Fitness Alternatives for the Budget Conscience - Part 1

The holidays are quickly approaching. Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas just make us eat and eat. Ok, they really don't make us eat, but we feel like gorge ourselves during these three holidays. Plus, the fact that it's winter time, means that most of us get even less exercise. That's going to change this year. Even when budgets are tight, there are ways to stay in shape.

Let's first look at gyms and health clubs. These are great because you have access to so many different types of fitness equipment, saunas, steam rooms, pools, and classes. The problem is you have to really be committed. (many of us pay the monthly fee yet never go) However, if you are committed, then here are a couple health clubs for you to compare prices with.

The first one is Bally Total Fitness. The cost here is $24.99 per month. No long term commitment is required. They feature a wide array of classes and fitness equipment. A second one is Gold's Gym which features more workout equipment. The cost here is $29.99 a month. Our local gym charges $35 a month so both of these options are cheaper.

An alternative to these fitness centers and health clubs is the home gym. Making that one time purchase is actually much cheaper than a gym membership. Look for fitness warehouses like , where you can get bargain basement prices for very high quality fitness equipment. They carry treadmills, bikes, steppers, ellipticals, and home gyms. Brands include Nordictrack, Proform, Weider, Healthrider, Image, Epic, and Reebok.

A second alternative that is cheaper than workout equipment is strength training with resistance bands. Bodylastics has a great product that costs as little as $45. It comes with an instructional DVD that guides you through all the excercises. It's a great low budget way to strength train.

Finally, a third alternative is to go with instructional DVDs where you follow along with the instructor. You'll need very little equipment, if any, to do these workouts. A good place to look for the perfect workout video is iTrain where videos start as low as $7 ea. You can pick and choose your workout library.

Each of these alternatives are cheaper than a gym membership. You'll find that the quality of workout is just the same, if not better, but the bottom line is you still have to do the workouts. For some reason, you just don't get the same effect when it sits in the closet!