7 Tips to Get Fit -
plus 5 Must-Have Fitness Tools
Tough economic times taking a
toll on that waistline? Lean economic times don’t have to
negatively affect your health, and while you can’t control
the stock market, you can take charge of your health without
spending a lot of money. You may argue that your budget is
stretched too thin to afford healthy foods and expensive gym
memberships. The truth is this: lack of money is seriously
no excuse. The economic situation is crazy right now – but
that’s even more of a reason to pick yourself up, dust
yourself off, and get moving! Stress is the #1 killer – so
do something good for yourself and take control of the
things you can: your health and fitness! Get this: 25%
percent of Americans are increasing their exercise as a way
to cope with the stress caused by our economic recession
(Reuters). So here are ideas to get and stay fit on any
budget.
1) Stock up
Go to Costco or Sam’s Club
and stock up on the non-perishable or freezable items such
as lean chicken breasts, big boxes of brown rice, and frozen
bags of vegetables that could feed an army. Bonus: your
fridge will be so full that you won’t have room for
unhealthy options!
2) Brown Bag It
A loaf of bread, lean
turkey breast lunch meat, and the fixins’ for a healthy side
salad cost you about $10 and yields about 10 meals, or about
$1/meal whereas the average American spends about $7 per day
on lunch.
3) Lace ‘em up
Chances are you already
have most of what you need to get a good workout: tennies.
Even if that’s all you have you can hit the road running, go
workout at the park, take a walk, do pushups/jumping
jacks/pull-ups, go for a hike, do yard work, visit a local
school playground…the ideas are endless. Just get off your
bum and move!
4) Hit the
library
Visiting the library is an
additional way to get the body you want while saving money.
The library will have all the resources you need such as:
work out DVD’s, books on exercise, and magazines full of
great workouts and healthy recipes. Plus: you’ll get to try
new things out every few weeks so you can avoid getting
bored.
5) Log it
Research has proven that
people who log their goals and workouts lose on average more
weight than people who don’t track their progress. In one
such study by
Kaiser Permanente results showed that participants that
kept a food journal lost an average of 20 lbs. more than
participants that did not keep a journal.
6) Eat at home
Nearly 71% of Americans are
starting to cook more meals at home more versus eating out
(Food Marketing Institute). Not only will you save money by
dining in at home, but you’ll slash the number of calories,
fat, and sodium you’re taking in too. Added bonus:
leftovers for lunch tomorrow (free)!
7) Make Healthy
Trade-offs
Most gyms offer specials
for monthly fees as low as $20 per month – that’s the
equivalent of giving up one Starbucks coffee per week.
Between the calories burned at the gym and calories saved by
nixing the Frappuccino you save money and whittle away the
waistline.
Now you’re armed with tips
– here are some low-cost fitness tools to arm yourself with
so that missing a workout is never an option.
Top 5 Fitness Tools under $20
1) Jump rope
Checkout the new weighted,
adjustable jump rope from NIKE. For only $18 it is a
take-anywhere, insta-cardio workout.
2) Hand weights
Pick up a
set of 5 or 10 pounders for those quick at-home workouts –
available at any sporting goods store or online at
Amazon.com
3) Fitness
journal
It is proven, write it
down, make it happen; the very premise behind the
fit
book, a revolutionary line of 12-week fitness journals
that includes weekly goal setting, daily tracking, fit tips
– and it’s super portable and durable at less than $20.
4) Free nutrition
info
Look up nutrition
information on just about everything - plus enter your
recipes to see just how healthy they are, access articles on
nutrition, and look up exactly what nutrients you need per
day at
www.nutritiondata.com
5) Free fitness
calculators
From calculating your Basal
Metabolic Rate (BMR) to determining the ideal ratio of
protein, carbs, and fat you should be consuming -
bodybuilding.com has fitness calculators for just about
everything. While you're there check out their great
articles and extensive product selection.
Let’s face it
– times are tough right now...but that makes it even more
important to take care of yourself and enjoy life! Say
goodbye to your excuses all you penny pinchers – you’re now
armed with tips to get fit on any budget, plus the tools to
make it happen. So forward these to a friend, rally the
troops, and get moving today!
