By NATALIA HAWK
The other day, I bought a whole lot of ski gear and found myself standing in the store, looking at my receipt and crying softly.
“I should have picked a cheaper sport,” I said to the gentleman next to me, wiping my tears.
“No such thing, mate,” he said. “Every sport you’ve got to pay money for. Sport is a luxury.”
Now. I understand that exercise and sport are not necessarily high up on people’s lists of essentials along with, say, housing and food and electricity bills.
And for those who are on a budget, exercise can cost money that just isn’t viable. Some gyms can be reasonably priced, but the great majority have fees that add up to over a thousand dollars per year. Even if you don’t belong to a gym and you’re just doing classes – that’s still $10 or $15 a pop, minimum.
Take into account the exercise gear you need, the yoga mats and dance shoes and boxing gloves you need to buy, and you can soon be blowing a fair proportion of a month’s pay on exercise. And for many, that’s a luxury that simply can’t be afforded. Not when there’s rent to be paid and something other than baked beans to be eaten for dinner.
But I’m here to provide you with some ideas of how to exercise on the cheap – and still get a decent workout.
1) Be smart about your clothes
Exercise clothes are where most of my money is blown. I can’t walk past a Lorna Jane without seeing and purchasing some kind of neon sports crop that will just match my running shoes so perfectly. I know, I am a marketer’s dream.
It’s my belief that with exercise clothes, you do get what you pay for – the pricey stuff will last longer and be of better quality in general.
But that said, if you’re just starting out or don’t want to fork out the big bucks – the cheaper stuff will do you just fine.
Bonds is really reasonably priced (especially if you live near a Trade Secret), so is the Michelle Bridges range at Big W. Old t-shirts and pairs of tights also work really well.
The only things you actually need to spend money on? A decent pair of runners (get them fitted by someone who knows what they’re on about) and a great sports bra so that you don’t cause any damage .
2) Workout DVDs are where it’s at
I love a workout DVD. Love. I’m a religious user of Zumba and I also love Brazil Butt Lift – sounds a bit odd, and it’s run by a rather strange Brazilian man named – appropriately – Leandro, but it is a killer workout and I now have leg muscles to rival that of Arnie’s. Kind of. (Check out this post for other recommended exercise DVDs.)
Top Comments
Many moons ago when a friend of mine upgraded to a near $1000 wizz bang cross trainer, I bought her old stationary exercise bike for $20- best $20 bucks I have ever spent. Ive never been one for gyms but I really recommend having one piece of good cardio at home and first thing in the morning- get on it for 20 minutes. Some mornings in the heat of summer, I'd be on it with just my exercise briefs and sports bra on, under the fan, with my ipod on and sunrise on the telly for visuals. Having a piece of cardio at home means you don't have to worry about getting to the gym or really even bothering about how you look etc. etc. and before you know it- your done and feeling great and as I have proven, you dont have to spend heaps of money on a piece of cardio gear. The other thing is walking- quite possibly the BEST exercise and combine with some simple weights at home and bam!!! fit! and workout gear is largely a MASSIVE rip off in my opinion. Unless you need gortex gear for ski touring or fancy lycra endorsed by Cadel Evans for you Saturday morning bike ride, go to the op shop and get some old singlets and shorts- cheap and does the job!
Dont forget that you can borrow books and dvd's from the library!