How to Save Money While Getting Fit

The following is a guest post from Matthew Pryor at Body Tithe University. 

As a fitness coach and blogger, I don’t mind investing some money in good gear and healthy food. But for many people, getting fit is hard enough. Throw in the need to keep expenses down, and just forget about it, right? Well, not necessarily. Getting in shape doesn’t have to cost a fortune. But it does require one to be intentional, prepared, committed, and at times, a little creative.

Before we proceed, it’s important to define exactly what I mean by “getting fit”. Getting fit isn’t simply exercising. In fact, I’d argue that getting in shape is 80% nutrition, and 20% exercise. Fortunately, I’m going to show you a few ways to save on both. And keep in mind that all this is in addition to the fact that being healthier is preventative medicine: it will save you money on your future doctor bills, prescription drugs, insurance premiums and so on. It’s like the compound interest of the health world.

No-to-low cost options

Did you know that there are 58 National Parks in the United States, comprising nearly 52,000,000 acres? You can burn a lot of calories exploring 52,000,000 acres. Costs to visit some of them are free and others offer annual passes at reasonable rates.

Great Smokey Mountains too far? Maybe you could start jogging a few of the over 41,000 miles of trails at one of the 6,624 State Parks. I don’t believe you that there’s no park in your area.

Running not your thing? You could go mall-walking, but I like to get outside when I can (and mall-walking could tempt you to spend or worse, incite some serious lane-rage at a pack of wild blue hairs). So I take the kids to the zoo quite often using an annual pass. Additionally, there are some free zoos, like the excellent St. Louis Zoo. Lugging around one kid on my back and pushing two in a stroller is a nice way to get exercise without doing an official “workout.”

Mid-cost options

A good pair of shoes can seem like a lot of money at the time, but trust me, they’re worth it. Just be sure to get the right shoe for the right exercise. In other words, never ever, EVER train for a marathon using trail running shoes (not that I would ever be so dumb as to make that painful mistake… ahem).  Whether you’re running, doing aerobics, playing tennis (at a free state park of course), you name it, there’s a shoe designed for that purpose. Investing in the correct shoe will save you co-pays to the chiropractor, podiatrist, sports medicine internist, you name it. And get a good synthetic blend sock while you’re at it.

Food-wise, the general consensus is that organic is healthier. But it’s also more expensive. One obvious way to save is buying at a wholesale club. We buy a good portion of our organic produce at Costco, which has a surprisingly good selection. They also have some signature brand products (aka Kirkland), such as organic chicken broth, that will help you get more bang for your buck.

Another great option is a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). Sign-up for weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly baskets of organic produce, eggs, even various organic meats, all farmed in your area. Some CSA’s will even deliver to your door (fewer gas-guzzling trips to the grocery). Split the subscription with a neighbor or family member and everybody wins.

High-cost options that are worth it

Now if there’s a danger with CSA’s (and wholesale clubs), it’s the danger of having too many leftovers. What will you do with an extra pound of spinach or two pounds of apples? I’ll tell you what we do, we blend them… not juice them, but blend them, with our Vitamix. The Vitamix is a multi-purpose powerhouse that will make everything from smoothies to peanut butter; ice-cream to soup (it even heats the soup!). Yes, our Vitamix was expensive. But we use it two to four times a day and it’s guaranteed to last seven years. Plus, when you involve the children into the preparation process, they’re much more inclined to like the outcome. Just ask my three-year-old who gave the Tomato-Carrot-Peach-Banana smoothie a “Yummy!” Furthermore, your home brewed smoothies are cheaper and infinitely better for you than store-bought prepackaged options.

Another purchase that pays off long-term are workout videos. As a Beachbody Coach, I am of course partial to their products. Take for example the wildly popular P9OX. The cost of the videos is $120. And let’s say you spent another $150 for the pull-up bar and some used dumbbells. You’re in for $270 total, right? The program is six days a week, for 13 weeks, for a total of 78 workouts. $270 divided by 78 is $3.46 per workout (while having the convenience of working out at home). Do another 13 week round and you’ve cut the cost in half, to $1.73. I’ve been through P90X four times, which would make the cost per workout about 87 cents! And the videos, pull-up bar, and dumbbells are yours to keep forever. Compare that to a gym membership where you use it or lose it, the cost never ends, and will only ever go up, and workout videos win hands down! Furthermore, did you know that doing a Beachbody program entitles you to free fitness coaching? Everybody likes free! Now I’m not suggesting that Beachbody videos are the only good options out there. I’m just suggesting that people crunch the numbers before saying “no” to workout DVDs because of initial sticker shock.

A few closing do’s and don’ts

• Do NOT buy a one-purpose machine like the latest “revolutionary” ab-only gadget. Instead, purchase multipurpose gear like stability balls, medicine balls, dumbbells, or resistance bands that can be used for a wide variety of exercises.

 

• Do NOT buy a gym membership, workout videos, gear, anything IF you’re not fully committed to sticking with it. Did you know 60% of gym members quit coming after the first three months.  If you’re just going through the motions (and only you can answer this), it might not be time. Instead, ask yourself if you’re really ready (requires complete honesty), keep researching, and start to set aside money for when you are ready.

 

• Do NOT go this road alone. Instead, find an accountability partner, get support, ask for help. A big part of Weight Watchers success comes from the weekly weigh-ins and counseling. Yes, you can get fit by yourself, but you increase your chances tenfold by having a friend checking in with you regularly. Furthermore, by doing a group fitness class like a boot camp, you can get the accountability you need, good instruction, and pay less per class than you would with a personal trainer.

 

• Do NOT underestimate the importance of proper nutrition.  I said it before, 80% of your fitness success comes from good, clean eating. So if you only have money for a set of dumbbells or the right food, pick the right food (and start setting aside money for the dumbbells). You can exercise and still not be healthy. However, it’s pretty hard to eat the right foods in the right amounts and not be healthy.

You see, you have options galore, at all price ranges. And these are just the tip of the iceberg.

Remember, fitness is not biased. Anyone, regardless of location, financial status, age, gender, or race can get fit if they’re willing to learn, sacrifice, and persist.  What is stopping you now? You no longer have any excuses because getting in shape doesn’t require getting in debt.

Comments

[jonmyers]

Love this post. I grew up in NW Indiana, where we had a bunch of National Dunes. I was disappointed not to find any National parks when I moved to West Michigan, but then I learned there was an extensive County Park system. I have nearly 50 parks in a 25 mile radius! My wife and I use them frequently for hiking, kayaking, and canoeing.

There are a number of CSAs and milk shares in the area (our CSA pickup is a mere 15 blocks from our house). We had a milk share for awhile, but couldn't justify the cost; the two of us often had difficulty finishing a half share.

I hear you on the surplus of food that can be had with a CSA. We also went the smoothie route. Banana's are the secret. You can make a kale smoothie taste good with enough bananas! We also started canning last year, and made enough pasta/pizza sauce with our abundance of tomatoes to last us the winter. We did have to pay for the canning costs initially, but we'll be using them again this year!

As a side note, the farm where we bought our milk from also butchered their own cows. We were able to get grass fed beef cheaper from them than from the local superstores (never fresh though, always frozen).

[Jclimber]

Good comments on the gym memberships. But I really like working out at the gym, just a huge assortment of machines that would be tough to duplicate at home. I bought a 3-yr pre-paid membership at 24-Hour-Fitness 5 years ago, now it renews at $99/yr which is a great deal. We go there at least twice a week so we definitely get our money's worth. It helps that it is right on my way home so I don't have to go out of the way to get there.

You can also now buy discounted memberships at Costco for 24Hour. Of course if you are not committed then it's not worth it.

[Daisy]

I have a $20 gym membership and it's awesome. I do find one big expense re: fitness (mainly weight loss) is fitness clothes and clothes once you've lost weight!

[Bryan]

Would have liked to see a LOT more no/low-cost options. Like a link to some body weight workouts or some fun ways to vary your workouts (using a deck of cards to determine what exercise to do and how many repetitions)

If you do buy a single machine, buy an indoor rower (concept2 quality)

"80% of your fitness comes from good, clean eating?" Not by a long shot. Just eating healthy has negligible affect on muscles and your cardiovascular system.

[Moneywise Pastor]

My wife and I bought a Vitamix about 5 years ago and we use it at least four times a day. The kids absolutely love smoothies, and the Vitamix makes it easy to hide veggies in the smoothies.

@Jonmyers, have you made it out to Saugatuck Dunes State Park, or Nordhouse Dunes north of Ludington yet?

[JP]

@Bryan -- a power rack and flat bench, although not technically a machine, would be a better investment if you're only going to buy one piece of equipment.

[Bryan]

@JP depends on your goals. For muscle building, a power rack, bench, barbell, and weights are great. You can always run or do interesting cardio exercises to complement the weight program.

For cardio (and some great muscle building, just not the same type to be had by weight training) it can't get much better than rowing. Though swimming might be a cheaper alternative. These two exercises are extremely easy on the joints also.

[Matthew]

@Brian - We will have to agree to disagree. You could lose all the weight you want without ever lifting a dumbbell or stepping on a treadmill. But try losing weight by exercise only (and not changing your eating habits) and you'll have a hard time. In fact, many people are prone to overeating during periods of exercise to overcompensate for increased hunger (or they justify it... "I did exercise today, so this extra piece of cake won't hurt me.")

I know a number of people who have gone through a program like P90X or Insanity, and didn't change their eating habits and were disappointed by their results. Had they cleaned up their eating, they would have been ecstatic.

You are right, healthy eating by itself won't increase muscle mass, but it will improve your body fat %, which is what most people need help with anyway.

I understand where you are coming from, but people vastly underestimate the importance of clean eating and only focus on exercise.