How to exercise without purchasing a gym membership

How to exercise without purchasing a gym membership.

You’re in your thirties, which means growing up and taking on some kind of responsibility for your life and perhaps the life of those around you. Chances are you’re busy, maybe own a Blackberry that doesn’t leave you alone, or maybe you have children and you’ve made the decision to be a good parent and consequently spend the majority of your time at home with them.

Or maybe that great cosmic ache has set in. You can’t climb the stairs as quickly as you used to. When you’re watching television you really are totally lost without the remote. Maybe stress is marking its claim on you, it’s one of the most common killers, and affects us all at some point.

But you’re in your thirties, which does mean that you have some responsibilities in life – some thirtysomethings believe they don’t, but they are few and far between, and generally just have to get off the aeroplane, stop pretending they’re some romantic, Hemingway like figure, and choose somewhere to live – and consequently precious little time.

So there’s the equation: need to get healthy/no time for the gym. Doesn’t work, right? You can’t make more hours magically appear. You can’t afford the time to travel to the gym, do all that small talk and work on the weights for an hour and then come home and make the dinner, read the kids a story, spend time with your partner etc.

Like with most problems, looking at things from a different angle provides the solution. The whole fitness industry (for simple, financial reasons) promotes the view that if you’re not standing in a room with at least ten different exercise machines you’re not exercising properly, and therefore you won’t get fit, and you’re going to die.

This is, of course, very wrong. It is possible to integrate a positive exercise routine into your daily life, even if your daily life includes twenty minute lunch breaks and boxes that contain complete meals for two. It is important however, to think on a basic level, look for the everyday activities your life provides you with, and take it from there.

For example, if you are lucky enough to own a garden, tend it. All the basic gardening activities, such as mowing the lawn, weeding, or just simple maintenance, promote good health. You’re out in the open air, and you’re stretching and bending, its good natural exercise for the human body.

Another good way to exercise is to do the housework, actually clean your house like a professional would. This includes dusting and polishing, dragging beds away from the wall to get rid of the cobwebs, and cleaning the stairs. Again, all of these are quite strenuous activities.

Houses have stairs, and you’re probably aware – if you’ve ever been inside a gym – that step machines are a popular and effective form of physical exercise. You’ve got upwards of twelve steps in your home to use for exercise, and it gets more strenuous the higher you go. Simple exercise that does the job and it’s free.

If you have children, spend time with them by playing their games. The younger they are, the more they tire you out, and while you are rolling about in the mud with your three year old, just remember that you’re pretty much making their day at the same time.

Take a run. Go for a brisk walk. Play sports with friends and relatives in the park. Again, same benefits as gardening, and at little to no cost. Studies show, by the way, that football and rounders are the simplest and most beneficial sports to play in the park, because they both involve running and carry an inbuilt motivation to win, and therefore they make you work hard.

So far equipment hasn’t been mentioned. If you have the money and a burning desire to buy exercise equipment, start nice and simple and buy an exercise mat. You need one to protect your carpet and your body, and they are versatile due to the range of exercises you can do on them. Some mats come with suggested exercises too. Always remember to warm up and cool down when exercising at home, and wear the same equipment that you bought for the gym, before you cancelled your membership. Sports equipment is designed to protect the body, so use it.

If you feel an intense desire to lift weights, there are plenty of weights around the home. You can start small with some cans of food, and then move onto heavier things like books, or boxes of books if you’re going for the burn.

Follow through on any of the above suggestions, and when I say follow through I mean stick to them, and you’ll get your recommended thirty minutes a day worth of exercise. Keep doing this throughout your thirties and you’ll have achieved a number of things. Firstly, you’ll have saved thousands in gym fees. Secondly, you’ll have maintained a clean and tidy house. And finally, you’ll have kept your thirtysomething body ticking over, and maintained a sensible level of health that will stand you in good stead for the years ahead.

That happens to be true. Build up your defences by exercising. Don’t let your stressful, busy, thirtysomething life stress you out and wear you down. You don’t even need to join a gym. Cavemen didn’t have gyms. Roman soldiers didn’t have membership at Gold’s. The message is clear, there’s no excuse. Don’t get sick. Get fit.