No Gym Membership? You can still exercise!

You don't need a gym membership to be able to exercise. There are so many ways to get a workout in without spending money or feeling like you have to kill yourself each day.

If the weather isn't very good outside (as is the case a good chunk of the year in Oregon), there are plenty of ways to still get exercise inside. Here are a few ideas:

1) Walk around the living room at a brisk pace.

2) Jog in place while watching tv or listening to music.

3) Pop an exercise video into the DVD player (I recommend T25. It's only 25 minutes per day!).

4) Turn on the music and DANCE! Nobody is watching. Have at it!

5) Watch a free exercise video online. Popsugar has really fun workout videos that range from   5 to 30 minutes. You can find the different videos at http://www.popsugar.com/Fitness-Video. My favorite video is the Victoria's Secret 10 minute circuit. The 10 minutes flies by and it's fun too. Check it out at http://www.popsugar.com/fitness/Victoria-Secret-Model-Full-Body-Workout-21416942

5) Set a time or number of reps and do bodyweight exercises such as squats, pushups, crunches, lunges, and planks.


If you want to get outside, there are some great options for that as well:

1) Go for a walk or run (with or without the dog). I love walking or jogging with my dog to the nearby dog park. It's great exercise for the both of us.

2) Take that bike out of the shed and go for a ride. It doesn't have to be really long. Just get on and enjoy the scenery as you ride. Each time you go, try and push yourself to ride a bit further or faster than last time.

3) Go for a hike. In Oregon, there are fantastic places to hike. You don't need to be a mountaineer to go hiking. Try a good trail in the forest.

4) Head to the beach for a day. If the roads or trails around your home are getting boring, why not walk around the beach? The sand will make walking a bit more difficult and burn more calories than walking on a sidewalk.

5) Go swimming or kayaking in the lake. You can always reward yourself afterwards with a nice, light picnic.

6) In the winter, you can go skiing or snowboarding. If you haven't been before, let me tell you it is definitely a workout and will burn a ton of calories while you're having fun blasting down the mountain.

Of course, there are many other options that I didn't list. These are just a few. There is no excuse to not exercise just because you can't afford a gym membership. Just find things that you enjoy doing that get you moving and burn calories. If you so something everyday, you'll not only make it a habit soon enough, but you'll feel great and be a lot healthier with the regular exercise.