Buying a gym membership can be expensive. In fact, the price of a monthly or annual membership alone is enough of a deterrent for some people. Even if you can't afford a gym membership, or just don't like gyms in general, there are other ways to stay in shape.
People like going to the gym because of the accountability factor with other people being there at the same time.Home-based workouts give you the opportunity to improvise and become self-motivated.
Some people are in great shape and they've never stepped foot in a gym. Others may have never even purchased exercise equipment for their home!
It doesn’t matter how you feel because there are plenty of options for you to still lose weight without gym. Here are our top 6 ways to help you stay in shape.
6 Ways To Lose Weight Without Going To Gym
1. Walk/Jog/Run Outside
The one thing that everyone has in common is access to the outdoors. Whether you live in an apartment, a house or any other structure, sidewalks probably surround you.
Make it a point to walk, jog or run every day for a few minutes. Take different routes so you won't get bored with seeing the same old things. You may even get to meet some other people along the way!
This doesn't have to be strenuous, either. Make yourself work a little harder by timing your exercises and setting goals. People get motivated differently, though, so you may choose to just casually walk for 30 minutes or so each day. You might be surprised at how good you feel when you go to sleep at night!
2. Do Body Weight Workouts
If you want to take your exercising up a notch, do some workouts that just require your body weight. These could include push-ups, sit-ups, lunges, planks and more.
Cardio can help you lose weight and stay in shape. Getting a full body workout also helps tone your body more quickly. Plus, having a little extra muscle strength motivates you to have more endurance and be in better overall shape.
Start with what you can handle at first, and then increase your amount slowly. You don't want to overdo it to the point where you're sore all the time since that can be counterproductive. Simply moving and stretching out those muscles will greatly benefit you.
3. Join a Team
Working out by yourself can get boring after a while. A lot of people prefer working out alone, but others do better when they are part of a team.
You won't have to look very long to find some sort of recreational league in your area. Whether you want to play softball, basketball, bowling, tennis or just about any other sport, you can find a team that's in need of an additional player.
It doesn't take a whole lot of effort to exercise enough to stay healthy. The hardest part is getting up and doing something.
4. Find a Workout Buddy
You may not be interested in joining a team, and that's ok.
Find an individual that you can partner up with to do some exercising. This could be a neighbor, family member, spouse, or anyone else that you know and want to hang out with.
The best part about working out with someone else is the accountability factor. You could help each other stay accountable because you won't want to leave the other person hanging. Set certain times where you will go on a walk or exercise together and plan the rest of your schedule around that. Having a workout buddy will go a long way in being active consistently.
5. Use a Gaming System
This may sound strange, but you can actually get in shape by playing on a gaming system like the Xbox or Wii. These systems have sensors that track your body movements, and they actually have games that you can play that help you get fit.
The only downfall of this is that you'll have to buy the equipment, which can be a little costly. The good thing is that it's just a one-time investment and you won't have to leave your house to work out!
As long as you have some space to move around in your house or apartment, a gaming system could be a great option for you. Most games have goals that you can set and track, along with a virtual coach to help keep you going.
A lot of people have used gaming systems as a way to lose weight without gym. They are perfect to use on extremely hot or cold days so you won't even have to go outside and still get some quality exercising in.
6. Be Adventurous
Exploring new terrain is one of the most effective ways to exercise because you can never run out of things to see. Depending on where you live, you could go on hikes, walk on nature trails or simply walk through different neighborhoods.
Biking is a great way to see a lot of different things since you'll get to see more things more quickly. And when you're on a bike, you can generally ride a lot farther than if you were on foot!
Visiting some areas with a lot of hills may challenge yourself a lot. Otherwise, just staying in motion by being adventurous can be new experience for enjoying life at the same time with improving both physical and spiritual health.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, there are a lot of different options for you to get in shape without going to a gym. Most of the ways here don't even require you to spend money at all!
Once you are mentally prepared for exercising and getting in shape, then you will be more likely to get creative in your workouts.
So the next time you are giving yourself excuses that you can't shape up your body because you don't have a gym membership, just remember this article and know that you can do it!
