A Tool to Tone My Muscles - Gold’s Gym Lunge Bar

I’d recommend trying out some workout videos. The cost is much less than a home gym, particularly when you can rent them online to try them out before you purchase - or check out your local library too! I’ve never thought of that one.

We actually own an elliptical machine and weight bench, but I prefer my DVD workouts on my lunch hour with my workout group. We started doing a walk/run three days a week and now (during the hot summer months) we’ve taken the workouts indoors with DVDs, weights and yoga mats.

The agreed-to incentive for this group is if one of us is at work that day but then misses a workout, we owe the group $5. We used the money collected since January to purchase the DVDs and a (healthy) lunch for us all. That alone has kept me working out for the last six months regularly!

Oh, I’d also recommend http://www.spark.com for how-to’s and eating help. It’s a neat little site with lots of useful (and free!) info. Many of the how-tos have videos to go with.

Good luck and keep up the good work!

;0>

Another item that you might want to look for down the road is a swiss ball and then a medicine ball. They are great items to have in a home gym, are much cheaper than most home gym equipment, and you can do a lot of great exercises without any other sort of equipment so they are a great way to start your home gym.

Go check out the Self Magazine challenge. If you sign up before the end of June (it’s free), they’ll send you weekly tips for exercising without equipment and an on line tool to track your progress.

Dear Tricia,
I really like your site! I just found it after hearing about it on NPR. I think it’s great that you’re focusing on not just losing weight but having a more healthy lifestyle. I appreciated cute posts like ‘ways to burn 100 calories in 10 minutes.’ I’ve long had a stuggle with food and exercise leading to me being underweight for most of my young adulthood, having had anorexia and bulemia as a teen. At 23, I still find myself battling food. “Should I have eaten that?” Your goals have a wide appeal to all types of people trying to focus on being healthy. I think today I won’t look at my body in the mirror and think “if I just lost 4 more lbs.” Instead, I’ll take my dog for a walk and eat a well-balanced lunch. Thank you.

Keep an eye out in the classifieds, Craigslist, thrift stores and garage sales for the equipment you’re looking for. I once read a cute story in Life magazine about a family that decided to get in shape and purchased a boatload of fitness gear out of their newspaper classifieds for a small sum of money. Also, I was elated once when I found three up-to-date yoga videos for $1 each at a thrift store. That certainly beats the $20 or more for a single new DVD, and now I have a few to choose from. Also, I LOVE my exercise ball. I’ve had far more success at toning my abs with it than by doing crunches or sit-ups, and I also use it for other toning exercises. They run roughly $20-$40, depending on quality.

Hi, I’m new to your blogs (wandered in through Quicken’s Forums.) Money is not an issue for us now (I’m probably almost twice your age, didn’t start out with debt but lived frugally and am now reaping the benefits) but health is.

DON’T get a home gym. Big money, big space (so even if you only pay small money it will still cost you in lost space.) It will ‘weigh’ on you mentally and if you don’t use it frequently become a symbol of poor spending decisions.

Resistance training is great and will pay off big time down the road (think of the money you’ll save by not having to buy anti-osteoporosis meds.) In the short term, the more muscle you have the more you need to eat to maintain your weight, therefore it will be easier to keep your fat off.

I did my resistance training using Curves (expensive but great for lazy, ADD people like me.)Along with WeightWatchers I lost all my excess weight and was toned and fit at 45 like I had never been in my life. My knee problems disappeared. I could bike for hours (we live in the country so that meant I could bike the 4 miles to church/doctor/groceries/library instead of driving.) I felt great about myself.

Then I became disabled. Now, 2.5 years later I’m approaching my goal weight again and need to do toning. I’m literally afraid that anything I do will mess with my back so am (very) slowly get back into shape using stretches and light weights, not some fancy monstrosity.

We’ve invested in the following over the years (all items are top quality, rated for fitness rooms - we learned that after buying an exercise bike from Sears):

Nordic Trak (well used but now in storage due to my disability)

Chin up bar (great for hanging fine washables to dry from)

Exercise mat (neutral - we have wood floors in the exercise room so when I do my floor exercises in there it is nice.)

Recumbent exercise bike (not well used by dh after the first year; I can’t use due to my disability.)

Free weights (these were cheap, for our son, don’t appear to be used.)

Exercise balls (not used properly, but were invaluable when I was disabled.)

Treadmill (invaluable. Bought after I was disabled and it sped up dh’s recovery from his cancer surgery.)

Despite all this, our preferred method of exercise is walking/hiking. It renews our souls in the sunshine and fresh air,and gives us a chance to visit with neighbours. We travel for work 50% of the time so we don’t even have access to our equipment and many hotels don’t have exercise equipment. So we explore other cities by walking absolutely everywhere.

I guess the lesson to learn from our experience is that lives can change (at least ours sure did), so make sure anything you buy is flexible.

Good ideas, Kate. I totally agree on the treadmill. When I’m not outside, it’s all I use, next to the free weights, exercise ball and yoga mat. Use it in winter and even when you’re slightly injured.

I agree with Diana…workout videos are great. I love The Firm and have been using their videos for about 20 years. You just need a small number of free weights. Can you go online to order videos from your local library (it’s possible in my library system)? That’s a great way to find favorites. If you find a favorite you can check ebay, half.com or craigslist to get a copy.

It’s nice to have one exercise machine (we have a 20 year old stairmaster that’s still going strong). I like to use it on days when I don’t have the time or motivation for a tape. Just remember that most people end up using exercise machines and home gyms as clothes hangers!

Good luck. I’ve been having a (stress-related) bad patch too. I’m hoping to get re-inspired. I know (as a reader of your Debt blog) that you’re going to be on top of this again soon. Take care.

I got one of those inflatable workout balls at Target off the clearance rack for $10…you can do sit ups with it, crunches,push ups, leg lifts…all sorts of excercises! I love it!

I’m a personal trainer and buy all my goods from places like TJ Maxx, Micheal’s, Ross etc. It doesn’t need to cost much.
The lunge bar is versatile and covers all body parts. It’s portable - use it outside in the park.
You really don’t need any more than that.