Adding extra steps and more activity to your day is the best — and least expensive — way to increase your level of fitness.  But what if you want more?  There are lots of free and nearly free options.

Check out the Internet for free workouts.  A quick Google search will turn up more hits than you can ever use.  Look for the ones that fit your personal lifestyle and goals the best.

For those who are bit more technically challenged, you can also find free resources at the library.  Instead of plunking down money for exercise books and videos, borrow them from the library first.  If you hate it, turn it back in and move on.  If it works for you, then you can invest in buying it.

Do you have a smart phone?  Inexpensive apps can keep you on track, both with keeping up with nutritional data and with your exercise program.  Again, look for the one that is right for YOU.  I have the C25K app (Couch to 5K) which cost a couple of dollars and has totally changed my level of fitness.  If you can’t run, or hate it, look for something you like and will do.

Inexpensive dumbbells and resistance bands can give tone your muscles without the trouble of going to the gym, or paying the membership dues.  If you are REALLY determined to save money, you can use milk jugs filled with water and secured with duct tape over the lid.  To adjust the weights upward, just add more water.  You can use a household scale to measure how much you are lifting.

And then there are garage sales and Craigslist.  If you want a treadmill or larger weight set, there are always plenty up for grabs at a bargain price.  An honest salesman once told me that they don’t put much workmanship into most home workout equipment because it is rarely used.  A typical treadmill is used as a clothes hanger in the bedroom after the first few weeks and doesn’t get much wear and tear on the motor. That’s why the kind you buy for personal use is much less expensive than the models they sell to fitness centers.  You might as well buy one at a bargain price. If you find something you love, you can invest in one with more bells and whistles.

If you don’t want to buy equipment,  you can probably find a friend who will be glad to loan you his so that he can have the space in his garage.  I was second in line to get my treadmill — which I loved and did use — and when I moved into a smaller home I had to pass it on.  It’s on its second home since mine.  That makes four of us who have used it and only one person was out any money.

For some people the gym is worth the price of membership. I’m one of those folks.  I’ve gotten more than my money’s worth from it and I enjoy going.  But you don’t have to go to a gym to improve your level of fitness.  It just takes some thought and a bit of ingenuity.  If you want to do it, you CAN afford to get in shape!

Eating to live and living for Christ,

Susan Jordan Brown