A lot of us have been paying big bucks for gym membership in order to take classes and enjoy state of the art exercise equipment (not to mention a personal trainer to keep us motivated). But, as an article by Anjali Athavaley for The Wall Street Journal (Thursday, April 16, 2009) pointed out, the present economy has a lot of us exploring less expensive avenues in our quest for fitness. So, what are your ideas about cheaper ways to get toned? You can try a home video routine from your public library or even rent workout videos from various DVD rental sites if you want to try them before buying. I would recommend this avenue first because the last beginner yoga video that I bought was not only too hard for beginners but incredibly boring. The good thing about exercising at home is that it saves you travel time. I like to go to the gym to use modern treadmills and such, but find it is too far to drive to do a 20-30 minute strength training routines on alternate days, so I am exploring weight training videos to do at home. Invest in a good exercise matt and start experimenting with everything from aerobics classes to yoga in your own living room. The hard part is creating time for yourself and making the dog understand that you really don’t need her to demonstrate the down-ward facing dog. The current economic climate has caused people to cut back on everything from travel to eating out. A new low budget fitness movement is also becoming a trend. Manufacturers of items like mats, workout DVDs and weights have seen quite a considerable increase in sales as people opt to workout at home. Fitness experts say home workouts, if done regularly and correctly are effective. You can be creative. Try exercise videos, Exercise TV, Nintendo Wii Fi and other alternatives. Regular workouts are good for you, especially in these stressful times. So whether you are supplementing your gym membership or looking for ways to have weekly workout classes without gym memberships, don’t forget that the how is less important than they why. Keep on exercising and please share your exercise ideas.
