Since I’m currently keeping on keeping on with last week’s Motivation Monday goal, I decided to do a mash-up of Frugal February and Motivation Monday today and talk about starting to exercise on a budget.
You Have to Spend Money
The first thing you need to realize when trying to lose weight while also minding your pocketbook is that you are going to have to spend some money on your weight loss goals. Depending on the reasons you gained weight, you may be able to merely redirect the funds you were spending on vices toward your new lifestyle choices and break even or come out ahead. Regardless, accept the fact that some cash must be parted with in pursuit of your goal, and that you and your health are worth a few monetary expenditures.
You do not need to begin your new life using soup cans and other household items in place of dumbbells. It is the equivalent of deciding to overhaul your car’s engine with a pair of scissors and a flathead screwdriver because they are at hand. Spend a few dollars (probably $5 to $10) and buy a set of hand weights and start with a basic series of weightlifting moves such as bicep curls, french presses for the triceps, chest presses, dead lifts for the hamstrings, weighted squats, rows, push-ups, and dips.
Free Workouts Online
You can start working out using free tools available on the internet. Spark People has an expansive library of health information and tools including calorie counters, recipes, exercise trackers, and exercise demonstrations. Free exercise videos pepper YouTube, and many of them are from professionals such as Jessica Smith – from Women’s Health and Prevention DVD releases. Smith frequently updates her channel with new workouts to keep you challenged both mentally and physically. Several other trainers offer snippets, such as one segment of a full-length video, on YouTube or a free full workout to promote an upcoming release.
Newsletter Sign-Ups
When you want to build an exercise DVD collection, it is important to sign-up for newsletters from a few different places to ensure you stay in touch with new releases and don’t overpay for the items. Both Collage Video and Fitness Fly routinely discount items while Fitness Fly sends out coupon codes and free shipping offers regularly. I acquired most of my Amy Bento collection through Fitness Fly for bargain prices when code discounts were applied. Collage Video usually has a few items on sale per week, but I find that the sites real value lies in letting you preview a DVD prior to purchase. This isn’t a full preview but several seconds from several different portions of the DVD that allow you to determine if the work presented will be a challenge or too easy.
Freecycle, Craigslist, Goodwill
People adopt a new exercise fad all the time, and as one fad gives way to another, it is super easy to grab up the leftovers of yesterday’s fad for a bargain price or for free. Exercise bikes, weights, and other small equipment frequently pops up on my local freecycle while I have grabbed a bargain retro exercise bike at Goodwill that was in excellent condition as well as plate weights for my husband to add to his bench press set. The bike was $5.00 and the additional plate weights were only $1.00 a piece.
At the end of the day, saving money on exercise and getting fit isn’t too different from saving in other areas of your life. The main difference lies in beginning to view exercise and fitness and any related expenditures to be as necessary as all other aspects of our life and as worthy of your time and energy.