How to get fit without going to the gym

Having a gym membership doesn’t make your fit. Turning up and working out does. If you are one of the 553,000 people who own a gym membership and don’t even go once a week then it is probably time to find another strategy to get fit.

1. Start by working out what getting fit means to you and why you want to ‘get fit’. What do you want to achieve, is it cardiovascular fitness, strength training, everyday fitness?

2. What types of activities do you like doing? Did you play a sport when you were younger, do you like running/walking outdoors, what about swimming, cycling, rowing? Or any other sport.

3. How motivated are you to train by yourself and how proficient are you with exercises? Check out eBay, gumtree and any other second-hand site and you will see plenty of treadmills, indoor bikes and other fitness equipment that the owner bought expecting to use frequently, like that gym membership.

4. Free websites, YouTube, apps etc offer a plethora of workouts that you can use to get fit. You just need the motivation to follow them.

5. If you need motivation convince a friend to train with you. Set a goal together and you will keep motivating each other. During my Uni days, pre-social media etc, a friend and I trained ourselves for a marathon. Running regularly each morning no matter what the weather.

6. Join a sporting group, or squad. If you like swimming find a swimming squad you can join, you’ll make new friends & be coached.

7. If you are looking for someone to train and motivate you, look at bootcamps, outdoor training or a personal trainer to get you started and show you the correct technique.

8. Use incidental exercise – take the stairs, walk to the shops, get out and walk/ride, take the dog to the beach, research shows that dog owners are healthier than non-dog owners. Do bodyweight exercises eg squats, sit ups, planks, dips, push ups etc.

There are so many options to get fit without stepping inside a gym. There is plenty of free information online on exercises to do and how to do them, or just going back to basics such as moving your body. It depends on how motivated you are to achieve your goal.