Guest Post: Fitness Deals Aren’t Always

Thanks to Liz from Looking Good for a Mom for today’s guest post!

One of the most challenging hurdles to getting fit is finding a method that works for you AND falls within your budget. Sure we could all look phenomenal if we could hire the personal trainers that the celebrity circuit use. And don’t underestimate the value of your time. While you could look great if you spent hours each day working out, I’m guessing you might prefer a little time for a life!

I’m Liz, a mom to two kids who holds down a full-time job, a part-time job, a blog, and somehow manages to get in a few workouts a week. And I do it within our budget (much smaller since my husband and his job parted ways). So in my guest post here on Fun Finds for Families, I thought I’d share some of the ways I’ve been able to make my fitness routine work within both my financial budget as well as my time budget.

1. Know thyself: Any investment in fitness equipment is only good if you will actually use it. And, it has to be effective. So spend money on equipment or classes or memberships that you know you will use. Don’t feed the pile of unused fitness “cast-offs” (and the subsequent Craiglist “for sale” postings that inevitably follow). And if that infomercial for the “shake weight” comes on TV, that’s a good sign to turn it off and do some push-ups! For me, I could buy tons of equipment to use at home, but I always find myself getting distracted and not getting to my workouts. So for me, the cost of a gym membership was worth it to ensure I actually would be motivated to work out. In your case, pick what works for you, whether it’s a weekly yoga class, a workout video, or weights you can use at home.
2. Do your research: When the time comes to purchase a fitness tool, a workout program, or a gym/class membership, make sure you have thoroughly researched the product and understand the quality and market rate. For instance, when I was joining my local gym, I researched how gyms owned by the same company had negotiated pricing with customers. Armed with this knowledge, I suggested that I didn’t need the access to other clubs that was being offered to me. My sales associate removed that from my package, and I was able to get the pricing I wanted. And when I was purchasing an online workout program, I was concerned whether it actually worked. I found a blogger that used the program and was able to confirm its usefulness BEFORE I purchased it.
3. Be efficient: That great workout your friend told you about? The one that helped those ladies lose all of that weight? Well, it only requires 90 minutes a day, 6 days a week! (ONLY?) If you’re trying to get fit and/or lose weight, doing 100 tricep kickbacks might SEEM like the right way to tone your arms, but I assure you it’s a colossal waste of time. In your workout, use big movements that work multiple muscles. You’ll burn more calories and hit more muscle groups in less time. For me, I use bodyweight exercises frequently in my fitness routines. Doing push-ups with my elbows tucked into my sides gives me a great tricep workout. And, it also burns more calories and hits my chest, shoulders, and core muscles too! Bonus! And when lifting weights, I’m more likely to do exercises like squats, which work nearly all of the muscles in the legs, than I am to use the quadricep weight machine. Jillian Michaels follows this rule in her “30 Day Shred” workout.

In closing, One of the best ways I found to save both time AND money was to get a fitness program from a book or magazine (for instance, the Female Body Breakthrough, by Rachel Cosgrove) that focuses on circuit training and high intensity interval training. Another great source for efficient, effective, and inexpensive workouts is Craig Ballantyne’s Turbulence Training program. Both are inexpensive programs from respected experts in their fields, and neither will have you spending hours every day meeting your workout goals.

So stop using time or financial budgets as an excuse to postpone fitness. It’s achievable on any budget, and in any schedule.

Liz Muirhead is a full-time working mom to two wonderful kids, runs a home based business selling sterling silver jewelry, and blogs over at Looking Good for a Mom [http://www.lookinggoodmom.com], giving fitness and nutrition tips, and talking about her personal story of how she went from looking good “for a mom,” to rocking a bikini like a teenager again.

I am so glad you met Liz! You can read my guest post over at A Life in Balance today! – Alissa