We are all feeling the pinch of the Recession. It is causing us all to cut back on things that we don’t need, subscriptions we don’t use, products that are just luxury items and memberships that aren’t helping. Who am I to talk though. Between work, family and this blog, I hardly have time to brush my teeth! My daily or weekly workout routine leaves a lot to be desired. But, as I am reminded by so many, your health is something that you need to protect and invest in.
So, how can you replace the your gym membership with something else? There are a variety of things that you can do without paying much or any money. Here are some things to get you started:
- Go for a rigorous walk
- Do pushups and sit-ups regularly
- Run stairs instead of taking the escalator or elevator
- Work in the garden
- Vacuum the house
- Bicycle to work
Note: I’m giving away a free 1-year subscription to Men’s Health magazine! Be sure to read through this entire article for details.
A friend of mine bought me a book that actually is pretty amazing. It is called the "Men’s Health Home Workout Bible" written by Lou Schuler and in it, you can find a variety of do-it-yourself workouts that don’t involve costly purchases of exercise equipment. You can get it now on Amazon for about $15 and I definitely recommend it.
But just today, I came across a rather interesting promotion put on by GE as they try to get people to "upgrade" to their Stainless Steel home appliances. I usually shy away from posting promotional pieces like this but I thought that this one sort of fit in with the "budget exercise" idea, and it was creative as well as funny in the way it promotes the GE products.
The site is called "Strong As Steel" and it’s located here. It is a tongue-in-cheek infomercial that shows how you can use your kitchen appliances to create an at-home workout in the kitchen. The entire infomercial will be available online soon. You can get a taste of it by watching the video below.
Yes, it’s a bit cheesy but what I liked about it was how it’s actually doing a product showcase in the process of humorously giving you ideas for working out in the kitchen (not something you would normally consider doing.)
A little bit of salesy stuff that I learned: supposedly if you visit a participating GE retailer, you can "upgrade" a new appliance to the "steel look" for the price of a regular GE appliance. This is good until July 6th, 2009. That’s a pretty nice little enhancement, especially if you are looking to change your home appliances and get the high-end look in the process.
Lastly, along the lines of better health on a budget, I’m going to be giving away a free 1-year subscription to Men’s Health magazine. All you have to do is post a comment to this article and spread the news about it. But it can’t be just any comment, it has to be one that is related to exercising on a budget! I will be choosing the most creative way that people are exercising on a budget. Be sure to enter your contact information so that I can get a hold of you if you are the chosen winner. You submission can be funny, serious, or creative, just not crude or vulgar please!
HTD Says: Get rid of your gym membership and start working out at home!
