Episode Summary:
In this episode, we talk about how to workout for free or on a budget, from clothing and gear to equipment to access to motivation and classes. Working out and staying fit is like a lot of things; it can cost you a lot of money, but it also doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. Like we suggest with all things in life, decide on the importance of spending money in different areas of your life, and then decide what makes sense for you in this category. And another benefit, staying fit and healthy is incredibly important, and research even links it to staying financially fit. Getting your finances in order can help your health, and vice versa.
Episode Notes:
Mike and Maggie both exercise regularly, including running, hiking, walking, yoga, free weights, and youtube and other classes you can access from home. And the best part is, we do it without spending a lot of money. Staying physically fit is incredibly important to us, but we’ve found ways over the years to do it for minimal cost and that works for us. This is an area of spending we believe is okay if you’re committed to it as it’s so important to your health, but you also don’t need to break the bank to stay fit.
There are three key things you need to workout, so let’s talk about each of them….
Clothing/gear
- Don’t fool yourself. Don’t tell yourself that you need to wear lululemon workout clothes or look a certain way to go running or do yoga. Get the clothes you technically need to be successful and call it a day.
- Earn the gear/clothes. Don’t let yourself invest a lot in a new activity if you’re not yet sure you’re going to like it. Borrow, rent, or go cheap on things until you know you’re going to commit to something.
- Quality over Quantity. We focus on quality over quantity. Maggie workouts a lot, and so she’s already doing laundry so it’s not a big deal to have fewer workout clothes if you’re already doing laundry every few days.
- If you use the gear, then invest in good gear and feel good about it. If you know you’re not going to use it, then question yourself aggressively before buying more stuff.
- Take care of your workout clothes and they will last years longer. Wash them in cold water and avoid drying them. Maggie never dries her workout clothing. Buy a $30 drying rack on Amazon, and it’ll save you a ton of money as your clothing will last so much longer. And this is the case for many other types of clothes beyond just workout clothes.
Access to equipment:
- Tons of workout activities require zero to little equipment. For example: running, walking, yoga, hiit classes, core classes, etc.
- Inexpensive workout equipment that can serve multiple purposes:
- Exercise bands, $10+
- Exercise or yoga mat, $10+
- Inexpensive free weights, prices vary from $20 – hundreds of dollars
- Pullup bar that you put above a door, $30-40
- Create a workout space in your home if you have the space. And make it as nice as you can to motivate you to want to work out. We have a TV and apple TV in ours so I can watch TV while I workout, and it’s just a nice room I enjoy going into.
- Consider buying used gym equipment if you’ll get your money’s worth out of it. We have a treadmill, exercise bike, and a bo-flex.
- Bo-flex was used for $300
- Treadmill was around $900 15 years ago, from play it again sports
- Bike was about $250 over 10 years ago, on sale
- Do you get free access to a gym through your work?
- Paid gym membership. This is my last choice. We personally prefer working out at home and outside, as it saves me a ton of time and money. There was a time when my kids were younger and I didn’t have a choice but to workout at home as I couldn’t leave them alone, but now it’s an active choice. The time is takes to drive to a gym, pack my clothes, drive home all sweaty, etc. It’s just not an enjoyable experience for me.
Access to motivation + classes:
- There are tons of free + really quality classes on youtube. From yoga, to hiit (high intensity internal training) classes, to cross-fit style classes. Search for classes on things you’re interested in, for example… you want a hiit class to all taylor swift songs, it’s on youtube! These are two of Greg’s favorite youtube yoga channels:
- If you can afford it, there are some paid online subscriptions that give you access to tons of classes, but be cautious about what you really need vs. want here. A few I’ve used over the years:
- Beach body on demand
- Apple fitness+. Maggie is using it now. It syncs to your apple watch, and it’s pretty cool. We have been doing dance classes with the kids.
- Gym memberships that give you classes. If you’re paying for a gym membership, by all means take advantage of everything it has to offer, from the classes to the free childcare.
Top 3 Takeaways:
- Commit to improving your physical fitness this year. It’s good for you, and it will also help you on your financial fitness journey. They are linked!
- Don’t fool yourself into thinking you need to spend a lot of money to be healthy and stay fit. It’s just an excuse. Everyone listening to this podcast likely has access to what they need to start working out today FOR FREE. You just need your body and youtube.
- Consider investing in some equipment to improve what’s available to you at home. Research what you can get used, inexpensively, or perhaps even for free.
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