Working out on a budget (of $0)...suggestions?

[Varitek]

I can't join a gym or otherwise put out for equipment right now. I've got my ipod, sneakers, workout clothing, a towel but not a yoga mat, no freeweights and I'm looking for ways to work out with just that for $ reasons. For some reason I loathe running outside (and also it's freezing) though I might make myself try it in the spring. I found a few suggestions on websites that I'm thinking about trying but I was wondering if anyone else has advice/a routine/links...


100 pushups in 6 weeks
one hundred push ups

200 situps in 6 weeks
two hundred sit-ups

I'm also thinking about pilates by video, which my cousin swears by.

sooo...tips?

 

[RedRocksU2]

Yoga?

 

[Varitek]

yeah i suppose i should poke around youtube/google vids for pilates and yoga vids.

 

[RedRocksU2]

Library.........

 

[Mr. BAW]

We decided against a gym ala LA Fitness, 24-hour Fitness, Bally's...we found the best monthly rate at the city's community center...the equipment is new, updated with no Trainer's pressure or stares from the muscle-bound guys! spin class, zumba, showers, lockers, first class...and for only $14 a month when we previously paid $60 a month...

 

[Varitek]

Thanks for the suggestions, guys, but I'm living somewhere where library and community centers aren't options. Plus, I suspect that there are better vids online than in libraries at this point.

 

[lazarus]

GAF asked me to post his advice as his computer is on the fritz:

 

[redhotswami]

Are you near a Bally? I think you have until Jan 31 to sign up for the National Body Challenge. It's a free program that you sign up for online that includes a free 1 month membership at Bally. I do it every year.

 

[Liesje]

In gymnastics we did all conditioning and cardio, so we didn't have lifting equipment and all that. Some of the stuff we did:

- squats
- lunges
- you can do both of the above holding textbooks
- "Supermans" (lie on your stomach, hook your feet under a couch or heavy object, put your hands on your head and lift your chest up. Hold books behind your head for more resistance)
- "Fire hydrants" (get on all fours like a dog, lift one of your back legs up so it's level with the ground. Do sets and longer ones where you hold up your leg for 30-seconds)
- V-ups (like sit-ups but harder - lie flat on your back with your arms out above your head, do a sit-up so you fold in half and touch your toes)
- for calves we would stand against a wall on a balance beam but you could do this on a stair, then slowly go up and down on your toes

For my arms I just made some free weights out of old jugs (milk, cleaning solution...) filled with water. You can lift them up straight, out to the sides, curl them in and out, push them straight up.....

 

[TripThruUreWires]

I found myself in a very similar situation as you recently (stuck in a frigid, cold climate, reluctant to purchase a gym membership or workout equipment/gear, yet wanting to be physically active).

yoga/pilates workouts that you can follow at home are great, but i would still encourage you to just suck it up a little and integrate a walk/jog/run outdoors--at least a couple times a week (so long as you don't risk frostbite).

no one really looks forward to stepping out there in such weather, but if it involves aerobic activity, it's well worth it in the end. just put on a couple layers of clothing, and you ought to be comfortable enough. first off, the lower temperatures serve to boost your metabolism and, therefore, the number of calories burned (minus the sweat). you also ensure your daily requirement of vitamin D--something so many people lack during winter months.

i personally love cruising along wintry landscapes. along with my ipod playing, i find myself oblivious to the temperature in no time at all.

 

[dsmith2904]

I have FIOS digital cable and it offers a free on-demand library of exercise programs (aerobics, pilates, yoga, dance). Maybe your TV has a similar option.

 

[snowbunny00774]

can you at least spring for a medicine ball, or a couple of resistance bands and a skipping rope?

You can incorporate the 1st two into the stuff Lies suggested for added resistence, but even with all that stuff you are not doing much cardio.

If you can get a cheap skipping rope that will help your cardio - otherwise I'd suggest listening to some upbeat songs and doing stairs - even if you only have two steps, work out a good one-two up down routine and then sideways stepping up and down as well - enough to get your heart rate up to make it count. If you have one or two fairly decent size rooms clear a path and do wind sprints - make up the shortness in the duration.

Good Luck! In the spring look for some playground equipment - you can find lots of stuff to do there online.

You can also work the stairs in to some lunges.

 

[BoMac]

Sexercise

 

[Varitek]

i'll check out some of those excercises for sure. my other problem is my room is barely big enough to work out in, the only other space is the kitchen and i'm sure my flatmate would looooove to see a sweat-dripping me doing lunges by the fridge.

yeah, i'm fucked. at least i'm on the too-poor-to-buy-enough-food-to-overeat diet!

Are you near a Bally? I think you have until Jan 31 to sign up for the National Body Challenge. It's a free program that you sign up for online that includes a free 1 month membership at Bally. I do it every year.

i'm in europe, remember?

Sexercise

will do as much as possible, probably the best solution to the need for cardio/aerobic excercise

can you at least spring for a medicine ball, or a couple of resistance bands and a skipping rope?

not really, i have neither the space for it in my apartment nor the ability to jump up and down rapidly without incurring the wrath of the downstairs neighbors and my flatmate. nor, to be honest, the budget. i'd rather spend that money on beer.

I have FIOS digital cable and it offers a free on-demand library of exercise programs (aerobics, pilates, yoga, dance). Maybe your TV has a similar option.

if i had money for cable, i'd spend it on a gym membership.

i really am a naysayer, sorry, i do appreciate the advice as every idea that is relevant helps.

 

[Varitek]

- "Supermans"

oh man that song is gonna be stuck in my head whenever i do this

 

[redhotswami]

i'm in europe, remember?

omg what??? you were just in dc! we need to catch up and stuff.

 

[ShipOfFools]

I'm stuck in the same dilemma. I just cancelled my YMCA membership, because I'm struggling financially, and I couldn't afford it. I'm looking for a cheaper alternative, but it isn't easy finding one.

 

[blueeyedgirl]

i'd rather spend that money on beer.

Call me clutching at straws, but maybe this may have some effect on your fitness and body shape???????



*believes yoga counteracts white wine consumption*

 

[anitram]

What is it that you want to do? Do you want to tone your body or do you want to lose weight or build endurance?

Cheapest cardio that works better than anything else anyway was what my old roommate and I used to do back in our poverty-stricken days: we'd run up and down the stairs of our apartment building. Sure you get a few looks now and then, but nothing else builds calories like stair running, plus you're indoors. It's tough on the knees though, so I wouldn't recommend it on a daily basis.

 

[bigjohn2441]

^i was just gonna ask that.

if you wanna burn fat quickly try HIIT (high intensity interval training) do a google search to find out all about it. you do the workout in like 20 minutes 2-3 times a week, but it is really hard.

as for building muscle without going to a gym id say:

pushups - all different kinds of them
situps/crunches
squats
pullups/chinups - you can simply take a round metal bar or something and some rope and use a tree branch to make a pullup bar. might even be able to just use rope.
flutter kicks

 

[Varitek]

Call me clutching at straws, but maybe this may have some effect on your fitness and body shape???????



*believes yoga counteracts white wine consumption*

I'm actually in pretty good shape, although I got pretty winded running to the front of the mall for that concert in subfreezing temperatures and had to do walk-run-walk-run sets. it's a matter of wanting to maintain my "body shape" despite beer consumption.

white wine gives me hangovers from hell.

What is it that you want to do? Do you want to tone your body or do you want to lose weight or build endurance?

Cheapest cardio that works better than anything else anyway was what my old roommate and I used to do back in our poverty-stricken days: we'd run up and down the stairs of our apartment building. Sure you get a few looks now and then, but nothing else builds calories like stair running, plus you're indoors. It's tough on the knees though, so I wouldn't recommend it on a daily basis.

I might try that I want to maintain weight (see above), build some endurance, but mainly tone is my issue. Hence the pilates videos idea. I have no desire to build muscle mass.