Five ways to get healthy without the gym

With free running groups, fitness challenges and yoga held outdoors, it’s no wonder so many people are now swapping gym memberships for Mother Nature.

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While the gym might have its perks, it’s certainly not the only way to get healthy. With free running groups, fitness challenges and yoga held outdoors, it’s no wonder so many people are now swapping gym memberships for Mother Nature.

CEO of parkrun, Tim Oberg, heads up the largest provider of free, physical activity opportunities in Australia. With four million members globally (and half a million in Australia), parkrun provides timed, weekly 5km running and walking events in parks and open spaces all over the country. The best part? It’s 100% free.

“One of the key barriers around getting fit and active is cost,” says Tim. “This is why people don’t have gym memberships or join clubs. By being free, we remove the barrier to participation, enabling people to see that they’re getting value from exercise”.

Here are Tim’s five free ways to exercise without the cost of a club.

FIND AN ACTIVITY YOU ENJOY

A lot of people don’t like running, so for me, you have to find an activity you enjoy. Perhaps it’s something you haven’t done for a long time, such as riding a bike, which is a classic example of an activity that takes you back to days of freedom when you were a kid. It’s a great way to start. Find something you like to do, which will get you moving, making both your body and your mind feel great. Once you start to build those fitness levels up, you can explore new forms of exercise.

ROPE IN A MATE

Having a friend or partner to train with helps create accountability. Group exercise programs like  Medibank’s Free+Active  encourage great social and community interaction, so you’ll always have someone to exercise with. 

LOOK TO YOUR PHONE

It’s important to check out what mobile apps might be available to support your journey. At parkrun, we have a global partnership with Strava  – a running and cycling app which records your physical activity. A lot of participants get into Strava, sharing their runs through Facebook. Lots of available apps can do similar – I don’t think they can force you to exercise, however, they support your journey by recording what you’re doing, giving you a little more interest and pushing you to keep going.

NUTRITION

In terms of staying healthy, physical activity is just one part of it but really, you are what you eat. Eat fresh and seasonal, load up on fruit and veggies, cut out all processed foods and try to be conscious of what you’re putting into your body as it’s the fuel that powers you through exercise. It’s just about putting a little more thought and consciousness into your eating which is really important.

GO TO MEDIBANK FREE+ACTIVE

Get involved in the community! Go to a Medibank Free+Active event, where you can take part in  parkrun or other activities that Medibank are driving through the program, such as Live Life Get Active  and OneWave. They’re all free, and you don’t need a gym membership, so there’s no cost for participating.

Originally published as Five ways to get healthy without the gym