When you think of fitness, you may naturally consider joining a gym. Gymnasiums and health clubs provide all of the fitness equipment you could ever use.
This way, you don’t have to purchase a lot of weights and fitness machines yourself. However, gyms also have several downsides you need to consider.
Gymnasiums can be unhealthy places to breathe. You have hundreds if not thousands of people coming and going. Some of them have colds, flus and other infectious diseases or germs they are dispensing in the very air you breathe.
You also have to consider the fact that gymnasiums simply can’t clean all of their equipment several times a day. That means sweat, dead skin, bacteria and other health-haters are probably covering the weights and fitness machines you use!
For those reasons, it makes sense to learn how to get fit without having to go to a gym. The following 7 ideas should be considered if you want to enjoy the benefits of working out, without suffering the possible downsides.
- Go for a run, brisk walk or jog. Add hand weights and you get an upper body workout while your respiratory and circulatory systems benefit.
- Workout with your body. What was previously called calisthenics is now known as bodyweight training. Type “top 25 body weight training exercises” into Google and learn how to use your natural body weight and resistance to sculpt the dream body you’re looking for.
- Get jumping. Jumping rope can burn 400 to 500 calories per hour. This means 3 or 4 hours of jumping rope each week offsets 1 full day’s worth of calories.
- Go for a swim. Regular swimming is great for your internal and external fitness. Experts in the fitness community consider it the “perfect exercise”. This is because the water keeps you buoyant, removing the pounding stress and strain on your joints and ligaments that land-based exercises often deliver.
- Start eating right. Did you know that as much as 70% of your physical fitness is entirely dependent on nutrition? Without working out at all, you can dramatically improve your level of fitness simply by eating smart.
- Take the stairs. Ditch the elevator, walk to work, and stand instead of sitting whenever you can. Continually look for ways to burn calories and keep active.
- Buy a bike. Cycling works your legs, your core and your arms. Cycling about 10 miles an hour burns between 400 and 500 calories, and gets you out in the fresh air and sunshine.
