Healthy Living: Alternatives To Gym Memberships

Healthy Living: Alternatives To Gym Memberships

Today's post is  from contributor - Natasha Gelder.  Natasha is a full time Literature student based in Leeds who is juggling the quests for higher education, money and rock hard abs. She believes exercising is a vital part of a healthy, balanced lifestyle and should not be seen as a chore.

One excuse that people frequently use to justify not doing enough exercise is that they cannot afford a gym membership, yes gyms can be pricey and the money that goes towards your monthly membership may have a better use elsewhere, but there are plenty of alternatives that won’t break the bank and will help to keep you healthy.

Pick up a skipping rope from your local supermarket, they are very cheap and do not require a lot of storage space. Providing that you are a healthy weight for your height, just ten minutes of skipping a day will provide you with enough cardiovascular activity to keep your heart healthy. Whilst you are in the supermarket you might as well buy a cheap workout DVD and commit to doing it three or four times a week, depending on the length, (shorter workout DVDs may require being done more times in order to see quick results). You may feel as though you are spending a lot of time in front of the television bouncing around when you could be doing the housework, but you would only be spending that time lounging around in front of the television catching up on your favourite programmes anyway.

Buy a decent pair of running shoes and go for a half hour jog four or five times a week, again you may feel as though your time would be better spent elsewhere but I’m sure that you can find just two out of the 156 hours there are in a week to focus on your fitness. One of the best things I have ever bought is a Kettlebell, you can incorporate them into just about every exercise routine, they are multi functional and can be used as weights and even medicine balls, just don’t throw them at each other. In fact, why not work with what you already have. If you have any heavy objects lying around the house they could work just as well, even small children can double up as weights and instead of spending your money on dumbbells you can improvise and use tinned goods.

Do some research and use the internet to find different exercises that target your specific problem areas and create your own circuit training style exercise plan. I have a couple of these I use when I don’t have time to go to the gym and alternate them so I don’t get bored. Why not go rollerblading or bike riding with friends? Put on your favourite CD and dance around your house like a lunatic whilst there is nobody else in, or if you have friends with a trampoline why not gatecrash their house and use it for half an hour, you’ll have that much fun that you won’t even realise how many calories you have burnt.

Keeping fit doesn’t have to be expensive or boring, there are loads of great ways to stay active that won’t burn a hole in your purse. You are out of excuses.

Natasha Gelder, full time Literature student based in Leeds who is juggling the quests for higher education, money and rock hard abs