Transcript: No Gym, No Equipment, No Money | The Guide to Free Fitness That Actually Works

What's up you guys? Famous Ashley Grant here.

Welcome to More Movement Please, the podcast

where I hope to inspire you to move your body

more by sharing my story and occasionally the

stories of others. Let's get into it. Today,

I want to talk about money. That's one of my

favorite subjects in the whole world, but it's

specifically in the lens of fitness. That's how

I want to talk about it. So let's talk about

the myth that you need to spend a lot of money

to be fit. Gym memberships and boutique fitness

classes and personal trainers and fancy equipment

and CrossFit. Yes, all these things can be helpful

in your fitness journey, but are they necessary?

Absolutely not. So today what we're doing is

we're breaking down how to move your body on

a budget. I'm talking free or very low cost ways

that you can stay active. No gym required. Because

here's the truth. Your body doesn't know the

difference between an expensive gym or your living

room. It doesn't care if you're doing squats

with a barbell or with your own body weight.

Movement is movement, and you can get an incredible,

incredible workout without spending a dime. So

let me start with the most obvious one, walking.

This is like the ultimate free workout, right?

It's completely free, and you can do it anywhere,

and it's one of the best things you can do for

your health. Seriously. The research on walking,

it's incredible. It improves your cardiovascular

health. It helps with weight management. It boosts

your mood, reduces stress. The list goes on.

You don't need special shoes, though I will say

a decent pair of sneakers will help. You don't

need a gym. You just need to put one foot in

front of the other. Walk around your neighborhood,

walk to the store instead of driving, walk during

your lunch break. Hell, you can walk while listening

to podcasts, you know, like this one. Or if you

prefer, listen to music or audiobooks. Walking

is free fitness and it absolutely counts as exercise.

I know of a girl that started her fitness journey

in her living room and she literally just walked

from her front door. to her bedroom, to her kitchen,

and then went all the way around to all those

places again. And she did it over and over for

about 30 minutes a day. And it was such a simple

thing to do, but it's how she started her fitness

journey and began losing weight. Next up is YouTube.

It's one of my favorite, favorite, favorite things

to use when I can't get to the gym. Think of

it as like a free personal trainer. It has thousands,

like literally thousands of free workout videos.

I'm talking everything from yoga to Pilates to

dance fitness to high intensity training to strength

training, stretching, you name it. And I'll actually

share some of my favorite YouTube workout playlists

in the show notes of this episode. There's just

some amazing creators out there. They're offering

the most professional quality workouts and they're

all doing it for free. And some of my favorite

ones don't require any equipment at all. These

include stretch classes and standing Pilates

and even beginner dance fitness. You can follow

along in your living room with no equipment.

I want to make that very clear. You don't even

need any equipment. If you do want to add some

resistance, sure, you can use household items,

but we'll get to that in a minute. Next is body

weight exercises. Your body acts as the equipment.

You don't need weights or machines or whatever

to get stronger. Your own body weight provides

plenty of resistance. Think push -ups and squats

and lunges and planks, burpees, mountain climbers,

jumping jacks. All of these are incredibly effective

exercises that require zero equipment. You can

build muscle, burn calories, and improve your

fitness using nothing but your body. If a regular

push -up's too hard, do it against the wall or

on your knees. That's how I started. If squats

feel challenging, hold onto a chair for balance.

You can modify everything you're doing as needed.

But just know that bodyweight exercises, they're

legitimate and they're effective. Now let's talk

about household items as gym equipment. I've

seen so many videos of this and it's so fun just

to watch people and see how they work out with

different things because you don't need dumbbells.

You can get creative. Think water bottles or

milk jugs that are filled with water or sand

if you want more weight. Canned goods can be

your lightweights or a backpack that's filled

with books for weighted exercises, towels for

sliding exercises or resistance work, or stairs

for cardio and strength training. You can even

use chairs for tricep dips or step -ups or support

during exercises. And one of my favorites is

just using the wall for wall sits or wall push

-ups. Seriously, look around your house and I

bet you, you have things that could act as your

makeshift gym right there. Finally, there's free

apps and resources. There are so many fitness

apps. In fact, one of the ones that I was using

early on, I'll leave in the show notes as well.

It was just a simple dumbbell workout program

that I found on, I think it was Google Play.

And I only have threes and fives in my apartment,

but hey, they got the job done. So it worked

for me. There are so many free different things

that you can find online. Apps for things like

couch to 5k running programs, seven minute workout

routines, yoga and stretching, HIIT workouts

and body weight strength training. And don't

forget about resources like fitness blogs and

podcasts. Hello, subscribe to mine and social

media. Follow fitness creators who share free

workout ideas and their motivation. You know

what? I actually just remembered another one.

Outdoor activities. Nature is like your free

gym. And honestly, it's often more enjoyable

than being indoors anyway. Hiking, running, biking.

Well, you know, if you have a bike. Swimming

at public beaches or pools or playing at the

playground with your kids, doing yoga in the

park. All free or very low costs. Many cities

even have outdoor fitness equipment in parks.

Check and see if your community has a fitness

trail or outdoor gym equipment that you can use.

The main thing I want you to do is start looking

into what your community offers for free or cheap.

Believe it or not, many libraries offer free

fitness classes or even passes to local gyms.

Community centers will often have low -cost fitness

programs. For example, at the YMCA, the local

YMCA here in Richmond, Kentucky, they have an

amazing financial aid program for people who

can't afford regular gym memberships. There's

also park and recreation departments that run

affordable fitness classes, and some churches

and community organizations also offer free exercise

groups. and running clubs, those are usually

free to join. There's a bunch of them on Facebook.

Just do a quick search for your city, plus the

words free fitness or community fitness programs,

and I bet you'd be surprised to see what comes

up. And while you're online... Check out some

free workout challenges. You wouldn't believe

how many are on social media. You will find so

many free fitness challenges. I've seen challenges

from 30 -day plank challenges to squats to walking

challenges. All of these give you structure and

community support with no cost. And if you can't

find one that you like, create your own with

friends and family. Accountability doesn't have

to cost you money. But if you do have a small

budget to work with, here's where I'd suggest

spending it. And I'll leave some links in the

show notes for a couple of the things that I'm

about to discuss. First one is a yoga mat. You

can actually find one of these for as little

as $10 to $20. And they make floor exercises