Fitness on a Budget: How to Get Fit with Little to No Cash

Clients face a variety of obstacles when it comes to reaching a higher fitness level. They may not have a lot of extra time in their schedule, making it hard to get to the gym regularly. Or Perhaps their significant other isn’t supportive, making it more difficult to live a healthy lifestyle.

As a personal trainer, it’s your job to help clients identify and reduce these obstacles. But what if their obstacle is money? Is this a hurdle that can’t be overcome, keeping them from ever achieving their fitness goal?

Can You Get Fit on a Budget?

The good news is that cash isn’t required to get into better shape. If your clients have extra money and want to buy expensive fitness equipment, great. But you can also lose weight and build muscle with little to no money at all. 

Frugal fitness sometimes requires a bit of creativity. As long as the client has a desire to improve their health and physique, budget doesn’t have to be a stopping point. There are plenty of options whether they want to join a gym, create their own home gym, or have absolutely no extra cash to spend.

Budget Friendly Gym Membership Options

There are a number of benefits to working out in a gym. Not only is it a good way to be social while getting more fit, but it also provides access to different pieces of gym equipment. The problem is, not everyone can spare hundreds of dollars monthly to sign up. 

Fortunately, some national gym chains have reduced their membership fees, making them more affordable to people on a tighter budget. Planet Fitness is one, with memberships starting at $10.00 per month. Anytime Fitness is another, with a 24-month plan costing $17.09 weekly.

Some gyms allow people to take fitness classes without a membership. Because it doesn’t provide access to the entire gym, the costs are often lower. If you train at a gym, ask them to consider creating this option, making fitness more affordable for budget-minded clients.

If clients have a benefits package at work, encourage them to check that out too. Some employers offer reduced rates if you join a specific gym. They benefit by having a healthier employee. The employee benefits with gym membership savings.

Low-Cost Home Gym Equipment

For clients who don’t want to work out in a gym or don’t have access to a gym with affordable rates, they can create their own home gym. The benefit of a home gym is that it makes fitness more convenient. It doesn’t have to cost a lot either.

Some gym equipment is more expensive than others. Cardio machines (treadmill, exercise bike, elliptical trainer) typically cost hundreds of dollars each. Sometimes you can get this type of exercise equipment fairly cheap secondhand. People no longer use it, so they are selling it themselves. Social media marketplaces and garage sales are good places to look.

There’s also a host of fitness equipment that can be purchased for relatively little cost at $50 or less each. Items falling into this category include:

• Jump rope

• Dumbbell 

• Kettlebell

• Resistance band

• Stability ball

• Medicine ball

• BOSU ball

• Suspension trainer

Several exercise accessories can be bought at a lower amount as well. An exercise matt, yoga mat, and foam roller are three. 

Taking this approach enables clients to build their home or garage gym one piece of equipment at a time. Or, if they have a good month, they can get everything they need to get a good workout for less than a stationary bike or other cardio machine.

Fitness on a Budget of Zero: Totally Free Workout Options

Some clients have no wiggle room at all in their budget. They’re already stretched thin financially and have no cash to spare. What can they do to make exercise a priority without sacrificing their other bills?

Download a free fitness app

There are a few fitness apps that don’t cost anything to download. Some are focused solely on exercise, some offer diet advice, and some provide both. A quick search of the client’s smartphone app store will reveal a variety of options, with new apps being designed every day.

Depending on the app, it may also have a place for the client to record their fitness information. This might include the ability to keep track of their weight and/or calorie intake. Even if it doesn’t, many allow you to save or bookmark your favorite workouts, making them easier to get back to the next time you are ready to exercise.

Take fitness classes on YouTube

You don’t need to join a gym to enjoy the benefits of a class-based fitness routine. You can get the same effect by following along with an exercise video on YouTube. There are cardio videos, strength training videos, yoga videos, and more. 

The great thing about this free workout option is that it offers maximum variety. You can do one type of exercise one day and a different type the next. This keeps clients from getting bored with their workout routine. It also increases the likelihood that they’ll find a form of exercise they love.

Do a bodyweight exercise routine

As a trainer, you know that fitness can still be achieved with no equipment whatsoever. So, why not teach your client a few bodyweight exercises? This not only eliminates the worries of cost, but it also provides them movements they can do at home, at work, while traveling, or any other time they don’t have access to a gym or exercise equipment.

Push-ups, sit-ups, planks, squats, lunges, and dips can all build muscle using nothing more than the client’s body weight. They can also supplement their bodyweight routine with no-equipment-needed cardio. Walking, running, and dancing are all options to consider.

Use home items in place of free weights

A no-cost way to build muscle is to look for items around the house that can be used as free weights. Taking this route also keeps clients from needing to find a place to store their weights. They may have limited space, making buying dumbbells, a barbell, or other fitness equipment less appealing.

For example, a full water bottle weighs between 1 and 1.5 pounds. A client new to fitness can use these to do bicep curls, providing a great workout for their upper arms. Clients who are more advanced can use a jug of water instead. One gallon of water weighs just over 8 pounds.

For clients that want even more weight, they can fill 5-gallon pails with sand or stone and carry them from one end of the yard to the other. If they’re handy with wood or metal, they may even build their own squat rack or weight bench. 

Trade personal training services for a free gym membership

Getting fit on a budget isn’t reserved for clients. Maybe you want to continue to improve your fitness, yet don’t want to spend a ton on equipment or memberships. Bartering is one way to have access to both without spending a cent.

If you’re a personal trainer, you can offer to train a few clients in exchange for your own gym membership. Most gyms do require that you be certified first. ISSA offers an online Personal Trainer Certification course if you need to meet this requirement. Not only can this save you money, but you can make some too!