It shouldn’t cost a fortune to get fit. Check out our top tips to exercise on a budget (without having to give-up your smashed avo).

A lot of people associate exercise with having to have expensive equipment or having a gym membership, but this is just not true. There are so many ways you can work up a sweat, without bench-pressing away your home owning dreams.

Five Ways To Keep Fit on a Budget

1. Make sure of household equipment

Yup, around the house is a gold mine of exercise equipment, you just need to look and have a sense of imagination.

Accredited Exercise Physiologist Carly Ryan explains the best place to look is in your cupboards.

“All you need to look for is something that has a bit of weight or is stable enough to lean on. If you would like to work on your muscles, you don’t need a set of fancy dumbbells, how about cans of food, full bottles of milk or a big bag of rice? If you look in the garden shed, I am sure you will find some old bricks or a tin of paint.”

“Another great way to give the body a work out is to find a solid chair or table where you can do exercises such as tricep dips or standing push ups.”

2. Check out the park

“We are blessed to live in a country which is beginning to see the value in keeping its people active, so if you head down to the park you may find some communal gym equipment or even a children’s playground. Both of these have a huge amount of options to keep you fit.”

“All you need to do is investigate what equipment there is, do some research on what exercises can be included and put together a plan to get the most out of your workout.”

Here’s a brief list of free park gyms in major cities in Australia:

Sydney
Brisbane
Melbourne
Perth
Canberra
Hobart
Darwin
Cairns

3. Make the most of free passes

Lucky for us, we have many gyms fighting for your business so if you head down to your local facility you will most likely be given the option of a free pass for a day, week or month. Depending on your situation, or how long you are without a cash flow, this might be a quick, easy way to have access to a full gym for free!

Check out these options to search for free passes:

Good Gym Guide
Local Fitness Guide
Gymlink

4. Search for un-loved exercise equipment

Despite what all the infomercials tell you – there is absolutely no need to buy or lease the latest fitness equipment. Luckily for you there are lots of people who haven’t listening to this advice and spent thousands of dollars to keep fit, for it only to end up for sale a couple of months later.

Another option may be visit your local charity shop and have a look for some other exercise ‘hand me downs’.

Remember, just because it doesn’t have a flashy digital display doesn’t mean it’s not useful!

5. The power of community

When was the last time you checked out what was is going on in your local community?

There are thousands of exercise or hobby groups around the country which are either free or very cheap to attend. Go online and look on local noticeboards to see how you can get involved – there is everything from park runs to tai chi to self-defence classes.

So there you have it, there should be no excuse anymore – there are so many ways to keep active outside of your typical jog or walk, you just need to look a little harder!

Remember, if you have any concerns about starting an exercise program, always consult an accredited exercise professional such as an Accredited Exercise Physiologist or an Accredited Exercise Scientist.

Take the Exercise Right quiz and find out how to Exercise Right for your uniqueness.