Transcript
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
so much more comfortable. Resistance bands, they're
super affordable. Think $10 to $15. They're incredibly
versatile and they're great for strength training.
And one that I am not as big of a fan of, but
some people really love is a jump rope. You can
get one of these for less than 10 bucks and they're
great for cardio workouts. And there's some awesome
videos on YouTube for that as well. And of course,
good sneakers. If you can afford it, I really
recommend you get some decent shoes to protect
your feet and your joints. I won't leave a link
for those because there's so many different types
of sneakers that I would end up just basically
leaving 11 billion links, but you get my point.
Make sure you invest in some good sneakers. And
honestly, even these are, are completely optional.
I've seen people who work out barefoot and they
use a towel instead of a yoga mat. So the point
is, whatever you can have access to, use it.
Because here's what I really want you to understand.
Expensive doesn't mean better. Some of the most
fit, healthy people I know don't even have gym
memberships. They move their body consistently
using free and low -cost methods. And the fitness
industry, they want you to believe that you need
all the things, right? The memberships, the equipment,
the gear, the supplements, blah, blah, blah,
blah, blah. But what you actually need is consistency,
effort, and the willingness to move your body.
And you can do that completely for free. In the
show notes, I'll also leave a link to a free
workout plan that you can start. It's so simple
and the total cost is $0. And the next time that
you think, I can't afford to work out, I want
you to remember this episode. You can afford
to work out. You absolutely can. Because movement,
it doesn't require money. It just requires commitment.
Onwards and upwards, my friends. Have you worked
out today?