Are you amongst those who are not swayed by the fancy equipment, or the wiles of the promotional offers by the receptionist at the gym? Well, relax. You’re not alone. We believe that fitness and health are valuable, but we can always bypass the skyrocket prices. We bring to you some effective, perky instructor-free, alternatives to gym-work outs. Stay in shape on a budget!
1. Brisk walk
A morning walk is the best thing to start your day with. Breathing fresh air while listening to your favorite music and surrendering yourself to the nature, morning walk is the most refreshing thing. A 30-45 minutes of morning walk is essential as it will help you lose that flab and will also cleanse your lungs with fresh air which is otherwise impossible when sitting in an air conditioned office. Make sure that you walk in the right technique and with the right shoes. The faster and longer you walk, the more weight you shed. Walking helps regulate blood pressure and burns more calories and its free of cost too J. Also indulge in some walking after you have finished your meals. Go for a stroll after dinner for about 10-15 minutes, this keeps bloating away; and also prevents gas and acidity problems.
2. Running
Running is one of the most effective calorie-blasting workouts and guarantees an improved physical and mental health. Running gives you strong, toned up leg muscles. Also, it ensures proper functioning of lungs and a controlled body weight and keeps blood pressure in check. Running can not only be restricted to on-ground running, but you can run on your house’s stairs, your office building, or the steps to the local market. So, what’s stopping you? Lace-up your sneakers, put on some pumped up music, and hit the ground running!
3. Pitches, clubs, and courts
Join your local sports club, get your wolf-pack ready, and get set for a game of Tennis, basketball, football, badminton, table tennis, or any sport that you’d enjoy. It’s a fun way to exercise with your family and friends. The dynamic movements of the body involved in a sport provide full body workout, enhances flexibility of the body, improves balance and coordination, and is an effective brain-workout that promises improved concentration and focus of the mind.
4. Swimming
No, we’re not talking about those Olympic-sized pools to swim laps. We’re suggesting you to join your community poolnext door. Learn swimming because it’s fun and the most refreshing exercise to beat the heat in summers. Also, water offers natural resistance, which helps to strengthen muscles as well as bid goodbye to those saddlebags and say hello to lean, thin thighs!
5. Dancing
Dance away those extra kilos because there is no exercise more fun than dancing. It is the new age fitness mantra! Take up a dance form and you will never ever procrastinate on going to your next dancing session. It is the least monotonous exercise and believe me, once you start enjoying it, you will always look forward to the next day. Unlike gym workout, which after few days becomes tough, dull and boring, a dance class will keep you excited as there is too much fun in it and it also helps you relax and lets you forget about all the stress. So shake your bon-bon and boogie your way to fitness!
6. Fitness Classes:
Join some sports club nearby or go for yoga, pilates, zumba, kickboxing or anything that interests you. Various sports clubs offer great discounts when you join them with your spouse or with a group of friends, this will also keep you motivated to be regular and will be even more fun to attend.
7. Bicycling
The ideal time recommended to workout is about 75-150 minutes of exercise a week. In order to meet this target, cycling is a great option, for both the newbies in the fitness world, as well as the old players. One of the most commonly heard complaints by the gym enthusiasts is- joint pains, esp. in the knees which is often the result of excessive tread-milling, over-weight lifting. These people can always shift to bicycling, which is accessible, easy to do and ensures that you work on your upper and lower body.
