How To Get Fit For Free

Last summer, I ditched my gym membership for the first time in 20 years. It dawned on me that, having visited the premises precisely twice that year, each of my workouts (in a no-frills council leisure centre, mind) had cost me £120.

I’m not alone in throwing in the fluffy towel. Recent statistics from the accountancy firm Deloitte show that gym membership in the UK is in decline – 54,000 fewer people joined in 2007 than they had the year previously, while the United States has seen a 24% drop in gym recruits in the last year. The average monthly outlay for health club membership is £46, and it’s an expense that many feel they can’t justify in the current economic climate – especially given that only a quarter of gym members actually go regularly.

But financial belt-tightening needn’t lead to trouser belt loosening. The absence of a shiny membership card in my wallet has led me to explore new ways and places to be active – and I’d say I’m fitter than ever. I have run and cycled more (freeing myself from the stultifying boredom of the cardiovascular machines), dipped my toes into open-water swimming, and devised home-based workouts which, I believe, match anything I could have done in the gym (see my bench circuit, below).

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February 27, 2009