Delicious Life Coaching

Tired of your old gym routine? Or can’t afford your gym membership anymore?

Here are six creative, inexpensive workouts you can do to get in shape:

Cycling it off – Biking around town and commuting to work via bike can be especially challenging if you live in a city with a lot of traffic (like New York). But not only is it inexpensive, you’ll also save a ton of money on gas or train/bus fare.

Chop wood – A friend of mine who has a house out in the country chopped all of his firewood for the winter recently. He said he started out wearing several layers and a jacket. By the time he was done, he was down to his t-shirt and feeling great from all of the upper body work. He was also satisfied with the tangible results – the big pile of wood – that will save money on heating costs.

Portable yoga – Who says you have to be in a class or in front of a DVD to do yoga? Get creative with your downtime and carve out space to strike some yoga poses. Another friend likes to roll out the yoga mat  during airport layovers. He figures that if he’s going to be sitting around for 3 or 4 hours, why not do something fun and worthwhile with his time? Because he finds time to do his practice wherever he is, he works out almost every day and stays in terrific shape.

Home improvement – Scraping and sanding off old paint, applying fresh coats of paint, caulking doors and windows, installing cabinetry, building shelving – all of these home improvements can take a lot of energy and time. But once you’re done, you’ve had a good upper body workout and your home will look a lot better for it, too.

Workout for cash – Take up some part time or weekend physical labor - walk multiple dogs, mow lawns, shovel driveways, declutter garages or attics, or clean out gutters. You can do it for yourself or try to make some money off of your efforts. Either way, you’ll come out ahead because you’ll get your exercise and get chores done for you or others.

Workout for change – canvass neighborhoods for your favorite political candidate or cause. Go door to door and ask people to sign your petition. Raise money for charity by pledging to complete an endurance event for donations. You’ll raise awareness of the issues that matter most to you while you’re getting active.