Do you have any tips on how to get fit for free? Or do you think splurging on a fancy gym membership is worth the investment?
Use a bike rather than a car
Download Zombies Run and go for an evening jog through the parkā¦Zombie sounds will soon make you start picking up your pace!!
Use car less. Walk to places, use public transport (which also involves walking).
Think about whether you are able to commit to doing something at home. Resistance bands are amazing pieces of equipment you can work out your whole body. No need for a gym membership
Spend half the money youād spend on a gym membership improving your diet.
Thatās a disappointingly London-centric blog post!
Fitness costs nothing. Use natural transport methods, run/cycle regularly and play sports. If you want to build strength, do kalisthenics instead of signing up to a gym.
Cant believe that parkrun hasnāt been mentioned.
āparkrun organise free, weekly, 5km timed runs around the world. They are open to everyone, free, and are safe and easy to take part in.ā
Again, like @thomastte surprised Parkrun isnāt mentioned, they are fantastic (disclosure, I helped put their National Lottery funding in place in a previous job) itās free, amazing community feel, and the opportunity to volunteer.
Other good ways, try some of the free fitness apps. Nike Training Club is great, no fee to use the app or any of the training plans on there.
I think thereās a lot you can do at home without equipment and without a gym membership.
Basic callisthenics and walking/jogging are pretty much all you need. Get off the tube a stop or 2 early and walk the rest, do push-ups, crunches, lunges, etc at home in the evening. Download a free app like Nike Training Club and follow some of the equipment-free routines.
- Change your eating habits (diet = instant fail for most people). There are loads of methods.
- Buy protein powder in bulk from reputable discount online suppliers - it may cost you Ā£100 up front but over a month will actually be cheaper than buying food, also helps control portions.
- Stop eating after 19:00. Many poor eating habits happen in the evening. All you are allowed is water after 19:00.
- Exercise 4-5 times a week for no more than 45 minutes. One of the biggest failures comes from setting foolish objectives, donāt promise to hit the gym for 3 hours every other night - you will fail (for most people)
- Buy gym equipment for the home if you can afford it (and have room at home) for the most part gyms are total waste of time unless getting access to home equipment proves difficult or you enjoy classes etc. And the cost of the equipment will be recovered after a few months.
- Concentrate on building muscle over cardio if you want to stay trim. Cardio is great (and should be part of your workout a bit) but I think it is the workout equivalent of fast food, doesnāt really benefit you in the long run.
- No pain no gain is stupid - if you feel pain stop, if you feel muscle tired thatās good. Also remember as you get stronger you get heavier, start packing on the muscle and that extra wait will hit your joints (e.g when running, so be careful).
- Forgive yourself, some days you will fail, some days you will skip, accept it and move on.
- DONāT GIVE UP. You will stumble, you will falter, but you will only fail if you give up.
Can I have you as a Personal Trainer?
Are you willing to commute to Preston?
Haha - years of trial and error, and injuries, and frustration and eventually building my knowledge and learning what works.
parkrun !!!
Itās too cold there.
Thatās the least of worries
It really depends on your definition of āfitā, for some people itās being thinner, for others itās being strongerā¦
And itās relative to your current position. If youāre obese, you may consider doing the 7 minute workout challenge once a day every day, and youāll get fit over time.
For others with better baseline fitness, this isnāt likely to make much difference, and indeed diet will make a greater overall impact on your health.
Generally speaking, you can get fit with very little equipment at all, you can build your strength with weights (cheap on amazon), or with a pull up bar. Go for runs when you can to build cardio and improve your vascular health.
I think thereās a lot of dogma attached to spending upwards of Ā£100 a month on gym memberships, when all you need is motivation and willingness to get outside more.
Agreed. But for me, it was learning what motivates me.
I will admit, Iām a gym snob. I tried to cheaper gyms, but the lack ofā¦ aesthetics, of towels, of a feeling somewhat of luxury meant I just didnāt go.
Outdoors and at home workouts donāt suit me because Iām social - I like to do it with others around me (such as in a class).
So I do pay nearly Ā£100 a month for me gym but I go 4/5 times a week now. Because it makes me feel good, and I know I can relax in the sauna or spa afterwards, and I love the products they provide. Itās all about knowing what you need to motivate yourself.
Plus, they iron my shirt in a morning while I workout and I hate ironing. Thatās probably a bigger reason that I thought haha.
What gym is this???
Virgin Active.
They have a Collections Club in central London which is expensive but was the closest one to my work. I was previously paying Ā£129 a month for it.
Iām moving jobs and the closest Virgin Active is a regular one, at Ā£96 a month, but it was one that they were going to make a Collection gym and fitted it all out, but then didnāt. It keeps the services on offer (like ironing of shirts in a morning) so itās great.