Five cheap or free ways to keep fit in 2024 | Tenant news

If your new year’s resolution is to get fitter, you won’t be alone. Many people make goals around exercise in January for the year ahead.

Gym memberships are often expensive, but it’s possible to build muscle, lose fat and strengthen your heart, without spending a fortune.

Keep that new year’s motivation going with our five cheap or free ways to get active this year.

Head outdoors

Exercise in the fresh air by joining an outdoor group for walking, jogging, hiking or wheeling. They offer extra motivation, an opportunity to make friends and usually cost just a few pounds to join.

If you’re looking for a more accessible option, look for websites on options in your area, such as 123 Walks, which gives routes of 1 to 3 miles in East Sussex on more inclusive surfaced tracks. Disabled access charity Euan’s Guide has a list over 1,000 public natural spaces across the UK, on its website which are wheelchair accessible.

Go online

From yoga and Pilates to weight training and cycling, YouTube has countless channels dedicated to getting you fit, and you can do it from the comfort of your own home.

Check out Cnet’s extensive list of free workouts videos which are handily divided into workout type. The charity WheelPower has a library of online videos of wheelchair exercise workouts, including dance, yoga, Tai Chi, Box Fit, as well as links to live weekly classes via Zoom.

Grab a ball

Play tennis year-round at your local council-owned courts, which can be used anytime during daylight hours. Wheelchair tennis can be played on any regular tennis court, with no modifications to rackets or balls. Memberships are typically around £30 for the year. Pick up a secondhand racquet from Gumtree for as a little as £10.

Head to the local park after work for a kick-about with friends and/or work colleagues. Footballs start from around £8.

Create your own low-cost home gym

Make a low-cost gym at home with dumbbells, kettlebells, yoga mat, resistance bands and jump ropes. They are affordable pieces of training equipment which will last you a long time. There’s a huge array of second-hand sports equipment online as many people buy it and end up not using it.

Don’t forget about work

Check whether your place of employment provides a free or discounted gym membership or any other workplace fitness schemes and get involved.

If you travel by bus to work, get off at an earlier stop along your route and walk or wheel from there; head out of the office on your lunchbreaks; and use stairs instead of lifts as often as you can.

Track daily steps with a pedometer, which costs as little as £7 or can be free through online offers. Wheelchair users can track their fitness using wrist worn tackers such as an Apple smartwatch or a Fitbit Flex, but they tend to cost upwards of £50.  

‘Exercise has helped me cope with grief’

Having the opportunity to exercise is something that should be available to everyone.

Habinteg resident Linda Sargant, pictured below, lives in a wheelchair accessible home in Rochford, Essex, which has given her the space to have the static bike in her sitting room.

Linda, who operates her wheelchair using her chin, began exercising on it during the lockdown.

Since then, Linda, who is 61, has joined her local gym and goes once a week. Her goal is to build enough strength in her arms and legs so she can use a walker. The charity Remap, who design and custom-make equipment for disabled people, has helped her adapt her exercise equipment to suit her needs.

Linda has raised money for charity through sports challenges but says it hasn’t all been about fundraising. “Exercise has helped me so much both mentally and physically. It has helped me cope with grief and has been a great way to meet new friends,” she said.

“I want to share my experiences of exercising as a severely disabled person to encourage other people to do so.”