Non typical workout ideas that will build strength, lose weight, overall health?!

What about taking a couples dance class or maybe a kickboxing/martial arts class? Just remember most weight loss is going to occur from nutrition so if you need to lose a lot of weight you can't expect to just do that from whichever activity you choose to supplement your 30 min walks.

Since you are a couple, have you considered dancing? Taking dance lessons together is fun, or going out to dance is also fun, or standing in your living room doing dance videos is fun if you are shy. I get bored with doing the same cardio all the time, and trying to learn a new style of dance from videos is a good way to switch things up.

Cycling, not for exercise but to visit places and see them, is a great recreational activity as stated above. My husband and I run together!

It all really depends on what you like? Boxing classes, Dance, Indoor rock climbing all build muscle in different ways and are fun activities. Is there a recreational sport you want to learn? Tennis, Golf, Bowling? Scuba diving? What interests you. Having a goal to work towards that is fitness instead of weight related can also help maintain activity that may not be as fun.

Water skiing, snow skiing, horse back riding.
Most zoos accept volunteers, may end up not being real physical.
Animal shelter near me is always looking for volunteers to walk dogs, play fetch, etc. with them and clean pens.
Was golf mentioned?

I've been doing snowshoeing lately, and I love it, but you obviously need certain conditions. That may work for you in Colorado.

I am also in Colorado. I get up in the mountains whenever possible. Don't have to spend much. Just gas.

Rannoch3908 wrote: »

Thanks for all the feedback - your right I didn't give enough info.

- We can't spend any money on it (classes, boxing, martial arts, etc)
- We can do things outside (Colorado so cold in winter but most of year it's awesome outside)
- The working out is for health (heart, cardiovascular, blood pressure, etc)
- The better eating is for weight loss

Loaded carries are fantastic. This article describes and talks about some stuff you probably have around the house you can use for equipment or buy at very low cost.

https://www.t-nation.com/training/secret-of-loaded-carries

Just something to think about - if the walking 30 min daily is manageable for you could you focus on that for now? Building consistency and increasing your fitness through more challenging and longer walks?

I started walking regularly for 30 min a year ago and it turned into 45 min, then 60 min walks and now a goal of running a 5K this summer (as well as other fitness goals).

This might not work for you and your spouse but I found success in picking a small, realistic goal of something I enjoyed to start off.

Good luck!

Rannoch3908 wrote: »

Standing in a room and working out is just never going to catch on for me.

Bear with me, this is going to be a rambling n=1 account of my exercise experiences.

At one time I thought this too. I wasn't someone who worked out and I certainly wasn't a weight lifter... no no no, athletes are weight lifters... I should stay in my lane and diet enough to be not-fat and that was good enough.

Until it wasn't.

I did some lifting in gym back in high school, occasionally wandered over to the weights section of the rec in college with my roommates, and half-followed the doable P90X workouts when I needed to lose some weight after college and that was... fine. I made myself do it because that's what people do, right? Primarily through diet and discovering MFP in 2012 I reached an adult low weight of <160 lbs (6'1" Male) while "getting in shape" for our wedding in 2013. Fast forward two years my weight crept up into the 170s but I didn't look or feel much different than I did <160 and didn't really like my body at either weight. Still "not fat", I wasn't happy how I looked, I didn't feel excessively healthy or "in-shape"... I was just kinda there. I found a lifting program on line called Built Lean. The guy behind it had a story that resonated with me so I started following it using the dumbbells I'd purchased years earlier for P90X in the spring of 2015. In the privacy of my spare bedroom, judged only by my cats I fumbled my way through workouts. I liked them far better than P90X-style videos and actually saw some progression. I felt better and stronger. May of 2015 happened to coincide with the release of Avengers Age of Ultron, a subsequent infatuation with the superhero aesthetic, and my wife fawning over the scene where Captain America, clad in a skin tight grey shirt and jeans, rips apart a log with his bare hands. In the aftermath of my wife's swooning, I was even more motivated to to change my appearance. Around July of 2015 I took the plunge and purchased a cheap olympic weight bench, a barbell and 255 lbs of weight during 4th of July sales and moved my setup to our basement. Progressing more easily with barbell training unlocked, I was truly smitten with lifting, something that seemed fairly foreign only a few months earlier. These purchases allowed me to really overcome my self-doubt and impostor syndrome about lifting; I had every right to lift these weights, after all they're mine, this is my workout space. I didn't realize it at the time but that ownership association really let me get out of my own way in pursuing my physique goals. Nearly five years later, I'm happier in my own skin, healthier, and stronger than I ever thought possible. I may not have leading man looks but I'm certainly closer to looking like I could pass as a stunt double than I did in 2015.

In short, I'd encourage you to not necessarily give up on traditional modes of exercise, especially if strength is even somewhat of a goal.

JocyChan wrote: »

Take a martial arts class! MMA/BJJ are good ones.

This time x 100. I know OP has said nothing that really costs money, but BJJ and then a transition to MMA was a life changer for me. 100lbs lost. True functional strength - (traditional gyms have always and will always bore me to tears). Best shape of my life with visible abs for the first time in my life in my mid 40s. Top 3 best decisions I have made in my life was trying out a free BJJ class. BJJ/MMA "ain't cheap" but I would pay whatever they asked because I can't put a price on what it has given me.