How to save money while getting fit

I have been going to the gym for years. When I was younger I used to do lots of sports, among them bodybuilding and powerlifting. At that time I used to desire to have a body like Arnold Schwarzenegger and I used to put the hours to in the gym to achieve my goal.

As I grew older, my goals shifted to just being in good shape.

I tried two gyms in my neighborhood. One is called “La Cite,” and the other one is called “M Fitness.”

La Cite it was in the basement of a building. It had all the equipment I could ever need. I went there for about three or four years and I was generally happy except for one little thing: there was not a place in the gym where I could look and not have a TV screen right in my face. Over the years it became intolerable and eventually, I left for the other gym in the neighborhood.

M Fitness was smaller but cleaner and better organized. Also, it was on the third floor of a building and it had plenty of sunlight. I was happy… for a little while. The one thing that started to bother me was that the music was too loud. “Hey, this is not a bar, I’ve like to listen to my own headphones.” My complaints were to no avail. I was never able to listen to my audiobooks nor to my favorite podcasts.

To all of you gym owners or managers, certain people go to the gym just workout. If someone wants to watch TV, I am sure they have a good TV at home. If someone wants to listen to loud music, there are hundreds of bars in the neighborhood.

Frustrated with my lack of choice, I decided to workout at home. I bought a few weights, a yoga mat and started to work out in my own ambiance. Now I love working out at home.

These are the reasons why I love working out at home

1. I am the master of my ambiance. I put my favorite podcast or

   

   audiobook and I don’t have to worry about the noise someone else is making.

2. I save tons of money. My workout equipment cost me about $100. That’s it. I don’t ever have to renew a membership. From one year to the next I might buy more weights, but that will only from $20 to $50 a year.
3. I save lots of time. Imagine the time it takes to put on winter clothing, boots, gloves, etc, walk to the gym, go to the locker room, take it all off, put on the workout gear, take it all off, put on the winter gear again, go back home and change clothing yet one more time.
4. I hardly ever miss a workout. Many people miss their workout because they don’t have the hour and a half that require going and coming back from the gym, but if anyone creates a discipline of working out at home, on any busy day, they can always drop to the floor and do a few push-ups.

Many people feel that they need to go to the gym, that they cannot concentrate at home, but everyone can adjust. Some routines take as little as 4 minutes, some of them take as long as 30 minutes.

Here are some examples

• 

  Alain (me): I do 15 minutes of stretching and 15 minutes of weightlifting

• My friend Cheryl does 1min 15sec of plank, 3 sets of 10 pushups, 3 sets of 15 squats with 8lb weights
• Rosina does yoga, eccentrics, and qi gong
• Yraida  dances and does cardio exercises following some videos from the internet
• Jang on the weekends, he gets his cardio doing the Just Dance video game.
• Annie: Usually daily push-ups and my 15-20 hours a week of swing dancing is my exercise but when I don’t hit the dance floor much I either swim at the free local pool or do some cardio and muscle exercise at home the only tools I use is a yoga mat, a 5$ skipping rope and some small weight (I got for free on Kijiji).
• Kelli: I do yoga, Pilates, hula hoop and dance, and I do all those activities with my baby now
• Raja: I stretch for about 5min, I run outside for 20min, then I do a full-body workout for about 20min: abs, push-ups, upper back, shoulders, squats with weights, kettlebell swings. Then I stretch again for 5min. Feels
• Norma: 15 minutes cardio with the Rock’Roll stepper (very good for dancing training) plus 5 minutes cord and 10 minutes stretching

And you? Do you workout at home? Why? What is your routine?

1. I bought a used car
2. ETF or Index Fund? Which one should I buy?
3. Window dressing, mutual fund lying to their clients

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