Small town with no gym - workout ideas?

zrmac804
zrmac804 Posts: 369 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi, I need some exercise ideas for people living in a rural area. I'm in a small (about 800 people) town with no type of gym or fitness facilities. The nearest gym is a YMCA which is a two-hour round trip. That gym is well-equipped but I don't have the time or money to drive there every day. I am trying to pay off student loans so I can't really justify the cost of home gym equipment right now.

Could you please give me some ideas for exercise that can be done by one person, with little extra equipment or preparation? I am also interested in exercises suitable for night-time, indoors and in bad weather.

Thanks very much, and I look forward to hearing from fellow MFPer's

Replies

  • ky2001ank
    ky2001ank Posts: 7 Member
    I do a lot of workout videos on www.fitnessblender.com . They are free, and you can search by what area of your body you want to work on, or what type of workout you want to do, low impact, cardio, etc. I love them!
  • erinjohns315
    erinjohns315 Posts: 6 Member
    I've hear of a lot of people using bodyrocktv.com. You can also find things on youtube, or find a used set of Insanity.
  • megxmas95
    megxmas95 Posts: 26
    Running is good for during the day if you have good pathways where you live - there are tons of Couch to 5k programmes that will get you started!

    For indoors and variation, I love love love www.fitnessblender.com - they have tons of free workout videos of all kinds of difficulty, length and calorie burn, really clear and a great workout, even if you don't have equipment!

    I also love dance workout DVDs - amazon will be your best bet for that sort of thing!
  • dmpizza
    dmpizza Posts: 3,321 Member
    Push ups
    burpees
    mountain climbers

    Check with your local high school or middle school. There may be hours that residents can use their equipment.
  • lisaanne1369
    lisaanne1369 Posts: 377 Member
    start running!
  • tericam1958
    tericam1958 Posts: 1 Member
    Especially in the nice weather, use outdoor home/yard projects to get exercise - gardening, mowing, raking, sweeping, painting.... And, indoors mopping, vacuuming, painting..... kill two birds with the same stone! Another idea is to walk wherever you need to go - or pick a couple places you can walk to instead of drive, or maybe ride a bike to. Put on your favorite music and dance! These are some other ideas to add with work out video's.
  • amy32lynn
    amy32lynn Posts: 157 Member
    youbube has tons of workout video!!!!!!!! :)
    :wink:
  • greytniki
    greytniki Posts: 51 Member
    Rummage sales and yard sales are a great places to pick up nice but very cheap weights, exercise bikes and such.
  • MichelleAymond
    MichelleAymond Posts: 53
    i do alot of home workouts as well, and i have a gym membership....also a full time job and 3 kids, so it's not always easy to go (even if it is open 24/7). on youtube i subscribe to "toreteachesfitness"....she does a TON of workouts you can do at home with something as simple as a dishrag or hand towel. also if you instagram, there are several accounts on there that post at home excercises nearly daily. probably facebook too, but i don't facebook so i wouldn't know! good luck to you!
  • jr1985
    jr1985 Posts: 1,033 Member
    an exercise DVD sounds like a great option! You can get tons for super cheap on ebay... I love my dancing with the stars latin mix dvd! I also have a belly dancing dvd that is a blast and makes you feel super sexy... but good thing I do it in living room where no one else can see, because I'm sure I look like the dancing hippos on fantasia in reality :)
  • _benjammin
    _benjammin Posts: 1,224 Member
    http://www.nerdfitness.com/
    Is there a park nearby? If so: http://www.youtube.com/user/OfficialBarstarzz
    You are your own gym: http://www.youtube.com/user/MarkLauren2/featured
  • angf0679
    angf0679 Posts: 1,121 Member
    Youtube is full of workout videos. I use Jillian Michaels. (Currently doing Ripped in 30). All you would need to get are some hand weights (Not that expensive. I have 3lb, 5lb and 8lb - Currently only using 5lb. Trying to get back up to 8lb! I found mine at WalMart). The other thing she recommends (same with any workout) is a mat if you are working out on hard surface. I would also recommend it if you are working out on carpet. Until I got one, I kept getting carpet burn on my knees!
  • elpomo
    elpomo Posts: 16 Member
    Some of the greatest exercise you can does not require a gym or little to no equipment whatsoever (hiking, running, push ups, sit ups, yoga ball exercise DVD's, etc.). You may not end up all "swole" but body-weight only exercises are great and tough to do.

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