10 ways to get fit for free

1.  The simplest form of free exercising is walking. Whether around your local park, along the river in your lunch break, or going for a long country walk at the weekend, walking doesn’t require much effort to organise and is suitable for all fitness levels.  Make sure you pull your abs in nice and tight, land on your heel and follow through onto your toes, take nice long strides and swing your arms to get the best workout possible.  You can actually download music that has the perfect beat to walking; go to www.totalfitnessmusic.com and if you need extra motivation sign up for a charity walk such as the Ribbon walk or Moon walk taking place this summer. If you are in your local park – look out for free outdoor gym equipment such as pull up bars, balancing beams and don’t forget to do some triceps dips off the benches to tone your arms as well as your legs! There are loads of free walks to do all over the UK, for people of all fitness levels. Visit www.whi.org.uk and www.walking-routes.co.uk for some great ideas.

2.  Jogging and running are becoming more and more popular and most outdoor running events are massively over-subscribed. Whether doing it for a hobby or training to enter a race, the best thing about running is that you can do it anywhere and it doesn’t cost a thing.  Need a goal? Look up your local Race for Life (www.raceforlife.org) for a simple 5km race for women or visit www.209events.com to see fancy dress races and charity runs abroad. www.mapmyrun.com is a great online tool allowing you to work out how far you run and is very simple to use. All you really need is a good pair of trainers and to learn the basics of running technique:
a)  Abs in
b)  Shoulders down
c)  Landing softly on your feet
d)  Following through on your toes as you run
e)  Making sure you bring the legs up at the back
f)   Breathing deeply and in rhythm, most people breathe in and out every three strides

Most running clubs are also free too, so find your local running club and give that a go!

3.  There has been a massive surge in people riding bikes in the last few years. If you live reasonably close to work, biking there and back will burn calories and get you fit, without finding extra time in your day. Having a bike is very cost effective and if you can’t cycle to work, get a trendy basket on the front and do your local shopping and errands that way instead. More women than ever are entering triathlons (where you swim, cycle and run back to back). There is the London Triathlon (www.thelondontriathlon.co.uk) every August or try www.humanrace.co.uk for other triathlons in the UK. Cycling is low impact so perfect for those who can’t or don’t like running and with more and more cycle paths and outdoor fitness trails appearing all over the country, it’s getting much easier and safer to do.

4.  Although many people had negative experiences exercising at school, you’ll be amazed how different it is playing for a local team as an adult - for social reasons as well as fitness ones and they are mostly free (or charge a small sub).  Choose from local hockey, netball, ladies football or softball teams and don’t worry if you aren’t any good, they often have amateur teams and as well as the actual games there are usually regular training sessions meaning you can get fit with people you know and experience camaraderie and team spirit whilst keeping yourself fit.

5.  Rollerblading became really popular in the nineties as the cool outdoor exercise option. It’s massively popular in the USA and also in Paris where every Friday night thousands of people get together and skate through the streets. The UK is a great place to skate as it’s flat and there are lots of paths and trails. If you aren’t too sure about where to start or even how to skate, check out www.skateinstructor.com which is full of information on what blades to buy, rollerblading classes, safe places to skate and groups to join in the UK. You can pick up a good pair of second hand ones for next to nothing as well but places like Decathlon sell them very cheaply as well.

6.  There are stacks of free online fitness resources, from cartoon ebooks to mini video workouts and loads of stuff on You Tube too.  You need to have a good look around and see what you can download and what appeals to you. Google free fitness downloads, or search free online fitness. If you just want workout ideas, there is a fabulous website called www.turnstep.com where instructors from all over the world upload their workout plans and share them with others – there are literally thousands to look through and categorised into subheadings such as body conditioning, outdoor or aqua. You will need to know the names of some moves in order to understand them fully, but nonetheless, it’s a great tool to get training ideas from and there are some fantastic combos to choose from.

7.  Go to your local library where you can borrow fitness training books and fitness DVD’s, or get a group of friends where you could all invest in one book and one DVD and swap them around. This does mean that you will need to be self-motivated (one of the downsides to getting fit for free), but getting friends involved and swapping fitness resources should help with motivation and results too.

8.  Check out your local council’s sport and fitness amenities, after all, if you pay the council tax, you may as well see what they have to offer.  Go onto your local council’s website or visit your local library and even if fitness services aren’t all free, the ones you have to pay for will be extremely cheap anyway. An hour’s swim can cost as little as £1.50 in off peak times.

9.  Use your own body to get great fitness results without spending a penny on equipment and fitness resources. Press ups, squats, climbing up and down the stairs, doing planks, rear leg raises, lunges, tricep dips, press ups, burpees, jumping jacks, sit ups etc. There are thousands of things you can get your body to do that will get you fit for free. Put some music on and be creative, using your own body weight can get fantastic results. Start with 10 to 15 min sessions, make notes as you go through it and build up to 45 min sessions.

10.  Lots of gyms, fitness companies and fitness stores offer free trials and free fitness classes at some point throughout the year, so keep your eyes open for these. Have a good look at what is in your area and don’t be afraid to contact them for any up and coming trials and offers. If you work, don’t forget to ask whether they subsidise fitness classes and membership for you. Corporates really recognise that fit staff usually means healthier staff and switched on staff. If they don’t currently offer anything, you could suggest that they pay for a fitness trainer to come in and teach some classes to your staff, meaning it won’t cost you a thing.

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