Christmas parties and New Year celebrations are a distant memory now. The associated rich food, flowing alcohol, late nights and general lack of exercise, however, are an entirely different matter. If you’re anything like me, you’re wearing these reminders of excess around your waist and thighs.
January is not the month of skinny jeans or clingy t-shirts, and if we want February to be, we need to hit the gym.
Oh wait, the other thing that took a battering last month was our bank balance.
Thankfully, there are plenty of ways to get back in shape without spending a penny.
Internet fitness classes
Fitness classes at the gym are expensive, and with the weather as miserable as it is now, it can be difficult to drag yourself out of the house at all.
A one-hour exercise class can take over two hours out of your day when you factor in showering and getting to and from the gym. Thankfully there are an abundance of fitness instructors who post workout routines online for you to complete at your convenience. Doing a 30-minute pilates class before your morning shower will help you tone up, without causing much disruption to your regular routine. Try Exercise.com for some of the best free classes on the web.
Maximising the impact of your sessions
The key to maximising the impact of your training sessions, and therefore getting back into shape quickly, is to keep your body guessing.
Take the simple run for example: if you shake up the pace and don’t allow your body to predict what’s coming up next, you’ll burn more calories. If you go for a jog in the park, rather than keeping one steady pace for half an hour, intersperse the jogging with sprints and recovery sections. This principle can be applied to walking, cycling, and swimming alike, and is a great way to ensure you get the most out of your training time.
Outdoor circuits
You don’t have to be scared of circuits - they can be as hardcore or as gentle as you make them. You’ll burn lots of calories, build fat-burning muscle, benefit from the fresh air, and find that your fitness improves fast.
On top of that, once you’ve grasped the basic principle of circuits, you can vary the exercises that make up your workouts, so your sessions stay fresh and never get dull. Check out this basic outdoor circuits guide and give it a go.
So there you have it: no expensive gym memberships or personal trainers to fork out for. No peak-time treadmill queuing to endure. Just sensible, free fitness solutions for you to get your teeth into.
Confused.com Top tip: Did you also know that by losing a stone, you could save £322 a year on your life insurance?
Written by Kate Edwards from CurbYourConsumerism.com, a saving fanatic helping readers to eat well, live well, and prosper.
