Fitness On a Budget #1

Appetizer
The residential real estate market, along with gas prices and the economy in general, is causing savvy consumers to cut back on their "wants" in order to afford their "needs." In these situations, expenses that feel like splurges are oftentimes the first to go. Follow my next few posts to find out how to meet your financial obligations without sacrificing your health.

Main Course
Paying for a gym membership and the gas it takes to get there can be expensive, but there are plenty of other options for getting in shape. Here are some low-cost alternatives to help you get fit without breaking your budget:

1. Improvise by using ordinary household items for various upper and lower body exercises.
1. Canned goods. Many canned goods can serve double duty as hand weights.
2. Milk or water jugs. Fill empty milk or water jugs with water or sand and secure the tops with duct tape. To adjust the weights as your fitness level changes, simply add more water or sand. If you wonder how much weight you're lifting, simply weigh the jug on your household scale.
3. Potatoes. A 5- or 10-pound bag of potatoes can provide added resistance for various exercises.
4. A low, sturdy step stool can become exercise equipment if you use it for step training — an aerobic exercise resembling stair climbing.
5. Chair. You can use a chair for many seated exercises with makeshift weights or use the seat as a platform for your hands while doing triceps dips. The back of the chair serves as a good place to hold on for extra balance when doing things like leg lifts.

Dessert
These may sound like corny ideas, at first, but remember that it's usually the simplest things that, when done consistently, add up to the biggest results. I've gotten a great reaction from clients who saw me deliver these same tips on Fox 5 Atlanta last month: Watch the TV Clip

About Cafe Physique:
The mission of Café Physique is to help clients reach and exceed their personal fitness and nutrition goals. If you’re in need of an a nutritionist in Atlanta or an Atlanta personal trainer – Café Physique is the perfect solution. We offer Atlanta yoga instruction, Atlanta prenatal workouts, and Atlanta personal training. We also have private sessions of pilates that Atlanta residents are raving about. We invite you to let a member of our Atlanta registered dietitian staff or personal training team develop and implement a realistic and healthy lifestyle plan to meet your personal goals.

Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

Appetizer
Make more of a commitment to your exercise goals by spending money that will be lost if you stop working out.

Main Course
The hardest part about exercising is not deciding what to do - it's actually sticking with it. Everyone is excited and motivated when they first start a new workout training schedule, but it's easy to lose passion over time.

Unless you're in the small minority of people who have more money than they know what to do with, the thought of totally wasting cash is properly motivating so "put your money where you mouth is."

Sign up for a fitness event (i.e. 10K, marathon, triathlon, charity walk, bodybuilding contest, etc.) in another state. Pay your registration, buy a plane ticket, book your hotel and take a couple of vacation days from work. By paying everything up front, you are investing in yourself and creating an environment where not training properly will hit you where it hurts - in your pocket.

Dessert
I'm not cheap, but I am discriminating about how I spend my money. When I wanted to jump-start my workouts, I signed up for a marathon in Virginia with one of my girlfriends. We paid the Early Bird registration fees, pre-paid for our hotel and requested the days off of work. We also told EVERYBODY about our plan to do the marathon - guaranteeing that we would be thoroughly ashamed if we backed out at the last minute.

This plan definitely worked for me. There was no way at all that I was going to forfeit that money just because I didn't feel like getting up early to train. Every time I thought about backing out, I remembered the money that I would lose and how bad I'd feel for letting my partner down since she was consistent with her training.