Investing in Your Summer Body
With summer just around the corner and the financial crisis slowly (but surely) moving behind us, it’s time to invest in a hot summer beach body. As long as you’re willing to put in the hard yards to get your body into tip-top shape, an investment in your fitness can guarantee a fantastic return.
The good news is, you don’t have to spend too much money to achieve the results you want — unless you want to that is. Wether you invest $20 a week or $200 a week, the ultimate key to success is effort and discipline.
Will your insurer or company help you get started?
Before you fork out any of your hard earned cash, check with your insurance provider or even company benefits scheme for what they can offer in terms of gym membership subsidies. Some insurance companies will even lower your monthly premiums or offer you a rebate when you join a gym or exercise classes. In some cases, you’ll be paying under half price for your gym membership.
Cheap and cheerful fitness plan
Tightened the purse strings and happy to keep them that way? Then go for a run every morning or get a group of (equally motivated) friends together in the park for group fitness sessions. Assign each person to come armed with a few exercises for different parts of the body and viola, gratis circuit training.
Hidden cost: self motivation and a love for the outdoors
$100 a month to spend on fitness
If you can’t see yourself running on tarmac or being rained on during your workout, then a gym membership is the fitness investment for you. Although it does come with a price (and minimum membership periods), you’ll enjoy the structure and support you get from a gym, plus classes and professional consultations.
To make it work for you, re-jig your budget to find the funds to cover the membership fees. Are you spending too much on takeaway, going out, booze or cigarettes? Once you start working out, you’ll inevitably spend less money on these baddies.
Hidden cost: the less you go, the more your membership will cost you on a per-workout basis.
$100 a week to splash on fitness
It’s pricey but it works. How else do the starts get in shape fast? A personal trainer will set you back around $60 per hour — see if you can negotiate two one-hour sessions for a hundie.
Try it out for a few weeks — even if you only see a trainer once a week you’ll start seeing results. If you go three times a week, the results will be phenomenal. Then once you’re happy with the results you’ve achieved, you can start working out on your own and consult a trainer once a month, or every other month to spruce up your workout.
Hidden cost: if you don’t do the exercises on your own, and don’t control your diet, your money is as good as wasted.
You can start looking for a personal trainer through www.gumtree.com.au
Hiring a machine to use at home
Don’t have the time to get to they gym? Well, hiring a treadmill, rowing machine or step ladder could be an option. However, unless you’re already committed to exercise, having a bulky machine at home may not be the best way to kick start your fitness regime.
Hidden cost: without the variety and bustle of a gym, you might get bored and let the machine collect dust in the corner.
Diet
There’s a big misconception that to eat healthy costs more money than to live off junk. Not true. In essence, we spend more money at the supermarket stocking up on healthy diet foods. When you follow a diet plan, you’re not going to have the extra expenses of eating out and takeaway lunches — expenses we fail to realize in our usual grocery expenditures.
Go for a diet that uses small portions of fresh and in-season produce. Soup based diets are a great budget option and keep you full and satisfied. You could also replace snakes with a simple weight management protein shake (nothing fancy, a modest pharmacy brand one will do).
Add to your workout and lower your grocery costs at the same time by journeying to your local fresh produce markets such as the one in Haymarket, Sydney or Subiaco, Perth.
If you’re a complete dummy when it comes to eating healthy and preparing healthy meals and snacks, then perhaps a consultation with a dietician is in order. Again, check with your insurance policy or company benefits, some will cover a large percentage of the cost of the consultation. Even if you have to end up footing the bill yourself, the advice you get could save you money you would have spent buying gimmick protein bars and diet products.
Frugal fitness fashion
Before you start a fresh fitness routine, everyone knows a good pair of shoes is crucial. Having shoes to fit your feet is all the rage and a big gimmick some stores use, with their “shoe fitting experts” to get you to buy from them.
If you can muster up a thick skin to get yourself fitted in one of these stores and take note of the model, brand and size of shoe they recommend for you (and get them to present you with a few options) — high tail out of the store and jump on eBay. Search the international listings for the products you saw in the local store and compare prices. More often than not, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by what you can find on eBay, just make sure to get a shipping quote before you buy and check the sellers feedback for authenticity of the products they’re selling.
As for workout clothing, try Supree. They have a great and cheap range of T-shirts, tank tops, yoga pants, tights and shorts in an array of colours you can sweat in without breaking the bank. But take a good hard look in the back of your wardrobe before you go out shopping. Give your old clothes a chance at the gym before you commit to new ones.
Lastly, practice makes permanent! However much you decide to invest in your summer body, keep motivated and stick to your fitness regime if you want to reap the rewards of your labour.
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