Getting Fit Without Spending Money

April 7, 2007 By Matthew Paulson

I’ve decided to take part of my life and move it in a much more positive direction. I’ve been ignoring my physical health for far too long. I drank several Mountain Dews a day, ate out as I pleased, and didn’t see the inside of a gym for nearly two years! I’ve gained 25 pounds since my freshmen year of college, and that’s sick! For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been hitting the gym four times a week, and just yesterday I started monitoring my caloric intake, and am eating a reasonable amount that’ll put me on track to lose 2 LB a week. Of course I’m very frugal, and don’t want to spend any more money that I would normally, so here’s how I’m getting fit without letting my wallet get empty.

The Gym – Because I’m a student, I get a free annual pass to Madison, SD’s community center, since it was a joint project between the city and the university. This is one of the great benefits for being a student at my college, I’m sure I’m paying for it through tuition somewhere, but since I’m paying for it anyway, I had just as well use it. They have a lot of great weight lifting equipment and stationary bikes for me to make use of, and an in-door running course for very cold days!

Not everyone will have a free access to a gym, but if you have a city-sponsored wellness center, usually you can get in every once in a while for not too much money. There are also plenty of exercises that you can do at home that’ll let you lose weight without any fancy equipment and there’s always the fitness channel!

During the Summer – This is going to get a little bit tricky over the summer, since I’ll be living in an entirely different town than where my gym is. I don’t want to get stuck in some crappy health club contract, so I think I won’t be in a gym over the summer. Don’t worry, I’ll still get plenty of exercise. I’m going to pickup some 5 and 10 pound weights used, and do some basic exercises at home. I’m also going to get me a nice used bike, so that I can trek across the big city of Sioux Falls. These two things will probably set me back a bit, but I’m going to sell my Xbox to pay for them, seems only fitting!

Food – Normally I just grab whatever frozen food looks good at the store and eat out as I please, I looked at McDonald’s and DairyQueen’s nutrition information, and I can’t feel good about going to either of those places. Did you know there’s 1400 calories in a standard Big Mac Meal with a coke? It’s true! I’m going to cut back eating out to once or twice a week, and nothing after that! My body can’t take these fatty bullets. For food, I plan on getting a lot of fruit (which is really cheap, by the way). I spent plenty of money on frozen foods already; I’ll just replace them with the healthier frozen foods, and count my caloric intake daily.

Compared to some other hobbies, getting in shape is a really inexpensive hobby. There’s just a few upfront costs, a bicycle and a few basic weights, but overtime it’ll surely pay for it self through the improved health I’ll be seeing.

If you’re in a similar situation to me, you’re not terribly unhealthy, but it’s not a priority at all, I’d really like to challenge you to get fit, both physically and fiscally. Things might not be too bad now, but chances are unless fitness is a priority, you’re headed in a very negative direction. Over time it’s going to beat you up, and things won’t end well. Do what’s right for your body and your wallet!

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