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Alternatives to the gym

Exercise should be about enjoying yourself and staying healthy

Gym membership can be expensive. Whatever way you look at it, you're paying up to £60 a month to keep fit – when it’s just as easy (and often more fun) to do it for free! Not only this, lots of people don’t feel all that comfortable jumping around in Lycra shorts – particularly if the reason you’re going in the first place is to lose a few pounds. Here are a few ideas to get you started on the exercise track, most of which are easily achieved in the comfort of your own home.

Running or walking

Yes, we know, it sounds boring – but walking or running does wonders for you. It’s good for your heart, your lungs, reduces cholesterol and body fat and can even reduce your risk of cancer and diabetes. Instead of just randomly walking to an unknown destination, set yourself some tasks along the way which might make things a little more interesting; and help to take your mind off the fact that it’s exercise. Try these ideas out:

Go window shopping. So long as you trust yourself not to max out the credit card, head down to your local shopping centre and go window shopping. You don’t necessarily have to buy anything at all – but set yourself the task of going into every single store in the centre to have a browse. If you’re really feeling up for a challenge, pop on some high heels as they’re great for shaping up your legs – probably not such a great idea if you’re a man though.
Orienteering. Get someone you know to blindfold you and drop you off in a random location (make sure it’s not too far). With only the use of maps, navigate your way home. The rules are: no public transport, no hitchhiking and no asking for directions! This is really fun if there’s more than one of you because you could end up wandering round for hours getting to know each other and having a laugh. Be sure to take a mobile phone with you or some spare change for a phone box in case you really do get lost.

Hula hooping, pogo sticking and trampolining

You can pick up a hula hoop from Amazon from a few pounds – they’re great for toning up your stomach muscles and your arms. Have a competition with your kids, partner or friends to see who can go for the longest, and keep practising until you can beat the world record held by Roxann Rose from America of 90 hours. Piece of cake.

Here’s a sneaky trick – buy your children pogo sticks (from around £15) and while they aren’t looking, hop on to get some calories burnt up quickly. If you’ve got a little bit of space anywhere in your house you can get a miniature trampoline to jump about on when you’ve got some spare time. It’s a good all over body workout and something you can do while watching TV.

Skipping

Once you’ve got the rhythm going, skipping is pretty easy. A skipping rope costs hardly any money at all and jumping for 10 minutes burns the same amount of calories as running an eight-minute mile. Keep it up for 15-20 minutes and burn off the calories from a whole chocolate bar.

Household chores

Remember that a lot of things you normally have to do around the house can help you stay fit and healthy. Try washing the car every week from top to bottom – you’ll have a clean car and you’ll be stretching and tensing your muscles all over. Remember 'Karate Kid'? Wax on…Wax off…

Why not rearrange all the furniture in your house? You can totally transform the look of your home and take the opportunity to give it a good spring clean. If you don’t like it once you’ve finished then put it all back to how it was and you’re getting yourself even more exercise. Be really careful when lifting heavy objects because you might damage your back – always bend your knees and lift with your back straight.

Dancing

Fancy taking up dance as a hobby? Great for your waistline – pop down to your local leisure centre and see what courses are on offer. If you just want to have a bit of fun though, all you need is a good disco CD and a hairbrush. Lock the doors and windows and sing and dance your heart out! Incorporate routines into the vacuuming or polishing and kill two birds with one stone.

Get an exercise ball

An exercise ball is a really handy prop to help you keep fit. They’re reasonably cheap and can help you to tone up just about any body part. You can roll around on it while watching TV, swap it for your computer chair or even play a game of giant catch in the garden. People use them for yoga and pilates so you could get a cheap DVD and do a yoga workout once a week as an added bonus.

Use public transport instead of the car

Not only will it help the environment and your bank balance, but you’ll be walking from bus stops to train stations, down stairs, up stairs and holding on for dear life when you haven’t got a seat and the bus turns a corner. It might be annoying but it’s a really easy step to get more active. If you already use public transport then try standing up for every journey you make, and hold on to the bars above your head – great exercise for the arms! If you really must drive your car then park it as far away from your destination as you can so you still have to walk a little.