Frugal Fitness: How to Burn Fat on a Budget

Summertime made burning fat and reaching your fitness goals easy–and best of all, cheap! Nice weather meant frugal fitness, where you could get your sweat on in your own backyard, at a local trail, or at the summer pool with little to no cost at all. While you decreased in size, your wallet stayed fat and happy.

Then Mother Nature starts turning down the heat for many areas of the country. While fall foliage in beautiful hues may mean you still want to  exercise outdoors, plummeting temps ahead may deter you from doing so for much longer. You may now feel forced to head back to a gym or studio for an indoor environment more conducive to your workout needs. Problem is, your wallet won’t like it.

Not-So Frugal Fitness

An average membership at a private gym is around $60 a month, as reported in 2016 by USA Today. That’s $720. While good health is priceless, shelling out a lot of money doesn’t guarantee an A+ come check-up time. Winter can be tough a time to leave the comfort of your warm home (and bed!) in exchange to put yourself through the paces. It’s no surprise that 67 percent of memberships go unused–which is just wasted cash.

With the holidays ahead (not to mention money being spent on everyday life needs), the last thing you want to do is burn through unnecessary cash. And guess what–you don’t have to!

How to Burn Fat on a Budget

1. Be a gym genius: If you can’t live without spinning classes and muscle heads, then the gym is where you belong. Try cutting your costs with a few of the following:
   • Check to see if your health insurance company provides discounts or rebates annual memberships.
   • Sign up during peak sale periods, which usually occur after the holidays, or just before summer.
   • Peruse the classifieds. People who are moving out of state, or no longer have time to work out, often sell their memberships at a discounted rate (and you won’t be stuck with a one-year commitment)
2. Get healthy at home: Who needs a gym when you can turn your home into a mini-workout zone? It’s cheap, convenient, and no one will see you sweating in spandex.
   • Use your canned goods as weights. You’ll be a lean, mean baked bean-lifting machine.
   • YouTube isn’t just for watching adorable cat videos. There are lots of instructor-led workouts and yoga sessions  you can follow along with in the comfort of your own home.
   • Like most things in this tech-driven world, when it comes to free or inexpensive home fitness, there’s an app (or website) for that. Sites such as Sweaty Betty, DoYogaWithMe, and Fitness Blender offer free classes to users they can do in their homes with limited or no equipment needed. Other sites, such as Cody, Sweat, and Fit Girls, offer paid plans, with most being much cheaper than what you’d pay at a gym or fitness studio.
   • Grab a chair–use the back for balance during leg lifts; use the arms to create terrific triceps; and use the seat to put you feet up on while you lay back for ab and booty crunches.

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     Can’t bear to tear yourself away from the TV? Try pairing up your favorite show with some good ol’ fashioned sit-ups and push-ups.

3. Community fat burning: Prefer to be surrounded by others who are also getting in shape? Look to your neighborhood for inexpensive fitness options.
   • Recreation centers and local businesses often offer classes for people who enjoy a good workout for not a lot of dough.
   • Many local park districts have fitness centers that are either free or very cheap to residents. While they may not be outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment, your body won’t know the difference.
   • Consider a winter sport that allows you to make use of local trails for snowshoeing or cross-country skiing.
   • When high schools are out for students during breaks, they may be open to the public. Contact the local school district to find out if their facilities are available for use.

How have you found ways to burn fat on a budget? Share with other readers in the comments.

Carrie Anton (270 Posts)

Carrie Anton is a freelance writer focusing on health, fitness, and sports. She's been published in Self, Women's Health, Oxygen, and Maximum Fitness.