Last week I posted about eating healthily on a budget and I thought that it would be ideal to follow it up with a budget friendly fitness post.  As i mentioned before on the blog, I really believe that you don’t have to have a gym membership to get an effective workout.  Setting up a make shift gym at home or exercising outdoors (weather permitting) have become very popular.

Setting up a home gym…almost

If like me you haven’t got a spare room to fill with cardio machines and other fitness equipment, and let’s not forget the expense of doing so (ouch!), you can easily buy smaller fitness items for a great home workout.  These can easily be stored away and taken out when needed. I’ve been checking out some affordable pieces on the web:

1.  Weighted hula hoop

2. Speed rope

3. Kettle bells

4. Balance ball

5. Dumbbell weights

6.  Exercise step

7. Yoga mat

There are some great resources online now and I can’t rave enough about YouTube. I’ve found some great exercise podcasts based around the fitness equipment that I compiled above:

1. Hula hoop exercises with Hoopnotica

2. Fitness Blender’s beginners kettle bell workout

3. Fat burning jump rope workout

4. Total body workout

5.  Jillian Michaels: Yoga Meltdown Level 1

Obviously there are plenty of fitness DVDs on the market, some are better than others.  Once you find one that you enjoy it’s a great way to get fit in the comfort of your own home.  I’m a big fan of anything by Jillian Michaels.

Fitness outdoors

Running is a great way to get fit and one major benefit is that it’s free. I really love to get outside and run in the countryside, also I think it’s much more fun than running on a static treadmill. Winter time running can be hard to get out of bed for, but once you remind yourself how great you will feel during and afterwards it works as great motivation.

You don’t have to be a natural born runner to get a good work out, anyone can do it!  Start off slow, perhaps running for a minute then walking for a minute.  If you are thinking about training for a race then check out these awesome websites for some training inspiration: 5K, 10K, half marathon, marathon.

Other outdoor activities that you could try that are also cost effective are hiking, biking and perhaps rowing.  Of course initially, you do have the cost of buying the equipment, but in the long-term they still equate to being much cheaper than a yearly gym membership.

Yoga

One of my all time favourite forms of exercise to do at home is yoga.  I love going to hot yoga classes, but let’s face it, they’re not cheap. Using the internet and a yoga mat at home is a lot more budget friendly. Check out yogadownload.com, blogilates and YouTube for some yoga at home inspiration.

I think it’s important to remember that fitness doesn’t have to be expensive.  It’s essentially about using what you’ve got and getting the best workout you can. Oh, and to have fun of course!

How do you find working out at home?  Do you have any budget fitness tips?