How do poor people exercise?

124

Replies

  • TourThePast
    TourThePast Posts: 1,753 Member
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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: 48,990 Member
    There are many free body weight workouts on the internet. Pick one.
  • renubhat_82
    renubhat_82 Posts: 549 Member
    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
  • jwhitnah
    jwhitnah Posts: 8
    Call me crazy but I have found some amazing deals on execrise equipment, weights, videos, etc at garage sales. When people are tired of this equipment collecting dust they will just about pay you to take if off their property.
  • Schwiggity
    Schwiggity Posts: 1,449 Member
    By running from bill collectors. :laugh:
  • Unknown
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  • 58twister
    58twister Posts: 3
    I tried this when I was in Germany and it worked really well find a building that has 3 or 4 flights of stairs and climb them every day do it 2 or 3 times daily and as it gets easier do it faster or climb them more often...It cost you the gas to get there and back, that's it...good luck and don't give up. I was told you didn't gain the weight over night so you can't expect to lose it over night. :)
  • duqtape
    duqtape Posts: 121 Member
    If you're in Boulder CO, there is a Wieder CrossBox - Boxflex knock-off you can have if you make it not be on my patio before the snow comes...
  • LolasEpicJourney
    LolasEpicJourney Posts: 1,010 Member
    My gym had subsidized funding which is ether only way I can afford it
  • char2009
    char2009 Posts: 68
    check out bodyrock.tv!! :D
  • RNewton4269
    RNewton4269 Posts: 663 Member
    Exercise videos, walking, etc. I am lucky because there is a gym where I work that I can use for free. Pays to work for the military!
  • TourThePast
    TourThePast Posts: 1,753 Member
    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.
    No, we're not. For most of my working life I've had to take on additional work to pay the bills; some of it used to keep me fit too.

    Presumably if the OP was doing manual labour for a living she wouldn't need further exercise in the evenings.
    Presumably she has a job, since she says she can't afford gym membership, yet she can still afford to get online.
  • kalilioness
    kalilioness Posts: 49 Member
    i HIT A YARD SALE AND GOT A STEP BENCH AND THEN I STARTED DOING MY OLD STEP TAPES. I STILL HAVE A VCR BUT IF YOU DON'T YOU CAN GET THEM DIRT CHEAP NOW. 38 MINUTES OF STEP BURNS OVER 600 CALORIES.
  • kalilioness
    kalilioness Posts: 49 Member
    Love it!!!!!:laugh:
  • glenbabe
    glenbabe Posts: 303 Member
    a lot of good ideas from everyone ,what about turning on the radio for music you like and dance till you are exhausted that should be a good form of excercise and is as free as walking or jogging and if the weathers bad you are in your own home so your not affected
  • Strive2BLean
    Strive2BLean Posts: 300 Member
    I can only tell you what got me over a plateau and that is not eating anything made with flour. Even though I was exercising I wss at a standstill at 20 lbs lost. I decided to try something and it worked. No more sandwich thins or low cal bread and nothing made with any kind of flour. For breakfast I eat plain no fat Greek yogurt with fresh fruit added in and a little agave syrup. I eat mainly fresh fruit and veggies, chicken, fish, eggs, beans occassionally, brown rice, wheat berries in moderation and nothing processed. Try it for a wek and you'll be pleasantly surprised.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    I tried this when I was in Germany and it worked really well find a building that has 3 or 4 flights of stairs and climb them every day do it 2 or 3 times daily and as it gets easier do it faster or climb them more often...It cost you the gas to get there and back, that's it...good luck and don't give up. I was told you didn't gain the weight over night so you can't expect to lose it over night. :)
    I thought of this one after posting earlier.

    I had a class last semester that is on the 9th floor. A few weeks in, I gave myself the challenge to be able to walk all 8 flights of stairs without stopping and without walking into class huffing and puffing. (Since I'm in my mid-40s and most of the kids in my class are, well... kids I didn't want to look like the old lady. Of course, all of them took the elevator!) I managed to meet that challenge the last week of class! The first few times I had to either ditch out and take the elevator the rest of the way or take a few minutes to get my breath back when I finally reached the top, but I finally did it. It's a great workout!
  • tanyaMax
    tanyaMax Posts: 524 Member
    Youtube exercises. walk. invest on a 10-15 dollar dvd
  • tabbycat2223
    tabbycat2223 Posts: 23
    Wii Fit Plus or Wii Fit, either one. . . It's kinda expensive at first, but I tell you it's sooooo worth it!! You can find them cheaper on Craigslist or Ebay, but it's really helped me, I can't afford a gym membership anymore and the YMCA in my area is a joke and with working full time and 4 kids, going to the gym is really not an option for me anyway :)

    Good luck :)
  • 2Bgoddess
    2Bgoddess Posts: 1,096 Member
    jump rope best cardio out
    put on a music cd and dance straight though the cd
    squats do 20 everytime you go to the potty
    arm press do in kitchen while preparing meals

    arm press! fantastic! thanks for that tip!
  • 1_up
    1_up Posts: 1,414 Member
    We carry huge loot sacks from the rich
  • HeidiYogi
    HeidiYogi Posts: 81 Member
    How about trying to pick up a desk or cleaning shift at the gym you go to or maybe a yoga studio that will help switch things up for you? I've been doing that at my Bikram Yoga studio the last 2 years and get FREE YOGA all I want. Last year I went every day for 100 days in a row and never had to pay - it's an awesome alternative and are out there you just have to ask!! :) Good luck and don't give up!
  • Huffdogg
    Huffdogg Posts: 1,934 Member
    There are quite a lot of bodyweight resistance exercises that require ZERO dollars invested, and many more that need only the tiniest of investments. Push-ups, planks, crunches, bodyweight squats, lunges, burpees, mountain climbers, can all be performed with nothing more than your body and a floor. cobbling together a step for step aerobics, a jump rope, a homemade medicine ball or lifting bag (sandbag), hula hooping, and a door jamb mounted pull-up bar are all examples of exercises that require investments of around 20 bucks tops to achieve with a little ingenuity.

    And most YMCA's have scholarship programs for those who cannot afford membership. These scholarships are rarely taken advantage of, and often can be gotten quite easily with nothing more than a little time to fill out an application required.
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