Be Physically Active Without Spending a Dime

You don’t need to spend a fortune to be physically active. In fact, you can be active in many ways without spending any money. Here are a few ideas to get you moving for free!

Close to Home:

• Get some exercise and socialize with friends while you walk the entire mall.

• Get your garden or yard in shape, and you’ll shape up, too.

• Make your own weights from household items such as plastic milk jugs filled with sand or water, bags of rice, soup cans, or bottles of water.

• Rather than driving, walk when doing errands.

In your Community:

• Try out free demonstration exercise classes at your local senior center or fitness center.

• Participate in community-sponsored fun runs or walks.

• Join a basketball or baseball league that plays at your community center.

In the great outdoors:

• Go for a hike in a park.

• Learn about trees and plants while exploring a local arboretum.

• Help your community by participating in a stream clean-up effort.

All Year Round:

• Borrow a bicycle and ride around the neighborhood to admire the spring flowers.

• Play an early-morning tennis or pickle ball match at your community courts in the summer.

• Jog through the park and breathe in the crisp fall air.

• Go sledding or cross-country skiing in the winter.

Quick Tip:

Be creative! The only limit to free physical activity opportunities is your imagination!

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Information adapted from article by Go4Life National Institute on Aging a division of the National Institute of Health, United States Department of Health and Human Services.

If you would like more information on “Be Physically Active Without Spending a Dime” contact Gail Gilman, Family Life Consultant, M.Ed., C.F.C.S. and Professor Emeritus University of Minnesota at waldn001@umn.edu. Be sure to watch for more Family Living Focus™ information in next week’s paper.