Friday, February 29, 2008

Frugal Friday: Avoid Gym Fees


This is my first Frugal Fridays post. Check out the other Frugal Friday ideas at Biblical Womanhood.

I used to think the only way to workout was join a gym and sweat like crazy! I was wrong. The only thing a gym did was cut into my savings. I purchased a few pieces of exercise equipment that I can use at home and have saved LOTS! My gym membership was running $75 a month (for the family - couldn't leave the kids at home by themselves) - $900 a year being wasted. I spent less than one month's membership fee on all my exercise equipment.


I have incorporated fitness DVDs, hand weights, exercise bands, resistance bands, jump rope and stability ball. Many of the items were purchased at Wal-Mart of Target but you can also find the items on Ebay and Craigslist. You could also create a post on Freecycle requesting these items. So, you could actually end up getting some items for free if someone is looking to get rid of theirs. Another place to check is your local Goodwill (or other thrift store).

There are also some benefits to working out at home...
No cost to join
No travel time

More time to workout (LOL...but without having to pack up the kids, the car and travel to the gym it would allow you to have more time)
Can listen (and sing along) to own music or watch TV while exercising (I could do this at my gym but I had to have my headphones on...)
Can use workout videos with friends
Can involve other family members
Can exercise any time at home

On top of all that, you can even get books from your local library that have great exercises in them. My favorites are: 101 Ways to Work Out on the Ball, 101 Ways to Work Out with Weights, and 101 Ways to Burn Fat on the Ball. Check them out and let me know what you think.



1 comment:

Carolyn said...

Just surfin' thru Blogger and found you. Very nice Blog. Keep up the good work!

Carolyn