
Pilates is an exercise form founded by Joseph Pilates that consists of various exercises intended to build strength, tone muscles, and improve your range of motion. For this, you can use a mat or a special machine called a reformer.
Wall Pilates also uses a mat but adds a wall as a prop. The exercises are similar to those of traditional Pilates, such as glute bridges and crunches, but you’ll have an additional tool to use as support.
This low-impact workout is great for all levels since it can be a full-body burn or catered to a specific muscle group, such as your core, glutes, or hamstrings, says Ariel Schwartz, a certified Pilates instructor.
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#11 Calisthenics At The Park
Why don’t you take full advantage of the playground equipment in your local park for calisthenics workouts?
In calisthenics, you use your own body weight as resistance to perform multi-joint movements with little or no equipment.
Examples of calisthenic exercises include push-ups, crunches, and burpees.
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#12 Build Your Own Home Gym
From step platforms to resistance bands and adjustable dumbbells, the Internet is full of options for gym equipment at different price points.
For strength exercises, the fitness blog Shape recommends starting with a single kettlebell, a pair of adjustable dumbbells, an entire set of dumbbells, and/or a set of resistance bands.
For cardio, you can invest in a treadmill or simply purchase a jump rope, which is cheaper and won’t take up as much space.
Alternatively, you can buy used gym equipment online on platforms such as OLX, Quikr, and Craigslist.
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#13 Planks
Also known as hover exercise, planks help you strengthen your abdominal and core muscles.
This exercise involves balancing on your toes and forearms as you hold the rest of your body off the ground. Your spine should be kept in a neutral position and your head, torso, and legs should be aligned.
Using a yoga mat will give you enough padding to be comfortable in this position, which will make the workout easier.
You can choose whether to do a plank on your palms or your forearms.
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