There’s one thing money can’t buy and that’s health, gyms might want us to think otherwise of course. Fitness is big business, some people will fork out over £2k for a piece of equipment that promises them a body like Madonna.
But the truth is you don’t really need to spend anything to get fit, aside from a pair of trainers (that you probably have anyway), a tennis racket (again you’ve probably got one gathering dust in the cupboard under the stairs) or even some weights (probably next to the rackets or being used as a door stop in the spare room).
There is no short cut though, no machine – however fantastic – can do exercise for you. Here are some ways you, not your wallet, can sweat it out.
But before you start any regime check with your doctor first and remember as Octavia, a personal trainer at Cannons also points out to me, “any exercise regime has to be combined with a healthy eating programme. It’s a case of 70% diet and 30% exercise”.

Gym – downgrade your membership.
If you only use your gym at certain times but you do use your membership consider swapping to an off-peak rate.  When I started working from home I changed my £78 a month peak membership to a £35 a month one.
Pros: I saved over £35 a month and the gym was pleasingly quiet enough, i.e. no queues for machines. There are lots of different types of machines to choose from and you can get a personalised work out programme for free, which helps with motivation.
Cons: The only snag was that i had to use the gym between 1-5pm during the week, although I got to use it all weekend I did miss out on the vibe that some of the evening classes have.
Try: Your local sports centre via www.yell.co.uk or check out joining offers at Cannons www.cannons.co.uk, Virgin Active (was Holmes Place) www.virginactive.co.uk  LA Fitness www.lafitness.co.uk or  Fitness First www.fitnessfirst.co.uk Some gyms will throw in a free month or free day passes.

Roping in a friend, or four
Amy sends me a message via Facebook. “Hey there Sam, I’m really needing to get down a dress size and am having major problems motivating myself. Can I train with you?”
Not one to turn a friend in need I suggest we commit to a 30 minute run twice a week. I also rope in Sara, who’s a really experienced runner, and another friend Ruth, who has run a couple of marathons, but whose training is also slipping.
Result: the warm weather has certainly helped. I’m still going to classes in the gym but could see myself giving up my membership. It’s also extremely sociable, because one test of running is that you should be able to keep up a conversation! So I end up catching up on all sorts of gossip.

Pros: It’s free and you get to spend time with friends.  I drag in my boyfriend as a ‘pacer’ he gets the easy part – riding round on a cycle while I follow him. It’s quite a good way of getting rid of that afternoon slump and is good way of getting my partner involved in my fitness regime.
Cons: If you are both feeling de-motivated it’s easy to skip a week, or two. It’s probably a good idea to join a running club just in case, check your local phone book or library to find your nearest one. www.runnersworld.co.uk also has tips and hints for would-be runners.

Sharing a personal trainer
This is not quite free, but for £20 a week (the trainer charges £40 an hour) I share a trainer with my friend Amy. The great thing about having a personal trainer is that they push you in a way you’d only get if you were hanging out with Paula Radcliffe. According to my heart rate monitor I’ve managed to burn a whopping 700 calories in a session.
Pros: Is really great if you haven’t a clue about exercise and need to get motivated after an exercise break (like having a baby).
Cons: The cost and having to set aside time, especially if you need to co-ordinate with a friend. Plus you need to make sure you supplement your training with a couple more sessions of exercise a week, unless you’ve got £100 plus spare a week to spend on a trainer.
The best way to find a good personal trainer is through word of mouth, or check out your phone book. The National Register of Personal Trainers has a list of qualified and insured personal trainers on its website www.nrpt.co.uk

D.I.Y
Using a fitness supplement I find in Glamour magazine (which I occasionally write for) and some from Zest and Men’s Health I sit down and work out a three different work out sessions – a fat burning one, an anaerobic one and a stretch/relax session. Because I’ve been using a gym and working out I feel fairly comfortable devising my own regime, but I do ask Octavia to give me some extra exercises in case I get bored.
I also go online and download some Nike music from iTunes (cost from £7.99) and search out some other free online personal training tools such as www.lucozadesport.com/running/training-and-race-tools/running_coach.asp
Pros: If you know what you are doing and you are prepared to go to the trouble of reading and researching this is a good way to up the ante on your exercise regime
Cons: Not so good if you are a couch potato needing motivation! But it’s free.

Anyone for tennis?
We dust off our tennis rackets and head to the local park where there are some free courts. an hour later, we are pretty exhausted but was fun.
Pros: Very sociable and we had fun, which is more than can be said for the treadmill in the gym.
Cons: We have to wait a while for the court to become free and we can’t book in advance, which means scheduling in a regular session is very difficult.

Other get-fit tips
* Do weights – any good regime should have an element of resistance training. If you build muscle, which resistance training does, you burn more calories too. But if this brings scary images of body builders to mind, don’t worry, while it can mean lifting weights, resistance work means using props such as resistance bands or even your own body weight. In fact if you are a woman worried about building too much muscle don’t – using your own body gives nice long toned muscles as opposed to bulky ones. These types of exercise include press ups, lunges and even some yoga moves.

* Do the stretch.  I used to go to yoga classes three days a week when I lived in London and it supplemented my work outs brilliantly. Now I’m no longer near I yoga centre I use DVDs to inspire me. One really good one is Yoga Conditioning for Weight Loss by Gaiam.

* Get inspired – I use fitness magazines like Zest to pick me up when I’m feeling lazy, Glamour also does a good regular fitness features too.

* Drink water – when I feel tired it’s normally because I’ve forgotten to have my pre-exercise bottle of water.

Next week – underwear.

Samantha Downes is a freelance journalist  who writes for national newspapers and  magazines. Examples of her work can be seen at www.samanthadownes.com

Pictures on this page are produced by kind permission of Andrew Soames at www.geekarama.co.uk and www.andrewsoames.com/photography

P.S reply to comments below – for the purposes of this blog I’ve avoided mentioning any kind of membership with a long-term tie in (including medical insurance, which I’m not a fan of by the way).