How to Get Fit (without joining a gym)
You can easily get fit without joining an expensive gym. Some people prefer the social aspects of joining a gym, and that’s great if it’s good for you. But don’t join one if you would prefer to save money and get fit in other ways (and check direct debits, as many people are paying for gyms they never use).
Exercise is actually pretty simple. You just combine a regular routine of cardiovascular exercise (say walking) with some form of strength-training (like weight-training). As long as you do regular warm-ups and cool-downs to avoid injury, you don’t have to add ‘stretching exercises’.
It’s much easier to lose weight through exercise, than through diet. This is because to lose weight, you need to ‘lose around 500 calories per day’. Reducing what you eat by this amount means you will be very hungry, and likely to hit the dessert trolley by eleven.
So incorporating natural exercise to burn off 500 calories is far easier. Forget about ‘doing exercise to burn off a Mars Bars’ mentality. Proper exercise means simply adjusting your routine.
And also one easy way to have the pounds drop off (and also make you have more energy to exercise) is simply to give up or drastically reduce alcohol intake, which can pack on a pile of pounds, over time.
If you are older or in a wheelchair, you can still exercise without a gym. More on that below. And you can even get fit with conservation volunteering (litter-picking, planting trees etc).
Councils could help by creating walkable communities with public parks. This way, people walk to the shops, to the park, to work and to school. If most towns were designed this way (rather than giving licenses to out-of-town supermarkets), the obesity epidemic would disappear.
The NHS GP Referral Scheme lets your GP fund gym membership for up to 12 weeks under safe qualified training, for patients that would benefit. You can then continue your fitness goals at home. It’s though that around 39,000 premature deaths are caused by local levels of physical activity.
Go for a Daily Walk
- Walking is free, gentle on your joints and comfortable if you invest in good walking shoes. Aim for 30 minute a days, which also improves your mood. You could also consider becoming a volunteer dog walker!
- Get off one stop earlier at the bus stop, and take the stairs instead of the lift. Or to get more ambitious, consider safe outdoor running or cycling as good cardiovascular exercise.
- Another good cardiovascular exercise is dancing, look up local classes and buy some vegan dance shoes. Or just put some music on, and dance around the house!
Simple Body Weight Fitness Exercises
You don’t need to buy weights to do strength-training. Fitness trainer Lucy Wyndham-Read is a former army cadet, who took up exercise to cope with grief over 30 years ago, when her fiancé was killed in a tragic accident.
Her YouTube exercise videos have millions of fans. Each one is 10 to 20 minutes, view before/after photos of her fans on Lucy’s website. Now in her mid 50s, Lucy looks and feels fantastic. And is a testament to how a healthy lifestyle can help people to cope with heartache, and help others too.
Her book Yes I Can has tips to feel healthier and happier at home. Lucy says we should be thankful that we can move our bodies, and focus simply on progress, not perfection.
Stronger: How to Build Strength is a 12-week program of 10 simple exercises to build strong muscles and bones. The author (a former firefighter with a degree in exercise science) says that most health issues for people under 90 are due to lack of exercise, rather than biological aging.
Organic Cotton Workout Clothes
Vegan Original offers organic cotton workout clothes, like tees, sweatshirts and jogging bottoms. All made with organic cotton and green energy, sent in plastic-free packaging.
Safe Effective Exercise (seniors and disabled people)
From age 35, we all start to lose muscle and so strength-training helps to keep muscles (and bones) strong, and keeps us slim as muscle burns more calories than fat, even as we sleep.
In Florida, many people in their 80s and 90s take regular exercise (power-walking and lifting low weights), which is why they often are far fitter than in England, where many people of this age often are (even in nursing homes) encourages to just sit around a TV, doing nothing.
Move It Or Lose It is an exercise manual for older adults, from a qualified trainer. It includes warm-ups and and cool-downs to prevent injury, then simple exercises to strengthen the legs, legs, chest, arms, hips, thighs, arms (plus exercises for finger dexterity and grip strength).
Along with exercises to help you reach up, improve posture, stretch your legs and even pelvic floor exercises.
The book is sold with optional resistance bands (and latex-free versions). Start with the red band (once you can do 3 sets of 10 reps with 1 minute rest), order the next colour up, until you reach black (which you use for life).
Keep resistance bands away from children and pets, and store rolled up, away from sunlight. They have a bit of powder to stop them sticking together, this will soon disperse.
If you prefer, just buy the band and join local classes or Move it Or Lose It Online Club. There’s a free 30-day trial, then it’s just £5 a month. You don’t have to be ‘old’ to join, this works for anyone!
This organisation can send qualified trainers to visit care homes, to deliver exercises for residents, or can train your staff (exercises can be chair-based for frail residents).
