How do poor people exercise?

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  • holly_v
    holly_v Posts: 292 Member
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    youtube has tons of workout channels
  • Amysgetnfit
    Amysgetnfit Posts: 231
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    Walking - Free
    Running - Free
    Skipping Rope - 99 cents for a chunk of rope
    Stairs - Free if you can find a tall building and the owner doesn't mind
    Swimming - any beaches near by?
    Bicycling - Yard sales have been mentioned
    Hand weights - Soup cans to pop bottles... a milk jug can be converted to a kettleball pretty easily.

    Or a lot of money on health care later and have a poor quality of life. There is always a choice. In my case, I chose to live!
    ABSOLUTELY!
    Im about as broke as anybody, & I do all my workouts at home, or outside, we have over the years invested in a treadmill, (so no excuse for me that the weather is bad) & we bought a bowflex on payments... eveything i think I own has a payment book attached to it. but Im sure if you look around you can find stuff to work out with.paint cans or gallon jugs of water for weights, walking/jogging outside. push ups, jumping jacks, jump rope, sit ups, crunches, lunges, squats, wall presses, find a wooden box use it for step aerobics... get creative! lift the furniture if you have too!
    Good luck on your journey, where theres a will theres a way!
  • solpwr
    solpwr Posts: 1,039 Member
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    Exercise can actually generate money. I have commuted to work by bicycle for a total of 883 miles so far this year. So I've saved about $200 on fuel, and a minimum of $100 in other operating costs. The cost of riding my bike has been around $100 for tires, chain, innertubes, and chain lubrication. My bike will eventually pay for itself.
    An additional benefit is the efficient use of time. Generally speaking, the hour long round trip commute by automobile becomes a two hour long round trip commute. So my net time consumption is 1 more hour, but I get 2 hours of exercise for the net cost of an hour.
  • change_happens
    change_happens Posts: 491
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    So I can't afford a gym membership, I have one ancient piece of exercise equipment called the LEISURE GLIDE 4000 (makes me laugh every time I say it), and the only thing I do is walk/jog 3.5 to 4 miles a day (walking more than jogging.. :/ ) I have stuck to my healthy 1500 calorie/daily lifestyle for almost 3 months and I can't kick the 20 pound range. I need to lose 80 more. What can I do from home exercise wise? I don't want to give up, MFP friends.

    I'm poor :) Seriously, I am on a very strict budget and can't spend a whole lot of money on the newest workout dvd's, the newest workout equipment, or the new fandangled thing to work my abs, I rely solely on walking and the library. Right now, I have tons of workout dvd's from the library. I do have a few I purchased from Walmart, but if they are over 10 bucks, they stay right there on their shiny metal hook. If it weren't for my sister, I woulnd't have a gym membership. She bought me a two year membership to 24 Hour Fitness.

    The DVD's I started with, and refuse to give up, are the Leslie Sansone Walk At Home series. She is amazing and you really get in some good exercise time.

    Also, bodyrock.tv with Zuzana, she is pretty amazing and all she asks for is a donation so she can buy coffee, which she has cut down on considerably. You can pay 9.95 a month for exercises via Exercise Tv online, or if you have extended cable you probably already have this channel, as well as FitTv. There is Sparkspeople.com, they offer free videos on how to workout and stay in shape. I use this often. Let me not forget... Youtube. You can find all kinds of videos there.

    Hope that helps just a teeny bit.

    Wish you all the best in staying fit!!!
  • lucythinmint
    lucythinmint Posts: 239
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    I don't have a gym membership. Never have.

    I started walking outside. I built up to running. That is all, 5 miles 5 mornings a week out doors.

    I purchased a small set of hand weights then moved up when they get too easy. If you are going with the weights and are going to move up I suggest free weights. They are fairly cheap and do not cost that much to add weight to.

    As I progressed I got resistance bands and some ankle weights to help with muscle tone and I did finally (after a year of actually running) invest in a good pair of running shoes.


    I do not have a trainer, no gym, no help. It can be done. It's just not as easy s it would be to go to the gym :D
  • My1985Freckles
    My1985Freckles Posts: 1,039 Member
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    The greatest investment I ever made was $9.77 for the 2 pound weighted balls at Walmart. Came with a video workout. You can do the whole workout with the 2 lb balls, but the 5 lbs (9.77 each) are better for some muscle groups. This workout really tones my body. After like 2 weeks I could really tell the difference in my butt and thighs. I HIGHLY recommend this workout.
  • Sieggie
    Sieggie Posts: 70
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    There are tons of exercise shows on TV that you can record and work out to. I particularly like Dennis Austin. You can also pick up Jillian Michaels 30 day Shred DVD. It's super affordable. I just bought one and did my first workout this morning. I learned about it from my MFP friends and it kicks your butt!

    Good Luck!
  • digby765
    digby765 Posts: 163
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    Hi like you i don't have a hugh disposable income, so like you I walk a lot, increase the speed from time to time, to get your heart rate up, use your old machine, any exercise will be benificial, I also swim once or twice a week (I have a card that gets people on low income a reduced fee) and finally i cycle very occaisionally.....other than than, walk instead of cars/buses when you can, take the stairs instead of the lift, begin this by getting off one floor before you need to so you can walk the last flight.. If you have a public library loan a fitness dvd, if you think of anything else let me know, allways interested in new things.

    Add me if you'd like to , and let me know how you get on...Yvonne :flowerforyou:
  • birdielosingit
    birdielosingit Posts: 34 Member
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    I haven't read everyone's else responses, so please excuse me if I suggest any repeats. I am in a similar situation in that I have a lot to lose and not a lot of budget for gym, etc. I really, really like the Biggest Loser work out DVDs. They run about $10 at Walmart or Target, and actually you can get them cheaper on line. My favorite is Power Walk, but I have also tried Cardio Max and Cardio Max Weight Loss, and they are both really challenging, intense workouts. And, of course, Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred, also around $10, is fantastic. One more suggestion: www.bodyrock.com I hope that this helps. :)
  • mhm16
    mhm16 Posts: 1
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    this guy has a workout planned for the week :D
    nowloss.com
  • TourThePast
    TourThePast Posts: 1,753 Member
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    How do poor people exercise?
    By working so they're not so poor! :bigsmile:

    Seriously, something like gardening burns LOADS of calories, instead of wasting your energy jumping up and down in front of the TV, ask your neigbours if they need any hedges cutting or lawns mowing or borders digging. Even weeding is great exercise.

    EDITED TO ADD: If I'd been earning even minimum wage for every hour I've exercised hard this year, I could have a great holiday by now!
  • esslgs
    esslgs Posts: 29
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    So I can't afford a gym membership, I have one ancient piece of exercise equipment called the LEISURE GLIDE 4000 (makes me laugh every time I say it), and the only thing I do is walk/jog 3.5 to 4 miles a day (walking more than jogging.. :/ ) I have stuck to my healthy 1500 calorie/daily lifestyle for almost 3 months and I can't kick the 20 pound range. I need to lose 80 more. What can I do from home exercise wise? I don't want to give up, MFP friends.

    Go for a walk pump your arms and enjoy the fresh, germ free air!
  • baisleac
    baisleac Posts: 2,019 Member
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    How do poor people exercise?
    By working so they're not so poor! :bigsmile:

    Ever hear of the "working poor"? We're not a myth.
  • babycoconut249
    babycoconut249 Posts: 12 Member
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    What about exercise videos? They can be relatively inexpensive, and you can find them even cheaper on ebay or amazon... You can easily make your own weights with water jugs. Also, I've heard that some cable providers have exercise channels. Mine doesn't, or at least I haven't found it yet. But yours might. Do you have a wii or xbox? They have lots of fitness games.

    You can also find these videos dirt cheap in a second hand store.
  • Thankilates
    Thankilates Posts: 432 Member
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    I found 3 sets of resistance bands on sale at a discount store (like Ross, tjmaxx, marshalls) for 9.99! They are great to travel!

    I'm also a big fan of youtube videos! There are MANY workouts on there and FREE! :)

    Also, good old fashioned calisthenics! :) Also, see if you can find any dvds at the library. Mine has EVERYTHING from the new Zumba, to Beachbody workouts, to Tae Bo and all of the Jillian Michael's workouts. Even pilates and yoga!

    Good luck! :)
  • duqtape
    duqtape Posts: 121 Member
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    I run. It's free. (shoes? who needs 'em in the warmer weather? ... I do wear Five Fingers in the snow ... they did cost 90)

    And I have the best workout app on my iPhone (also for the Touch). Its the Nike Training Club. Its a free personal trainer that tells you your workout in your ears and its all I can do to not cuss the darn thing out as I'm sweating up a storm. It takes a medicine ball and a few weights.
  • pa_jorg
    pa_jorg Posts: 4,404 Member
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    I don't belong to a gym either. Go to the library and get workout DVDs. Get workout routines to follow online (try ExerciseTV.com). What about hiking a nearby trail? Continue walking and running. Go swimming in the ocean or a nearby lake. Buy a resistance band for $5 and research some exercises to use it for. Dance in your living room. Jumping jacks. Go to a hardware store, spend $1 and get some rope to jump. Mow the lawn or do some yard work. Take the stairs. Find some free exercise equipment on craigslist. Just be creative and just keep moving! You can do this!
  • IronSmasher
    IronSmasher Posts: 3,908 Member
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    Walk, run, do free exercise videos from youtube or hulu.

    This one. I've had a gym membership for 12years, sometimes going twice a day. Now I've not the time, or the inclination to give local gyms my my money as they're just not worth it (bearing in mind I was in the military before, so my 24hr gyms were free).

    I'm now doing everything for free. You don't even need to buy weighs. You got bags and things to put in them don't ya?

    Add me and just ask anytime you can't figure out how to do something for free.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,704 Member
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    There are many free body weight workouts on the internet. Pick one.
  • renubhat_82
    renubhat_82 Posts: 549 Member
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    You have free videos on exercisetv.tv or exercise.com and many others... Try power walking at home, one of those youtube videos on Leslie Sansone

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