How do poor people exercise?

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  • FabCheeky
    FabCheeky Posts: 311
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    You don't need any money to exercise. You just need time. You can do calesthenics (pushups, jumping jacks, sit ups, sqats, lunges, etc.). You can, as you say, walk or run, both excellent exercises. A chair with arms but without wheels is a good piece of exercise equipment. Sit in it and use your arms to lift and lower your body weight. Sit on the edge, lean bad and alternately raise each knee to your chest.

    Turn on some music and dance your *kitten* off (literally)!!

    Great suggestions! You absolutely, positively DO NOT need a gym to lose weight/get fit. Our bodies provide us with all the restistance weight that we need for working out. If you're motivated, you are all that you'll need. Do as mentioned above, jump rope, leg raises, dips in a chair., etc. Is there a high school football stadium nearby? Go there to run stairs. No fancy equipment required! Good luck!

    ^^This. My kids are the extra weights that I use when I need MORE resistance and can't get to the gym. My son weighs 78 pounds and I will put him on my back---piggie back style---and do sprints in my back yard. I throw my daughter (30 pounds) in the air repeatedly---until my arms are too sore for it to be safe. My daughter will sit on my belly while I do crunches. I do yoga with both of my kids. Playing tag is a great way to burn calories. DANCING! Oh, dancing is great for burning calories and bad moods.

    Youtube has hundreds of different styles of work outs done by hundreds of different people. Zumba, Pilates, Yoga, basic calisthenics, Crossfit (this is where Iearned how to do burpees) work outs, etc.

    Some cable television even offers "on demand" exercise channels in addition to the standard exercise channel.
  • heathersmilez
    heathersmilez Posts: 2,579 Member
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    Borrow fitness DVD's from the library, burn them (10 cents per DVD) and now you have a huge collection that you got for nearly NOTHING! DVD players that play DIVX (burned copies) are $20-40 at Walmart and anywhere that sells electronics. I have one new in box I could sell if anyone is interested! We bought 2 when we bought our first home 5 years ago but I only use 1 in the bsmt with an old TV. We invested in blu-ray players when we bought TV's for other parts of the house.

    Or if you are me, you forget DVD’s and blurays are due in 3 days rather than 2 weeks like books and end up owing $10.00 after 2 months of borrowing dozens of DVD's and blu-rays! Oopsies! It was worth it, $10 is the cost of renting 2 DVD's or 1.5 blu-rays at Rogers here in Toronto!
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
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    There are some great ideas here! I think the biggest thing at this point is to shake things up and it sounds like you already know that. What you've been doing is no longer causing the weight to drop off, so it's time to do something different and definitely something more intense.

    Without spending any extra money, you can simply increase your run/jog intervals when you walk/jog. I've slowly worked my way up to 4 minutes jogging and 1 minute walking and because I keep pushing myself to go a little farther and faster, I'm still dropping weight.
  • kt4president
    kt4president Posts: 14
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    If you have "on demand" included with your cable then you have FREE access to lots of work out DVDs courtesy of exercise tv. :) I learned to bellydance thanks to this!
    Also, my body hit a mini plateau at the end of every ten pounds and that's normal. (i.e. From the 180s to the 170s) Keep pushin', mama!
  • sarah44254
    sarah44254 Posts: 3,078 Member
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    bodyrock.tv has videos you can watch for free. practice with this chick, no equipment required.

    do anything to get your heart rate up, jumping jacks, push ups, high knees, running in place. anything. do it long enough and you burn a significant amount of calories. :) free exercise!
  • SugarBaby1987
    SugarBaby1987 Posts: 62 Member
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    You can buy 30 day shred on Ebay or you can pay & have it instantly downloaded online. Excellent workout!
  • duckpond11
    duckpond11 Posts: 197 Member
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    I think Jillian Michael's 30 day stretch DVD is about $10. But you can do body weight only calesthenics in your living room without spending a dime! just google "body weight circuit" and you'll find a lot of free workouts. If any of them tell you to use dumbbells - replace them with something equally heavy that you have laying around the house - how about filling up some milk jugs with water or something heavier than water if you need it? Good luck!
  • taso42_DELETED
    taso42_DELETED Posts: 3,394 Member
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  • charlottebronte
    charlottebronte Posts: 88
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    Some high schools, community colleges, universities, and local hotels have accessible gyms and swimming pools.
  • cheryl72076
    cheryl72076 Posts: 27
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    This maybe a dumb question considering you're saying you dont have $ for a gym membership but do you have NetFlix? If so there are several instant pilates videos and other workout videos for that matter. If not you still have plenty of options....you have all sorts of things around the house to use as weights. Instead of just walking pick up the pace to a jog and/or add hills and stairs. Good luck and keep up the great work!
  • tladame
    tladame Posts: 465 Member
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    I also don't belong to a gym; I do workout DVDs. I got two of Jillian Michaels' at walmart.com for around $8 each, or you could probably rent them from a library. I already had a cheap set of 3-lb. dumbells, which you could probably find on craigslist. I also jog a few times a week.

    So, I've spent less than $20 on workout equipment since I started this in February. It doesn't have to be expensive to lose weight!
  • mkallie
    mkallie Posts: 110 Member
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    I don't like to go to the gym much, so I do a lot of stuff with resistance bands, free weights, a bosu (that was kind of expensive, but cheap in comparison to gym fees), some DVDs, and a yoga mat. Really, there's a lot you can do without any fancy machines. There are some books out there with programs specifically designed for working out at home. And I agree with everyone else -- keep jogging. It's GREAT exercise, and way better than being cooped up in a gym (and it's free). Biking, too, if you're so inclined. I go out and find trails a lot to bike or walk or run because the varied terrain makes for a better workout.
  • starwhisperer
    starwhisperer Posts: 367
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    I am guessing you have a home computer when I say this, but there are loads of workouts online. Like workout videos. You don't even have to buy them then! A lot of toning can be done just doing body weight stuff, dips off a chair, push ups, wall squats, or just regular ones. a gym is just sort of a nice add on.
  • abouthealth56
    abouthealth56 Posts: 27 Member
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    strength(or resistance) training is extremely important. Walking is great cardio, but won't build muscle. You don't even need weights--you could use 2 full water bottles or 2 cans or anything of equal weight you could hold in each hand. With these you could work your biceps, triceps, back, shoulders.
    Also, calisthenics is the best because you use your own body weight for resistance. Sit ups, push ups, leg raises, scissor legs(for core/ abs)... look up calisthenic exercise on web & see what you can learn. I took a semester college class of it years ago, and it kicked my butt then! Machines, gym membership, etc. are overrated. We just need to move & work our bodies.
  • CandyR1018
    CandyR1018 Posts: 101 Member
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    Great thread! I am currently unemployed and I am using the two feet (walking), a DVD, and I also spent about $50 at Amazon for a portable stair stepper thingy that fits under my bed when I'm not using it. I've been wanting to do zumba but I haven't found a full workout on youtube, I'll try hulu!

    If you are already walking those distances, you should check into the Couch to 5 K program, you can download a pdf with the guidelines for free. google c25k.
  • iAMaPhoenix
    iAMaPhoenix Posts: 1,038 Member
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    If you live near a hotel, sneak in and use their gym if you have to, but then you won't have bail money. Nehvamind...just speed up the walking and begin some interval training.
  • alanaosu
    alanaosu Posts: 85 Member
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    bodyrock.tv

    It's all you need!
  • MrsCon40
    MrsCon40 Posts: 2,351 Member
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    http://workoutmanuals.com/metabolic-resistance-training/
  • Shae3891
    Shae3891 Posts: 53 Member
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    most cable, direct tv, and dish networks have an ecercise on demand channel that is part of thier main packages, you should see if you have it and you can DVR workout videos for FREE :) Resistance are also fairly inexpesive, versitile and work well :)
  • dayzeerock
    dayzeerock Posts: 918 Member
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    Running, walking, situps, pushups, squats, jumping jacks....guess what? They're all free.

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