A month of getting fit for free
The party season approaches, and I for one am really looking forward to slipping into something less comfortable! Yes, it’s little black dress time and I’m in the mood to get really toned up for it this year.
In true Golightly fashion, I’m giving myself a 30 day challenge – getting fitter and more toned for the smallest amount of cash possible. I’m not trying to lose weight, but will be drinking more water and eating healthily to help the old bod recover most effectively from the increased exercise.
To begin with, I went around the house and worked out what fitness stuff I had available to me. And I’ve dug up:
- Pilates ball
- Yoga mats
- Trainers
- Hand held weights
- Folding exercise bike
This is plenty to be getting on with, and even regular walking can make a huge difference to your health, so you hardly need anything to get going.
Meanwhile I’m starting gently, and remembering to warm up and cool down properly. The plan is to:
- Have a general increase in activity levels on most days (6 days per week)
- Alternate upper and lower body toning exercises every other day or so
- Do 100 sit ups per day (easy when you put the exercise ball right next to your work desk)
Yesterday was my Day One and I managed 100 abdominal crunches, plus 90 minutes on the exercise bike with the settings on low-ish resistance. While on the bike I watched some of the Autumn schedules’ trashiest TV – a complete guilty pleasure with the added bonus of getting fitter.
Today when I woke up I felt like I’d done a little work, but there was no real pain or discomfort so I’ll build up to harder workouts later during the week. I’ve also done 100 more sit-ups, 15 minutes of leg-toning exercises and 45 minutes on the bike this evening, with maybe a bit more cycling to come as I plough through some tacky Sci-Fi or overwrought thriller…
Other things to try if you want to get fit for free:
- Free trial membership of a gym
- Fitness classes on YouTube etc
- Fitness games
- Borrow a DVD from a friend
- Running clubs
- Free apps
My progress reports for the month:
What fitness equipment do you have gathering dust in your home? Is it time you cleaned it up and started using it?
I have hand held weights and the big exercise ball. I’m supposed to be using both more regularly than I should to help with deteriorating muscle tone in my lower back and abdomen area-the “core.” I accept the challenge Penny, and hope I can get energized with you and the rest of your groupies who join in.
I have a lot of DVD, I actually found a few in the £ shops. The only problem is actually mustering up the willpower to do it!
Hi Sandra / Sam – you’ll never regret making the effort to improve your core strength. It’s an excellent investment in your health. Good luck with your plan.
PS Groupies? Not sure I have groupies really 🙂
Hello Victoria – just mark the time out in your diary and do it, rather than waiting for the motivation to strike. If you own them, you might as well use them!