No gym membership? These workouts won’t blow your budget

If you have a limitless budget, there is no question that you can get into shape. You can hire top-flight trainers, buy yourself a Peloton, and then splurge on bikes, kayaks and surfing gear.

For most of us, though, shelling out thousands of dollars on fitness equipment isn’t practical, especially if you suspect it will end up in a dusty closet once your New Year’s resolution wears off. But here’s a little secret: getting in shape doesn’t have to cost a fortune.

A cheap skipping rope can make for a heart-pumping workout.Credit: Getty Images

“I can go to the beach for free,” says Milo Bryant, a trainer based in San Diego. “I can pick up some hundred-pound rocks and carry them.” Bryant (who has also been known to push cars for a workout – he recommended mid-size sedans for beginners, only on flat surfaces) says bear crawls are another great, cheap exercise. “You do bear crawls going down steps, your upper body is dying by the end,” he says.

Bryant notes that he eventually had to start working out at night to avoid all the stares as he lugged rocks around and crawled on steps. But there are plenty of other ways to get a solid workout for less money than a restaurant dinner.

Build a cheap home gym

There is a reason every good Rocky movie has a skipping rope scene: it’s an incredible workout. A $10 skipping rope might be the single best cheap workout tool there is.

Try a Tabata-style routine, with 20 seconds on and 10 seconds off, and see if you can go for 10 or 20 minutes. For more upper body work, try weighted ropes.

Those who don’t feel comfortable jumping can let the rope hit the ground and then step over it, says Gwen Gates, a coach at the Logan Health Medical Fitness Centre in Kalispell, Montana. “Someone who’s maybe rehabbing an injury,” she says, “it’s going to get your heart rate up, because you’re taking your knees up.”

Battle ropes are another great way to work the arms and get some cardio with little risk of injury. And while most tend to start at $50, nothing is stopping you from making one with supplies from the hardware store.

If you want to do bench presses, dead lifts and curls but don’t have space or the budget for barbells, consider using exercise bands, like the ones physical therapists often use. A full set shouldn’t cost more than $20 and the only limit to their uses is your imagination.

Bryant likes to put a set around his ankles or knees, then put his hands on the floor with another band around his wrists, and walk sideways, stretching them as he goes.

“I start everybody off with the yellows because the yellows are typically the easiest ones,” he says, adding, “You want to be able to move.”

Kettlebell workouts are popular these days, but the weights tend to be pricey. So Brad Roy, who works with Gates and is the editor of the American College of Sports Medicine’s Health & Fitness Journal, suggested medicine balls instead. They can be used in similarly dynamic moves and start around $20, though it’s important to get instruction from a trainer to avoid injury.

Gates suggests picking an amount of weight that you can hold in front of you during a squat. Once you feel comfortable with that, try squatting while holding the ball above your head.

Up your walking game

Want to really get back to basics? Try an approach that dates back to the Pleistocene. What our ancestors called “walking or running with weight on your back,” and what we now call rucking, is one of the easiest ways to build strength, stamina and muscular endurance while taking the dog for a stroll or buying a loaf of bread. Fancy rucking backpacks start at around $100, but you can achieve the same thing by just putting a few books or water bottles in whatever backpack you have.

If you happen to find some pull-up bars or other exercise tools on your walk, leave the backpack on while you use them. If not, find a playground. Bryant says there are hundreds of exercises you can do on a playground, from step-ups to tricep dips. If you don’t have a playground, he says, try walking backward up a slope. This will target your quads, and small studies suggest it may improve balance, stability and overall fitness more than walking forward.

When you imagine a chiselled athlete, a bird-watcher is probably not the first thing you think of. But you might be surprised. It’s not that bird-watching is harder than normal walking (if anything, it’s slower), but that you end up walking longer when you’re looking to pick up that last bird for your list. It’s more fun if you have a pair of binoculars, but that’s not a requirement.

You could also try walking with poles, Roy suggests. These start at around $25 and make great exercise for the arms and shoulders as you push down on them and propel yourself forward, he says. They’re just as useful on a footpath as they are on a trail. Make sure they are adjusted so that your forearms are parallel to the ground and your elbows are at 90-degree angles.

For people who are considering walking with a cane, Roy often recommends trying one or two trekking poles instead, which encourage better posture than leaning over a cane.

Lastly, Roy adds, if you want to pick up the pace and you have access to a tennis court, you might try pickleball, which starts at $30 for paddles and balls (though $100 gets you a better set).

Among older adults especially, pickleball builds hand-eye coordination and improves balance, to say nothing of the fitness benefits, he says. “It’s an awesome activity.”

The New York Times

Make the most of your health, relationships, fitness and nutrition with our Live Well newsletter. Get it in your inbox every Monday.