With a new year can come a series of new goals and plans, and they can take many shapes and forms. Maybe you want to finish up that degree you’ve been working on, or there might be a certain book event happening in the fall that you just have to attend. The options could be limitless in regard to what you plan to do for your 2018.
One of the most common goals for the start of a new year relates to fitness, and there’s a good reason for that! It’s become a popular topic—one that’s worth looking into for very clear reasons. If you take better care of yourself, the quality and length of your life can be boosted, and concepts of fitness and nutrition are great ways to invest in that idea to increase your chances of a healthy, active life.
It pays, though, to think about how you’re going to accomplish your goals when you decide to take on one, or else you’re just the person saying you want something to happen without really making a move toward it. If you truly want the goal, making it come to you isn’t always the best option. Sometimes you have to chase after it to make it a reality! For fitness, the considerations can range from health concerns to family events that you need to work around, but one of the most basic elements to consider is price. Not everyone has enough spare money to keep a gym membership or invest in hefty, expensive equipment for at-home workout areas. When you find that’s the case, look around—and even outside of the box—for ways to push toward your fitness goal without breaking the bank!
If you need a little help with this concept, keep reading for some great fitness options for your new year that won’t cost you a fortune! Keep in mind though that any new fitness regimen should be cleared with your doctor, so be sure to ask if one of these options is right for you.
Jump ropes
These are simple and basic—and literally something a child can handle. You can invest in a fitness jump rope for around ten dollars, but if you decide that even that kind of money is out of budget, you can opt for a cheaper one from the toy department for less than five dollars. Now, of course, the toy option is only really an option if it’s long enough to suit an adult, but if you discover that they’re a good fit, you might actually find one in your own child’s toybox. That’s fitness for free! Either way, time spent jumping rope can deliver a series of great health benefits, like calorie burning, heart strengthening, and coordination developing, and you can dive into your routine at any fitting place that has enough room (McCall, 2017). With so little in the way of requirements, this could be a great way to start your journey to fitness in the new year.
Bike pedals
Exercise bikes are great ways to go for fitness—if you have the money to buy one. While there are cheaper versions of bikes, for some people, those prices are still out of reach. If you’re in that category of people, don’t worry! You can still get some of the benefits of an exercise bike at a lower price by only buying the pedal portion of the bike. These devices, or peddlers, allow you to move your feet like you’re riding the bike without providing the seat and hand rests—or anything beyond what needs to be present to make the pedals go. These won’t give you all the same benefits as a full exercise bike, especially if the full bike has things like resistance bands, but if you’re in a pinch, you can pick one of these up for less than fifty dollars and start peddling your way to fitness while you watch your favorite TV show.
Yoga mat
One of the great things about yoga is how little you need to buy before you dive in. Your supplies, in fact, can be limited to just one thing—a mat. If you want to make your experience more comfortable, you could look into getting yoga socks, but there’s something simple and familiar about rolling out a yoga mat in your own home and going through your exercises with the TV playing in the background. It’s convenient, budget-friendly (you can buy a yoga mat for under twenty dollars), and effective since its health benefits include bettering your blood flow, relieving your stress, and increasing your flexibility (“The Benefits of Yoga,” n.d.). For an effective, calming exercise regimen then, a yoga mat is a great place to start.
Dumbbells
An awesome detail about dumbbells is that they come with so many weight possibilities that your individual needs could be catered to simply by buying the right set. If you’re looking to build up your strength and know you can’t start off very high, you can buy dumbbells as light as one pound and slowly work your way into higher numbers. On the other hand, if you’ve already been building up your muscle strength, you can start with larger weights that are better suited for your fitness level. The bottom line is that these can be inexpensive items, and if they’re small enough, you can store them under the bed or beside the bookcase. For someone just starting to fit fitness into their life, these can be the cheap, easy-to-store options that are perfect to begin that journey.
Resistance bands
These are great options to add to your workout routine, even if your workout routine is just going through a series of push-ups and squats (Davis, 2015). By adding the resistance that is their namesake, these bands boost your workout by making you work that much harder to perform the tasks you could have done at a lesser activity level without them. As the main event of your workout then or just a fitness-boosting bonus, resistance bands are powerful steps toward a fitness goal—and you can buy yours for less than twenty dollars.
Game set for your backyard
Let’s say you’re not the type of person who’s going to separate your time for fitness into its own corner of your day so you can go through push-ups and yoga stretches. Maybe you just know you’re not going to put in that focused time on exercise, and you need something different if you want any shot of improving yourself physically this year. If that’s the case, try to make your exercise more play-based by shooting hoops or playing football in your backyard. By doing this, you’re working out to achieve your benefits, but you’re enjoying the process and socializing for a setup that might be more appealing to you than just doing squats.
You can purchase complete game sets for your backyard, like volleyball and soccer, for less than thirty dollars, and if pressed, you could improvise with items from around your own home by setting up bases for dodgeball and making markers around your yard for foul lines. You could even pick a game that doesn’t require any additional equipment at all, like chase. Basically, this option could cost as little or as much as you might want, but great options are available for reasonable prices if you want to go the full-game route. This is also a great way to double up on your time if you’re a busy person since you can play these games with your children after a long day of work or with your friends to wind day after a hectic shift. In the end, this one has “win” written all over it!
Overall, if fitness is your goal for 2018, you can work your way toward it without worrying over your budget, whether your strategy is free or just less than what other fitness options might cost. You can wrap up the year with a better you—one who has balanced fitness with finance to be in great shape both ways. All it takes is a little planning and a bit of thought, and you can have the perfect, cost-friendly exercise opportunity at your fingertips!
References
Davis, K. (2015, February 13). 33 Resistance Band Exercises You Can Do Literally Anywhere. Retrieved from https://greatist.com/fitness/resistance-band-exercises
McCall, P. (2017, April 27). 7 Benefits of Jumping Rope. Retrieved from https://www.acefitness.org/education-and-resources/lifestyle/blog/6395/7-benefits-of-jumping-rope
The Benefits of Yoga. (n.d.). American Osteopathic Association . Retrieved from http://www.osteopathic.org/osteopathic-health/about-your-health/health-conditions-library/general-health/Pages/yoga.aspx
Source: ForSportsandFitness.com