When people talk about wanting to exercise more or start working out again, those words are often followed by talk of needing to go to the gym more or needing to join a gym. We often associate exercise with the gym.  The gym is a great place to be active and provides many many ways for people to achieve their fitness goals, but the gym is not the only answer. It’s time to think outside of the gym!  There are many opportunities to reach your fitness goals outside of the gym.

Hit the pavement. Exercising outside is probably the best and most simple way to exercise without a gym membership. There are no fees and contracts with the outside world and the hours of operation are pretty good. Instead of walking on a treadmill, take a walk in your neighborhood. Take note of how different your perspective of your neighborhood is on foot verses your car. You notice things you don’t normally pay attention to in the car. If walking or running is not your thing, take a blast from the past and ride a bike. It was fun when you were a kid and great news it is still fun! The bonus is that you can have fun riding and be active.

Forget the borrowed and the blue, try something new!  Spice up your workout with something that you have not tried before. A great new activity suggestion is yoga. Thanks to the internet we can try yoga for free! Check out yogatoday.com to sign up for a free weekly yoga class. Just typing in “yoga” on YouTube will bring a million videos for you to try as well.
 

Check it out. The library is not just about books these days, its a great free tool when it comes to workout DVDs. Visit your local library to see what workout videos they offer. Being able to checkout and return the videos makes it so you never get sick of the same one.

These are just a few ideas of how you can think outside of the gym, what are some things you do?