How Much Money Do You Spend on Fitness?

Many of us spend a small fortune on gym memberships or personal trainers to get physically fit and active. There are four major types of fitness training; flexibility exercise, dynamic strength-training, static strength-training, and aerobic exercise; all of which can be fit into your daily schedule without spending large amounts of money.

Flexibility training provides a foundation for all other exercise types. These stretching exercises reduce your risk of injury and improve your flexibility. Try a Tai chi or yoga class, both will help to reduce stress and improve your balance.  Many recreation centres offer a first class for free, so take advantage of these free demonstration exercise classes.   Your local library’s will have exercise DVD`s that you can rent or download activities such as yoga and stretching exercises.

Dynamic strength training consists of  types of exercises that strengthen your muscles over a full-range of motion, as performing a bench press, leg press or situp.  Check with your healthcare practitioners, many clinics now have Rehab Gyms and as a patient you can use the facility at little or no cost.

Static strength-training helps you to maintain muscle strength and tone. Isometric exercises come in two types: sub-maximal and maximal. Sub-maximal exercises involve contracting your muscles such as holding a dumbbell steady with your arm fully extended. Maximal exercises involve contracting your muscles with all your strength, such as pushing against a wall.

Aerobic training strengthens your cardiovascular system by increasing the heart rate.  They should be performed for longer than 15 minutes and should maintain your heart rate at about 60 percent of your maximum heart rate. Examples of aerobic exercise include fast walking, jogging, and swimming.  Joining a walking group will keep you motivated, or try participating in community-sponsored fun run.  If you need a bit more of a team atmosphere try joining a volleyball or basketball league that plays at your local community center.

Staying connected to you community is a good way to keep fit mentally and physically at little or no cost to yourself; and will keep you moving while having a great time!

Remember that all activity counts towards being physically fit, so even tasks such as household chores, or gardening will help you keep fit.