Six Inexpensive, At-Home Exercise Options
On January 2nd, 2022, I posted an article recommending ways you can incorporate functional medicine principles into your new year. One of the pillars of health related to functional medicine is movement or exercise.
I realize that there are lots of people who love to exercise all the time, there are lots of people who hate it with a passion and there are lots of folks who fall somewhere in between. I admit that I am in the former group. I love to move my body every single day. I have a very established workout routine and have for years. If you’d like a see a dedicated post to what I actually do, then let me know in the comments and I’ll get that on the schedule.
For now, what I want to share with you are six different ideas for working more movement into your day. Some of these are actual “exercise,” while some are more general ideas for becoming less sedentary. You know what the experts are saying these days….sitting is the new smoking. And no, I didn’t just make that up.
So get on out of that chair and move that body!
Idea #1: Stand up
Ha ha! I’m sure you’re rolling your eyes. But seriously, just standing up gets your blood flowing and will help you rev up your metabolism. If you stand at your desk, you will surely move your weight from foot to foot, fidget a little bit (or a lot), naturally end up walking around your area as you’re thinking, and all of these bits of movement go a long way toward improving your health.
Tools you may need: a standing desk adapter. These come in all styles and price points.
This is a very nice, sturdy one. If you’re setting up shop to work from home always, it might be worth investing in a higher quality piece of equipment like this.
I have this one, which I like because I don’t use it all the time and it folds up fairly small for storage. It’s also really adjustable so you can get it just exactly the height and angle you need. Really great option for the price.
Idea #2: Take a Walk
All you need is a good pair of shoes and appropriate clothing for the climate. (I’m working on a post with my favorite workout wear.) Ok, I suppose you also need a safe place to walk. Say you live in a high-rise apartment in a concrete jungle, you may have to do laps around your building. Or you may have to take some sort of transportation to get to a pleasant place to walk. The whole point here is that you don’t have to join a gym or buy any expensive equipment. Walking has so many health benefits and lots of Internet gurus have enumerated them for you. But I think you’re smart enough to know that getting up and moving is good for you. And it’s easy.
Idea #3: 10 Minute Bursts of Movement
No equipment needed and just a short amount of time too. You can run in place, you can run up and down your stairs, you can go outside and play with your kids, you can shoot baskets in your driveway, you can ride your bike down the street and back. Literally, get up and do anything for 10 minutes, then get back to work. These short bursts of movement throughout the day are just as good as one long exercise session. Really.
Idea #4: YouTube is your friend
Before I found Peloton (see #6 below), I did a variety of free workouts with YouTube instructors. Here are a couple of my favorites:
There are really so, so many. Just search for what you’re looking for – cardio, step, yoga, strength, etc. and you’re sure to find something you like.
Idea #5: Scour Facebook marketplace, Craigslist, Next-door, Freecycle, etc. for inexpensive fitness equipment
We bought an exercise bike from a co-worker of my husband’s years ago. It was an odd situation: he bought the bike from Amazon. Once he got it put together, he realized they had sent him the wrong bike. They told him to just keep it and sent him the correct one. So he had a brand new, perfectly good exercise bike that he didn’t need or want so he sold it for $100. We were happy to have it and used it on days the weather was too yucky to go walking outside or even to go to the gym. I would use it for little bursts of movement throughout my day. But when covid hit, this bike became our number one method of exercise for a while.
Tons of people invest in workout equipment with grand intentions only to leave it untouched 99% of the time. Those people eventually sell said equipment. Search your local listings and see what you can find. Of course, if your budget allows, you can always buy new.
That bike we purchased from my husband’s co-worker eventually had too many problems that could not be repaired and we bought a new one during January sales. Admittedly, sales have been less this year due to supply chain issues, but I was paying close attention, searching regularly and found this bike at Costco for just over $300. Of course, you have to be a Costco member to buy this particular bike at this price (and it is no longer discounted), but there are lots of other options available. This one is very similar to our old bike. It’s the same brand. For the price, we got about 10 years of use out of this bike so I’d say it’s definitely worth a try. And if you’re a Prime member, Amazon customer service is excellent.
Besides lots of walking and cycling, I do lift weights regularly – 3-4 times per week. I have had most of my weights since my single days (so they’re very old!!!), but I did pick up a couple new pairs. Honestly, they’ve been hard to come by and very expensive. I just found some at Walmart. I checked every time I went. One time, I was able to purchase a pair of 10 lb. weights, others times I bought one at a time – just whatever was available! I don’t have any to link for you. The ones I found in store are not available online and those I can find have ridiculous prices. I think I paid around $10 for a 10 lb. weight. That’s typical. I’ve seen a few randomly at Target as well. It’s worth building up your collection of hand weights so just look whenever you’re out shopping. And just my two cents: I do not think that using water bottles or cans of soup is “just as good” as some people say. They’re hard to grip and not nearly as heavy as you need.
Idea #6: Subscribe to a monthly fitness plan
My favorite in this category is Peloton. I have the monthly membership that is run through their app and doesn’t require any Peloton equipment. When covid began, Peloton offered their app for free for several months. At that time, I had been a loyal, 6 day a week, member of my local YMCA. When that way of exercising came to screeching halt, I needed something else. Thankfully, we had an old stationary bike at home and a few assorted hand weights.
I signed up for the free Peloton app trial and was hooked immediately. This is not sponsored in anyway, I just genuinely love this app and love that it is so affordable. Instead of paying over $100/month for the Y membership, I pay a little over $13/month (including tax) and all four members of my family can do guided cycling workouts, outdoor running or walking workouts, strength training, yoga, pilates, boxing, stretching and more. I really can’t believe you get so much for such a small price. It’s worth every penny.
When my Y opened again and I had to decide how I wanted to work out going forward, I opted to stay with Peloton. For one, it’s the ultimate in convenience. The other big factor for me was the price. Yes, I miss my workout friends, the community aspect of working out at a gym, but I have just been more intentional about seeing my friends elsewhere.
There are lots and lots of other at-home, membership type plans, but I only have personal experience with Peloton, so it’s the only one I’ll recommend.
So there you have it – six ideas for getting more movement into your day. Some are free, some come with a little cost. Some take short amounts of time and some take longer. If you want to commit to working out at home, investing in some decent equipment is a wise way to go.
If you are ready to start exercising more, but need helping figuring out a plan, reach out to me and let’s talk! I was not an athlete growing up and was only thrust into exercise when I got to college and it was required to graduate. But then I found that I loved how I felt when I was exercising and my life has never been the same.