Too skint to get fit?

We all want Beyoncé’s backside, a boyfriend with Becks’ pecs and Jolie’s energetic joie de vivre. But how can us mere mortals compete with the bodies beautiful without five-star gym memberships, weekly seaweed wraps and regular detox camps? If your diet consists more of baked beans than baked trout, then read on. I promise to show you how to get fit without the funds, tone without the tenners, slim without the spondees. And there’s even another use for those baked beans…

Firstly, why bother?

Regular exercise will:

• Strengthen your heart and mind – it improves the flow of oxygen to the brain which will aid focus, alertness, relaxation and clear thought
• Protect you against illness such as colds – it boosts our immune system by increasing concentration of white blood cells which help to combat colds, flu and other airborne viruses
• Improve your love life – it aids blood flow … and stimulates the endocrine glands increasing the sex hormone, testosterone.

Celebs eh? Those smiling faces, happy dispositions and endless energy. While the lavish lifestyles play a part, so do their fitness levels. Regular exercise not only helps you shed a few excess layers of ‘cosiness’, but you’ll find your energy levels increase, you’ll sleep more effectively and improve your stamina – which, as your girlfriends / partner will confirm, can only be a good thing. When we exercise, our bodies release endorphins. These feel-good chemicals – legal and free – not only make us feel energised, but increase confidence, happiness and the ability to cope with stress. Ever heard of running off a hangover? These little guys leave Berocca, Bloody Mary’s and marmite on toast for dead when it comes to sorting you out. If they came in a bottle we’d buy them, so why not employ your body to produce some for free? Get out there and get moving.

Getting started – test your fitness

While the wealthy elite hand over fists-full of cash to pumped-up Adonises to assess their fitness level at the gym, the cheapest way to begin your quest is to go online. There are hundreds of sites dedicated to health and fitness, and many have useful tools like calorie counters, body mass index tables and pre-exercise fitness tests. Try NetFit which provides a fitness test and cut-out-and-keep score charts so you can keep track of your progress. You’ll run through tests which measure your resting heart-rate, lung size, flexibility, upper body strength and balance. An even more comprehensive site is The FitMap. The training zones calculator tells you exactly how much exercise you need to be doing to achieve your fitness goals. For example, a 20-year-old woman who wants to ‘burn body fat’ will need to achieve a heart rate of around 122 beats per minute (bpm), three to five times a week. To improve her fitness, she’d need to regularly increase her heart rate to 160 bpm (but don’t overdo it – you don’t want to end your first week towards fitness prematurely due to injury).

Precautions before you start:

• Consult your doctor if you have any medical problems (heart disease, blood pressure, diabetes, blackouts, arthritis or back problems)
• Start gently and build up gradually over a few months
• You should be able to hold a conversation during exercise. Stop if you have difficulty catching your breath, develop chest pains, or feel weak, dizzy or faint
• Don’t exercise if you are ill or feel very tired
• Wait for two hours after eating before exercising, but don’t exercise on an empty stomach
• Drink lots of water before you start, while you’re exercising and after you’ve finished
• Always warm up before you start exercising and cool down when you have finished (stretching is great).

Facilities for free – try your local ones

Remember when all you needed was a tennis ball, a piece of concrete, some chalk and a few mates to have an hour of fun and competitiveness? Well exercise can still come just as cheap. You or your parents pay your council taxes, so why not find out where it goes? Local authorities all provide some form of free health and fitness facilities and, while charges vary between councils, many centres have ‘open-days’ when you can use facilities for free or at the most a pittance. Phone your local authority or have a look at their website. There are also a number of free basketball, five-a-side and tennis courts around.

If you’re not into ball sports, then make your way to your nearest park. Run around, kick a footy, skip rope, fling a frisbee – this flimsy piece of plastic is much better value than a pricey session with a Swiss Ball – and before you can say, ‘Mind that greenhouse’ you’ll have increased your heart rate and be on your way to fitness and a fine physique.

Home alone – stay put if you must

With the exception of blizzards and raging gales, nobody can really blame the British weather for lack of exercise. But even if you do stay indoors, there’s still plenty to do, even without telly. There are dozens of health and fitness magazines on the market and even more books written about getting fit. Buy or borrow one, clear a space and flick to the exercise pages. From ‘How to get slimmer abs’ to ‘Exercising your legs’, you’ll find a fitness regime right there on paper, with diagrams to ensure you don’t twist yourself into knots. Choose exercises which don’t require any equipment – a chair can be used for balance, a ball for resistance or a step for stepping. If small weights are required, open your kitchen cupboard and pull down a can of baked beans or something heavier for each hand.

Everyday tips – you won’t even know you’re exercising

Now this is pretty basic stuff really, but it’s amazing how a few easy changes to your day will help you on your way to fitness. Try walking to work or getting off your bus or train one stop earlier. When you are walking, step up the pace a little. Increase that all-important heart rate and make the drab business of getting around town a productive aerobic activity. Even doing housework for 40 minutes can count as your thrice-weekly exercise recommended by so many experts! Scrubbing floors, vacuuming or vigorously cleaning windows can burn as many calories as a trip to the gym, and you’ll be left with a gleaming house and a happy mum or friend instead of festering pile of sweaty gym clothes.

Let’s put that in perspective…

(Based on a 9 - 10 stone, 20 - 30 year old female).

1 hour’s childcare (177 - 210 cal) = 30 minutes hiking
1 hour’s housework (207 -240 cal) = 19 minutes rock climbing
1 hour’s cooking (148 - 181 cal) = 13 minutes running at 7mph
1 hour’s dancing (354 -387 cal) = 60 minutes tennis
1 hour’s moving boxes upstairs (531 -564 cal) = 67 minutes swimming

Get up and go…

Fitness and funds can seem like inseparable bedfellows. Not only do most gym memberships start at around £40 per month, but the more fanatical can easily spend another £150 just on the latest lycra gear, tasty trainers and designer yoga mats. But with such a wealth of resources and information available virtually for free, and a few minor lifestyle changes just begging to be made, who really has an excuse to linger on with lethargy? Take some advice from a famous sports brand’s slogan – just do it!