Quite a busy week just gone, and I didn’t manage to make it out for a free swim. Here’s how the free fitness turned out over the last 7 days:

• Sunday: 30 minutes of aerobic exercises on the Wii fit. A bit of an afterthought as I had a busy weekend. Still, at least it’s better than nothing.

• Wednesday: 70 minutes of Wii step, including 20 minutes with weights. Lost track of time and did more than I intended to, but no pain or breathlessness, or problems afterwards. Stopped using weights after old shoulder injury started to play up slightly, but no residual problems. Might be time for a sports massage soon though.

• Thursday: 35 minutes of yoga from a recorded TV show. It looked tame from the title, but turned out to be fairly advanced with a real need for upper body strength and core strength, and the teacher went from asana to asana rapidly and talked in jargon a lot without explaining things. Fortunately I’ve done a fair bit of hatha and Iyengar yoga over the years so no injuries, but wow, that was not suitable for beginners or the truly unfit.

• Friday: 40 minutes of Wii step, plus 20 minutes of brisk walking. Lung capacity seems to be improving, and general muscle tone has continued to improve too.

• Sunday: 30 minutes of aerobic exercises on the Wii fit, 10 minutes of stretching, 50 sit ups.

How did it go? I managed 5 sessions, but three of them were relatively short. I confess I was a bit surprised at how bad my hamstrings were, but they should improve over the next few days given some care and attention. In dire need of a shoulder massage now too.

What’s next? There’s still time for another five sessions before the end of February, so I’ll try some more DVDs and lots of stretching, and start to mix in some high intensity exercise too. Think I’d better create a timetable since ad-hoc sessions are too sporadic and it’s too easy to forget.

Are you doing any exercise this February? Any get-fit-for-free tips to share?

As you might remember, I’ve been trying to get fitter this month without parting with any cash, and I managed to exercise on five days last week.

I said I was going to see what free equipment and other things I could lay my hands on. Well, a quick look around the house and shed has revealed two yoga mats and some mini dumbbells (in pink, bletch, but beggars can’t be choosers), which is a start. Was also reminded that I had a free rental code for LoveFilm who might send me an exercise DVD instead of a movie, although there was no guarantee of when it might arrive.

Here’s how the second week went:

• Monday: Still had a sore throat and some queasiness when I woke up, so decided to stick with ‘safe’ exercise. Did an hour of step on top speed, and 50 sit-ups. No problem at the time, and by the afternoon I was feeling a lot healthier too.

• Tuesday: Pilates matwork from a recorded TV show. Way better than the one I tried last week, this one was a good half an hour of proper exercises that went on for 30 minutes without any annoying ad breaks. Felt nice and toned after the matwork, without having overdone it.

• Wednesday: Half an hour of step at top speed with hand weights, half an hour of Wii fit running and coordination games, 50 sit-ups. Tired before I started, shattered afterwards.

• Thursday: Lower-body workout from a recorded TV show. About 25 minutes of continuous, fairly challenging exercises – could feel the muscles working hard. Right knee making crunching noises so was extra careful with lunges etc.

• Friday: Rest day. No delayed muscle pain, but feeling washed out and sleepy.

How did it go? On Monday I could already feel some improvement in muscle tone, which was extremely encouraging. My appetite has increased too, and I’m eating more to make sure I don’t lose weight.

What’s next? Will be doing some Wii Fit later this afternoon, to make it 5 sessions for this week again. I’m dying to go for a swim, so hopefully next week I’ll be able to find a free trial at a gym that has a pool. Watch this space. Still waiting to see whether LoveFilm are going to send me an exercise DVD or not.

Are you getting fit at the moment, or boosting current levels of fitness? Any ideas for me that involve no spending?

This is a belated mini-resolution, seeing as there’s too much pressure in January generally, and I’ve been full of germs. Without further ado, I give you Free Fitness February.

What’s the idea? I’m hoping to raise my fitness levels significantly without spending any money, that’s what. There are umpteen articles written about this every year, all hup-hup-hup and inspirational, but honestly I think there’s more than a little whistling in the dark going on there.

Seriously, in order to spend nothing you need to already own sports gear, a decent pair of trainers and ideally some waterproofs. The weather’s vile most of the time in February and my lungs really don’t need lots of cold air right now so I’m going to be realistic about exercising outdoors in the freezing rain – if I can find something else to do instead then I’ll be doing that.

Anyway, here’s the vague plan for the next 4 weeks. I’m going to start gently this week so I don’t anger my lungs and aggravate old knee and shoulder injuries, then I’m going to step it up and try to do something most weekdays.

Ideally I’m aiming for a happy medium between:

• Aerobic exercise, both extended moderate and short intense bursts
• Flexibility and body conditioning
• Strength training, especially weight-bearing exercises

That variation should stop me getting bored as well (famous last words)…

Yesterday I went for a brisk walk the long way around the block. Managed about 25 minutes and felt fine during and afterwards. Sort of testing the water, if you will. This bodes well for stepping it up.

By the way, I’m not hoping to lose any weight. I’d be really, really annoyed if I had to replace any clothes at the start of March.

Are you doing any fitness training? Do you have any tips for free exercise?