Fitness without spending any money

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Surio
Posts: 602
Joined: Sat Dec 25, 2010 11:58 am
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Post by Surio »

Yaaaaaarr me hearties,
I am going to tell this story backwards (a la Dr. Watson).

For me, bandwidth is gold dust, so when I come across streaming

media content that show potential, I use one of the following

to download it to my HDD so I can watch it offline without 3

minute loading interruptions after every 15 seconds of play!

Also, if I like it, I can watch it a couple of times or share

it with people who actually don't have what I am

blessed with :-?!
1. www.kissyoutube.com, www.kickyoutube.com, www.saveyoutube.com

Copy the video URL and paste it here, or on your browser

window, wait till the youtube video starts, and add those

'4-letter' words. It is applet based, and it was safe

on my system.
2. Firefox extension youtubedownloader

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3590/

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3006/
3. www.freemake.com

This is a PC-based application, and is capable of

downloading from multiple streaming media sites. On

my system it is verrry heavvvy on CPU usage, but

does the job (I set it up before going to bed usually)
If you knew about these already, my apologies for the redundant info.
OK, here's what I wanted to share with the forum. Staying

healthy is one of the important things for wannabe EREs and

our dearly beloved cult leader(*) definitely leads by example here.
(*) elected by virtue of being the first to plant a

flag about it and give it a name (ERE!)
My grandfather was a great fan of callisthenics and body weight

exercises and made us all do it when we were kids... Shamefully I had

forgotten them in the passage of time and rediscovered them after

reading one of Jacob's posts... started doing it, and found out some

videos in youtube along those lines to add some variety and

variation to the regimen. Also, I quite like the idea that buying

equipment should be the last thing after showing consistency

for a few months of practice (No kell bells yet for me! ;-)).
On those lines, I wanted to share a couple of videos that

capture bodyweight exercises for fitness around the house.

The guys are Mancunians and have a terrific sense of humour

to boot, so it will be entertaining

along with inspiring... (Almost) everything they do in the

video can actually be 'tried at home' (or RV), so I found that

storing it makes me re-visit the video to add variations and

variety to the fitness routine. Although the guys are into

Parkour, most training moves here are not "parkour"ish.

Watch towards the end of part 1 where they deliberately rub it in

by practising the moves next to a gym! Priceless!
Strength Training And Conditioning For Parkour featuring

Paul - bald one, Dave - baby faced one, Dean - the other one
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X15VRzQH ... re=channel

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGzepBg216M

Purely body weight exercises.. Check them out.
The same fellows put up another documentary called "Parkour - The

Nature of Challenge" which talks about Parkour more as a philosophy.

Now this is also interestingly made, as they steer away completely

from the "exercise, health, etc" and talk purely on philosophy,

not-blindly conforming to society's "path for you" yada yada....

They start talking about individualism towards the second part

I think. Although they ran the risk of coming across as rambling,

they managed to come across as coherent in their message (imho).
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Poph6Jmc ... re=channel

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYi8r5bU ... re=channel

Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_l_F_RF ... re=channel

Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNYltTLY ... re=channel
So, I hope you find it a useful addition for your own fitness

routine as I did and also enjoy the documentary.
Ciao for now.
Best,

Surio.

--


SF
Posts: 92
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2010 11:46 pm

Post by SF »

@Surio - thanks for posting those Parkour videos. Cool stuff.


Piper
Posts: 138
Joined: Sat Jan 29, 2011 2:15 am

Post by Piper »

Fitness without spending any money:

1. Walking

2. Hiking in the mountains

3. Running

You do not need special equipment for any of these, no matter what Backpacker Mag or Runners World has to say about it. In some areas, you can hike with the Sierra Club, getting a carpool to the trailhead.
4. Biking

Except for the bike, you don't need any other special equipment.


dot_com_vet
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Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2011 2:07 am

Post by dot_com_vet »

There's a lot of fitness options that are *almost* free. Here's some variety so you won't get bored. And I second, biking.
- Tennis (Equipment is cheap and minimal, lots of parks and schools with courts.)
- Frisbee Golf (Dirt cheap, somewhat unknown. Possibly my fave.)
- Racquetball (Nice in the winter, about $4/person for an hour of court time.)
- Cross country skiing (You can rent equipment cheap or buy second hand.)
- Swimming ($3 - $4 for an afternoon.)


Surio
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Joined: Sat Dec 25, 2010 11:58 am
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Post by Surio »

@SF,

Don't mention it. Share and share alike. You'll do the same for me, I'm sure.
---------------
I'll go with the bicycle, because it is multi-utility. I can use it as a transportation unit, and double it for pedal power in the unlikely case of needing to charge with dynamos.
---------------
OK, since the operating keyword here is "without spending any money". :-), I have to nit-pick that the other activities mentioned so far will

definitely cost you money,

you will need one or more willing partners to get anywhere with it

the activity needs an already "invested" area - pool, park, court, etc. If they close due to bankruptcy/lay-off/cost-cutting, you are finished with fitess too. In India even public parks are not safe; they can be upsurped overnight by squatters, or by Government Commonwealth games corruption scandals or by land sharks for selling more "deluxe, luxury" matchbox units! Don't laugh, this can happen anywhere


the cost is verily location dependent also. You know how much a tennis club or swimming pool membership in India costs?


I try to be location and partner independent when suggesting/proposing personal fitness. When you are doing burpees or squats, you are competing with your own lungs and thighs... There's another way to discover "the you inside you" (philosophically) while doing something as basic as keeping in shape and in good health. :-)
Lastly,

@dot_com_vet: Thank you. I know you meant well. No offence taken/not meant either. The above is not directed personally at you or your remarks. It was a general comment from my end to reflect my own philosophy. I understand, YMMV.


aquadump
Posts: 278
Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2010 9:28 pm

Post by aquadump »

Wow, sweet videos!
I've recently got into cleaning with just a rag. The cleaning agents aren't free, but you get to see immediate results while contorting your body to unusual positions (for a paper pusher).
Thanks again for the videos; there are lots of good ideas in them!


Surio
Posts: 602
Joined: Sat Dec 25, 2010 11:58 am
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Post by Surio »

Ha Ha! You're very welcome, rePete!
The real thanks should go to SF for highlighting the thread and bringing people's attention back to it. :-)
I do most of them indoors with no equipment, so it is not so much of an outdoor thing as the videos might convey.. But I do do it in a park sometimes so people get an idea to try it themselves. Who knows, they are all thinking "Look at that guy, what an idiot, he's mad"(*) (LOL!)
(*) That's a joke from the video (ending with "he's eating rusks"), in case others are wondering!


Koogie
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Joined: Wed Oct 20, 2010 5:43 pm

Post by Koogie »

I run slowly, do bodyweight exercises and bike (mtb/road) in the summer (a lot). Except for $40 shoes and a bike off Craigslist, it hasn't cost me much. And, I've lost 65 lbs in the last two years.
Big box gyms be damned.


DividendGuy
Posts: 441
Joined: Sun Dec 05, 2010 9:58 pm

Post by DividendGuy »

You'd be amazed how physically fit you can be by just running/biking and doing push-ups/sit-ups...all of which are basically free. As a former competitive bodybuilder I've found it incredibly difficult to ween myself off of fully stocked hardcore gyms. Since I've changed to a higher cardio and circuit training based routine I feel great. I just do slightly higher reps, less weight and keep a faster pace to my workout. I don't need a big gym anymore.


Fleming
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Re: Fitness without spending any money

Post by Fleming »

Outdoor cardio exercises i.e jogging, running, cycling, and rope jumping etc. can enhance the fitness level without spending any money. Do these exercises as your regular routine if you want to maintain your fitness level in a cheapest way.
Last edited by Fleming on Sat Jun 21, 2014 4:15 am, edited 1 time in total.

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C40
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Re: Fitness without spending any money

Post by C40 »

Those Parkour training exercises generally look good.

The Parkour itself: pointless injury risk. Don't do it. Do you have a real need for skill of jumping around on concrete/brick/metal stuff (Are you a ninja?) if not, don't bother.

SimpleLife
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Re: Fitness without spending any money

Post by SimpleLife »

What's wrong with pushups, pullups, situps, jump rope, etc? Also, I've found cleaning and organizing my house is a good cardio workout. Plus I run the track at the local school once in a while.

Scott 2
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Re: Fitness without spending any money

Post by Scott 2 »

Used kettlebells are a great hedge against inflation :D

Ian
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Location: South Korea

Re: Fitness without spending any money

Post by Ian »

I do a fair number of body weight exercises. Regardless of how effective they are compared to other methods, I find them more interesting in terms of variety and it's more of a puzzle to try to find good exercises for my level instead of going through a predetermined routine with an increasing number of weights.

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Ego
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Re: Fitness without spending any money

Post by Ego »

A few years ago I made a suspension trainer, a poor man's TRX, using nylon webbing, PVC handles and a carabiner. It worked but I wanted to improve it with better handles, an adjustable strap and loops so that I could use the handles as foot supports for atomic pushups and inverted shoulder presses. When I began pricing the components I realized I could buy the entire thing from Woss Enterprises for $25 including shipping.

http://www.woss.com/tube-trainer/

It came in the mail today and I did my first workout. It is lightweight for travel, as adjustable as the TRX at the gym and seems to be as sturdy as a TRX. While it is not free like the OP wanted, it is awfully close to free.

Chad
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Re: Fitness without spending any money

Post by Chad »

You can get fit without spending money, but it's probably easier to get fit by spending just a little money.

Here is a good article showing the 8 different exercises needed to be fit. Obviously, you can do others, but these hit everything and with minimal cost associated.

http://www.mensjournal.com/expert-advic ... t-20140306

It's all good functional strength and it will give you a body that can keep up with a fit heart. Not just a fit heart like only running will give you.

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jennypenny
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Re: Fitness without spending any money

Post by jennypenny »

There's the Woodsman Workout http://www.artofmanliness.com/2012/09/1 ... n-workout/
and the Playground Workout http://www.artofmanliness.com/2013/05/2 ... out-video/

Personally, I think boxing workouts are the best workouts with the least amount of equipment.

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Ego
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Joined: Wed Nov 23, 2011 12:42 am

Re: Fitness without spending any money

Post by Ego »

I ran across these monkibars the other day....

http://monkiibars.com/instructions/

They are even more minimalist than my current imitation TRX. Perfect for travel. I already have a few different things I can use for handles (bamboo, PVC pipe, old handles from resistance bands....) and the Spectra line they use is available on ebay for $5 for 25 feet. The only thing I would need is adjusters. I don't recognize the one the monkibars use:

Image

Any ideas?

Treading27
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Joined: Sat Jul 15, 2017 9:07 am

Re: Fitness without spending any money

Post by Treading27 »

I'm fortunate as my employer has offers a free rec center that I visit regularly to get in shape. Only thing I pay is gas to get there. Otherwise, unless you're a bodybuilder, push-up/sit-ups and running around the block would help.

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