Lead a healthy and active life without the gym membership
Posted on June 18, 2022 Written by: 100% PURE®
As the saying goes, the best things in life are free. And while fitness influencers and Instagram ads might tell us otherwise, this includes exercise.
If you’re looking for more ways to cut costs this year while still focusing on your fitness and health, we’ve got news for you: staying fit without the gym is completely possible.
This is because the key to staying fit is not a gym membership, it’s consistent, healthy lifestyle choices. And today, we’re talking about how to be a more active person through simple, everyday choices.
Without further ado, here are 5 ways to stay fit, without ever setting foot in the gym.
As with any goal, exercise is a lot easier when you have a buddy, no matter the activity!
If you’re struggling to get active, there’s nothing that says you have to go it alone, and there’s a good chance that someone you know is looking to move more, as well.
Plus, making your daily exercise a group activity will not only make it more enjoyable but possibly more effective, as well!
Research indicates that when we exercise with a partner, we’re more likely to follow our workouts consistently while feeling more motivated and even more confident.
But of course, you’ll want the right workout buddy–someone with goals, availability, and commitment levels similar to your own. When you and your workout buddy share a vision for yourselves, you’ll be feeling positive and motivated, and ready to crush your workout.
Best of all, there are plenty of ways that you and your buddies can enjoy staying fit without the gym–try hiking, group yoga, swimming, rock climbing, paddle boarding, or even jump roping together!
And when we talk about working out with a buddy, we can’t forget our four-legged ones! If you’re a dog owner, taking your canine friend for frequent walks is not only great exercise, it’s also one-on-one time for the two of you to bond.
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But if you’re not a dog owner, but love the idea of exercising with one (or a few), dog walking is a great way to make extra cash while squeezing in some quality exercise. Win-win, if you ask us.
When it comes to exercise, the internet is truly a wonderful resource. With just a quick search on YouTube, you can easily find a number of different workouts that are both fun and completely free. And if live classes are more your thing, there are many content creators who practice live streams, so you can still enjoy that “classroom” environment.
And with so many ways to work out, there’s bound to be something for you, whether it’s for yoga, pilates, weight lifting, or even dance–which brings us to our next method of staying fit without the gym.
Perhaps more than any other kind of exercise, dancing is one of the best for reducing stress, improving physical fitness, and boosting your mood, all at once!
In fact, researchers from the University of California Berkeley found evidence showing that dancing benefits both the body and mind by encouraging the release of endorphins, dopamine, oxytocin, and serotonin.
According to researchers at the University of California Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, Berkeley, CA, dancing is fantastic for both your body and your mind because it causes the release of the very chemicals that are good for your brain: dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins.
So if running isn’t your thing, but you’d still like to work up a sweat, dancing makes a wonderful exercise. And the best part about dancing is that there’s truly something for everyone, whether it’s a dance exercise off Youtube, Salsa lessons with your partner, or even just dancing by yourself to your favorite playlist.
If a few flights of stairs leave you feeling a bit short of breath, you’re not alone. Even for those of us who regularly run 5k’s, a simple stair climb can actually be quite challenging–it’s no surprise, then, what a great workout it can be.
This is because when we climb some stairs, we’re basically leveraging our own gravity, so the heavier we are, the harder we have to work. So basically it’s a low-impact, cardiovascular workout that’s automatically tailored to you, for free.
In fact, climbing stairs is fantastic for not only fat burn, but also for building stamina and strength, while toning the thighs, calves, and glutes all at once. And because stair climbing is a weight-bearing activity, it can also help boost bone strength, and it’s easy on the knees.
As with any workout though, aim for quality over quantity, and try power workouts that last around 30-40 minutes, working until your heart rate increases and your muscles start to get a nice burn, and don’t forget to cool down afterward!
You might’ve heard the adage that “sitting is the new smoking,” which argues that extensive & excessive sitting can potentially cause damage to our health in a number of ways, such as increasing our risk for neck and back pain, as well as our potential for heart disease, obesity, and diabetes, to name a few.
And if your work is mainly done in an office setting at a desk, this isn’t great news.
Luckily, more solutions are available for this issue, one of the newest being the standing desk.
Just as it sounds, a standing desk is one that allows you to work comfortably while standing, which can reduce your sitting time throughout the day.
On top of that, standing desks are typically adjustable, so sitting becomes more of an option than a requirement.
And while research on the benefits of standing desks is still in its infancy, the evidence indicates a number of potential benefits, including lowering your risk of weight gain and obesity, improving mood and energy levels, and reducing back pain.
But if you currently don’t have the means for an all-new piece of furniture, try looking into simple DIY’s for a standing desk you can fashion yourself. Alternatively, you can swap out your desk chair for an exercise ball, so that even when you’re sitting, you’re still engaging your muscles and promoting good posture.
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The information in this article is for educational use, and not intended to substitute professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment and should not be used as such.