Can’t afford the gym?

buffalogal42
buffalogal42 Posts: 374 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
First, let me say I have been there. I am fortunate now to be able to afford gym/classes/trainer but haven’t always been.

But as I was doing my class this weekend, I realized we were outside in a park and I was getting my butt absolutely kicked with no equipment and no walls.

Park is about .5 mile square. We had stations set up at each corner and ran/walked between them for two laps (hitting each station twice). Stations had 4 exercises at each corner and we did reps of 10-8-6-4-2 round 1 and 9-7-5-3-1 round 2 (of each of the 4). There was a small hill so one station had things like bear crawls down/crab walks up with decline pushups and lunge jumps. There is a small set of bleachers (steps or picnic table could work also) so we did step ups/jumps, toe taps, tricep dips and incline pushups. There was a playground so we did pullups, hanging leg raises ... other stations included burpees, mountain climbers, body weight squats ... most of these things could be modified for low impact.

Just thinking ... it pays to be creative. You can get a great workout in at the park ... and if you have kids it can be while they are playing!

Replies

  • zerocold961
    zerocold961 Posts: 17 Member
    Planet fitness, for $10 a month, you can't go wrong. you can also cancel anytime.
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    convictconditioning - all bodyweight exercises you can do at home
  • kristingjertsen
    kristingjertsen Posts: 239 Member
    The local business park has walking trails with exercise stations. There are parks and greenways nearby, too and you can always walk in your neighborhood and work out with body weight exercises and weights at home. I belong to local gym for 14 per month for all classes and amenities.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,616 Member
    Many parks have outdoor exercise equipment now.

    When I moved here, I was quite out of shape, but we'd walk a couple km to a local park with exercise equipment, I'd do a few sets, and then we'd walk back. The equipment might not have been gym quality, but it wasn't too bad, and I started getting into shape.

    Our gyms here are quite expensive, so we drop into the university gym for a reduced rate (I'm a pt student) occasionally, and otherwise, I use the small home gym we've created, ride my bicycles inside or out, run, climb the stairs at work, and do lots of walking. :)
  • ExistingFish
    ExistingFish Posts: 1,259 Member
    edited August 2018
    Good ideas. But really, how expensive is the gym? I pay $29.99/month. DH lost his job in June and we put a freeze on it, but by August we realized that we could not only afford it, but we could afford him a membership as well. On unemployment. While feeding a family of 5 (we did have food benefits). It's less than a tank of gas. It's less than fast food for a family of 5. It's $1 a day for me, $2 for both of us. It's less than a coffee a day. (Also important because regular exercise is an important part of managing my anxiety disorder, so it was worth it to us).

    There are gyms available for cheaper (Planet Fitness, 10 fitness) than I pay. It just depends on how much money you want to spend on your health. Think about your cell phone bill, your TV/cable bill, your internet bill. That said, if you'd rather work out at home, or at the park, more power to you. I find I get a more intense workout if I do it at the gym. I can workout at home, same weights, same reps, same sets, but my HR monitor will tell me I do less intensity, and I know I do less.

    That and I need the childcare, at home or the park I'm having to supervise 3 small humans. I can't devote my entire attention to my workout. At the gym, they provide childcare, I can focus. That is important to me (and may have been the problem with my home workouts)
  • ExistingFish
    ExistingFish Posts: 1,259 Member
    In fact, most health insurance will help with gym fees. When our new insurance kicks in on the first, it will cover DH's gym fees and $20 out of the $29.99 that I pay (childcare costs more).
  • thisPGHlife
    thisPGHlife Posts: 440 Member
    ExistingFish wrote: »
    In fact, most health insurance will help with gym fees. When our new insurance kicks in on the first, it will cover DH's gym fees and $20 out of the $29.99 that I pay (childcare costs more).

    I am really excited for you that y'all are able to make it work while DH is on unemployment. That is not always the case for every family. Saying that it's only $10 or only $30 is saying that real poverty doesn't exist. And even outside of extreme poverty, there are individuals and family's that may only have a spare $50 or $100 a month but are trying to save it for their kids Christmas or some other thing that takes precedence over going to the gym right now.

    So yes, your health is important and moving more is part if that. But, the intention of this post seems to be more about the fact that for those individuals who literally can't afford it, or who are trying to prioritize their cash flow, they have some awesome options.

    Again, I'm happy for you and I wish y'all luck in your husband's search for work. I know how hard it can be!
  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,741 Member
    Plus, it's not always cost-related. I love the gym atmosphere and go to a couple different gyms regularly, however, getting outside when the weather permits is such a nice change of pace! No matter what I'm doing outside the time goes by much quicker than inside a gym.

    I often prefer purposeful movement over monotonous exercise.
  • urloved33
    urloved33 Posts: 3,323 Member
    edited August 2018
    ExistingFish wrote: »
    Good ideas. But really, how expensive is the gym? I pay $29.99/month. DH lost his job in June and we put a freeze on it, but by August we realized that we could not only afford it, but we could afford him a membership as well. On unemployment. While feeding a family of 5 (we did have food benefits). It's less than a tank of gas. It's less than fast food for a family of 5. It's $1 a day for me, $2 for both of us. It's less than a coffee a day. (Also important because regular exercise is an important part of managing my anxiety disorder, so it was worth it to us).

    There are gyms available for cheaper (Planet Fitness, 10 fitness) than I pay. It just depends on how much money you want to spend on your health. Think about your cell phone bill, your TV/cable bill, your internet bill. That said, if you'd rather work out at home, or at the park, more power to you. I find I get a more intense workout if I do it at the gym. I can workout at home, same weights, same reps, same sets, but my HR monitor will tell me I do less intensity, and I know I do less.

    That and I need the childcare, at home or the park I'm having to supervise 3 small humans. I can't devote my entire attention to my workout. At the gym, they provide childcare, I can focus. That is important to me (and may have been the problem with my home workouts)

    im w you on this. the gym has been AN ESSENTIAL part of my life for over 35 years...part of my kids life when they were growing up and now too when they are grown and gone from home...im still a mber.

  • urloved33
    urloved33 Posts: 3,323 Member
    cant afford not to.
  • TheMagicOneMikeD
    TheMagicOneMikeD Posts: 94 Member
    I have a membership to the Y. It's the only "gym" within 30 miles.

    But I have dumbbells at home too. And I figured out a way to get paid to get some exercise in. I mow people's lawns for $10. The only reason I charge is because I can't really stomach the idea of doing the work for free.

    That lawn money (I feel like a kid again talking about lawn money) pays for the Y membership, whey protein, bcaa's (I know a lot of folks don't like em, but I don't see any harm), and a couple other things.

    Can't beat getting paid to get in better shape. That might be something to do if someone can't afford it or there aren't any gyms in their town.
  • sexymom04
    sexymom04 Posts: 263 Member
    some people can't afford a gym even at $10/month. I choose to exercise at home since the money I would spend on the gym, I can spend on equipment that I can use and I don't have to wait for equipment to be free
  • ExistingFish
    ExistingFish Posts: 1,259 Member
    skram01 wrote: »
    ExistingFish wrote: »
    In fact, most health insurance will help with gym fees. When our new insurance kicks in on the first, it will cover DH's gym fees and $20 out of the $29.99 that I pay (childcare costs more).

    I am really excited for you that y'all are able to make it work while DH is on unemployment. That is not always the case for every family. Saying that it's only $10 or only $30 is saying that real poverty doesn't exist. And even outside of extreme poverty, there are individuals and family's that may only have a spare $50 or $100 a month but are trying to save it for their kids Christmas or some other thing that takes precedence over going to the gym right now.

    So yes, your health is important and moving more is part if that. But, the intention of this post seems to be more about the fact that for those individuals who literally can't afford it, or who are trying to prioritize their cash flow, they have some awesome options.

    Again, I'm happy for you and I wish y'all luck in your husband's search for work. I know how hard it can be!

    He just started a new job today actually!

    I think everyone is different, it's so important to my mental health that I'd go to the gym and find other ways to afford gifts. My kids really enjoy the childcare too, so it's almost like a MDO or something they get to go to three times a week, so it is good for them too.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,616 Member
    edited August 2018
    ExistingFish wrote: »
    Good ideas. But really, how expensive is the gym?

    The best gym around here charges $1,144.00/year (95.33/month) * 2 because there were two of us getting memberships.

    We did that for one year and then dropped it. Just way too expensive.


    The one we drop in at works out to about $18 total each time we drop in.



    And no ... health insurance doesn't cover a cent.

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