Fritzy 22's Journal, 14 February 2018

I got a Bowflex for free many years ago. Still works great. Check Craigslist & local classifieds. It's easy to find them for under $100 & if you're patient, you can probably get one free, or close to it.  

Every time I join a gym it ends up a waste of money because I just don’t like to go. You could try body weight exercises for a while. You could also purchase a kettlebell or some other weights at Walmart to begin with 

I have joined gyms several times and the longest I ever kept at it was maybe 4 months. There was a small gym at work that I used almost every day for about 2 years. I have some hand weights at home I use. I may just try the gym a couple times at $6 a day. I seriously doubt I will join, it's not very big and not worth $48 a month plus a silly $99 fee just to join. I joined our neighborhood's hiking group and am hiking with them on Monday. Another meetup hiking group in Sacramento said they would make me an event organizer so I can put hikes on their calendar. So I should always be able to have some people to hike with. I think the hikes where you are climbing a lot have to be as good as using weights for your legs. I remember one hike where you climb 1000 feet in about 1/2 mile. It was really, really hard doing that climb, but once up it was a fun mostly level hike. I may try that one in a couple months. Exercise equipment at home doesn't usually get used much. 

If you like to dance, hop on Youtube, select a very slow stretch routine video starting with neck rolls and working down to your ankles....then put on "fitness Marshall". Get ready to laugh in your own living room. Of course until you get fit, you can do the low impact version, but you will concentrate on the moves and before you know it...you have raised your heart level for 3 minutes and cracked yourself up. I went from 3 to 5 of these a day and I feel improvement without fancy clothes, fees and right in my living room.  

Go Go Go and w/o that's cheaper then what l pay at the YMCA and you'll feel and look better. 

Hiking looks good on paper but after a while the mention of a long hike won't be so appealing! 

@bigauntie that sounds fun. I may look into this “fitness Marshall” 

yes try the guess pass! 

So, if you go twice a week you break even, sounds fine. I have been weight training for a year and a half and it really makes it easier to keep up with my 25-year-old daughter. 

@Fritzy22, what did you do at the gym in the past? I agree with your plan to try the daily fee first, to see if you stick with it. Twice a week would be equivalent $$ monthly and be a good place to start the habit. 

walking is considered weight resistance. Good for lower body and stomach. Get some small barbells for a few bucks to get your arms, shoulders, pecs, you got the upper body covered.  

I pay for a trainer in addition to the membership. So far, so good, at the end of 4 months I will try to do the training on my own. 

Also check out your local YMCA. Usually they have gym fees that are much lower, and with as good or even better trainers available. 

Look up chair exercises, there are many things you can do with just the things in your own home and you dont have to pay a ridiculous fee to be there (well besides mortgage or rent). There is a great upper body workout you can do against a wall, kind of like push-ups but you arent on the floor so it makes it a little easier but still works your arms and chest. Walking with small weights, or grocery bags with canned goods. Even just walking around your house carrying a bag of flour or canned fruit with help. If you cannot justify a gym membership, dont get one. There are other ways.  

For a home gym, buy good used stuff others don't use from Craigslist or ?? Also, TRX is a great piece of cheap equipment that uses your own body weight for resistance AND flexibility training...easily adaptable to someone just starting out to hard core fitness folks and portable too (google trxtraining.com for lots of info). I still use some weights a few times a month but sure don't need to with the TRX system (which I use almost every day). Good luck...and yes walking with purpose (not strolling) is great foundational exercise!! 

I live in a very small town and have the same problem! I bought a cheap set of weights at walmart, an isokinetic balance board, a yoga mat and a big athletic ball all for under $75. I enlist the help of youtube to be sure that I am using the equipment correctly and to learn exercises. Plus I walk as often as I can. It’s not quite the gym, but I am doing well with it and it fits into my budget. Added plus: it doesn’t matter what I wear 😁 

I live in a small town too, the local gym is a private elite type athletic club... $$$$$ it is about $1000 a month for a family... or I could go to the cross fit gym, but I’m not interested in cross fit at all. Or I could drive an hour (round trip) and pay $50+ a month for a big box gym like LA fitness or 24hr fitness... I also had a very awful experience while working at a gym, so that type of atmosphere makes me very uncomfortable now. So instead I got an extra thick yoga mat, $12 at Marshall’s, some weights at target, an exercise bike free (I never use, the seat is painful) 

Don’t worry about what you wear to the gym. As long as it is loose enough to allow exercise and you feel comfortable. Maybe a good pair of gym shoes and some cotton tees. Working at a gym for years, I saw it allllll. Some people wearing barely anything, some people wearing those plastic suits to increase sweating, detox and water weight, I saw men work out in a suit and tie... maybe they forgot their gym clothes but needed a quick work out still?! 

mamamc, wow a $10000 a month! Do they wine and dine you and exercise for you?😀 

Wow! Just saw all the comments and suggestions. This gym is really the only option unless I drive a half hour to the next town with a gym and it probably isn't any cheaper. I do have some weights I can use for my arms and I think eventually hiking will help with the legs. I used to hike ALL the time. It's about an hour or so to Tahoe and there are so many beautiful hikes. I just joined my neighborhood's hiking group (didn't realize they had one) and will do a short hike with them on Monday. I also bought an annual parking pass good at most of California's state parks (just got it today) and I have been made an event organizer for a meetup hiking group that is very active. So I can put hikes on the calendar that I want to do and always have people to hike with. I may try the daily pass at the gym a couple times just to see what it's like there. My first impression is that it is small and crammed with exercise equipment. Very few people there went I went in. I will get a mat to exercise on at home