In the world we live in most of us believe it costs a lot to get fit and stay healthy, I know I used to. It’s always go to the gym (gym membership costs a bomb), get a personal trainer to work you out (bomb), buy this DVD workout or that special tool that will work out your this that or the other (it all adds up)! With this ‘double dip recession’ most people can’t afford that, so here are 5 things you CAN afford to do with minimum cost to get/stay fit and healthy, and hopefully have fun whilst doing it.

1) Use Your Local Park!

It’s the healthiest place to workout; whether you’re running, stretching, or resistance training. The park is full of trees; trees produce oxygen! The key point when doing any form of exercise is to breathe, as a good flow of oxygen to your muscles reduces the build up of lactic acid and cramp.; rather than running on the roads and breathing in car fumes! Take a look at the Bartendaz workouts so you can see how to utilise the kids climbing frames to give your body a complete workout.

2) Do It with Friends

Working out with a group of friends brings an element of fun and boosts healthy competition to push yourself further. Also look up local groups to train with, a lot of people nowadays create groups within their area, whether it be via facebook, on their local forums, or just plain old word-of-mouth. If you’re London based you might want to try the Spartanfam, this group is sponsored by Nike and based in Shoreditch. It’s a full mix of gender, age, and abilities; the trainers are friendly and easy to talk to, and best of all it’s absolutely FREE! If you are looking to attend this group be prepared to WORK OUT! Better yet set up your own group, bring in family, friends, friends of friends, work colleagues, neighbours; and have certain people designated to do different elements of the workout.

3) Home WorkOuts

Be sure to incorporate home workouts as well, your full body workout (cardio and resistance, etc) happens in the park – at home you can focus on toning the muscles. Whether it be in the morning before you hit the shower or at night before bed spend 20-30 mins doing sit ups, push/press ups, squats, lunges, leg lifts, etc. Work out a routine that’s easy to remember, make sure you do 3 sets of 10 repetitions per exercise.

4) Healthy Eating

For some reason it costs more to eat healthy food that’s good for you than it does to eat crap food that’s not. I’m sure there’s a logical explanation for this that I’m not prepared to go into, all I know is this does not make a blind bit of sense. If you have a garden you may want to grow your own fruit, veg, and herbs; it’s not that difficult or time consuming and you’ll definitely feel some sense of reward. Alternatively you’ll have to buy it, now this is where some cost comes in; if you don’t want to incur the extra cost think about swapping out one of the not so necessary items in your monthly outgoings such as that extra pair of shoes. You may already be eating the right foods, just remember not to over boil your veg (you’ll boil out all the goodness), eat foods that are high in protein, choose lean meat, and low-fat dairy products.

5) Believe In Yourself

You can do it!!! Don’t expect instant results (if you want that go and get lipo), sweat and self discipline/determination are key and they don’t always come easy. If you put the work in and workout properly, you’ll get your desired results!