Getting Paid to Work Out

Jacob1234098 · Post by **Jacob1234098** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 6:29 am

I've thought about this a number of times and was wondering if anyone has actually put it into practice. I work a 9-5 job where I sit in a cube all day. So, naturally after work I go work out for 2+ hours. I was thinking why not put a craigslist ad up or something saying I do hard manual labor (digging, moving furniture, etc) for below minimum wage, say $6.50/hr + gas. This would give me more variety in my workouts, which I'm bored to death of, and I'd get paid to do it!
Has anyone done anything of this nature? Problems you see with it?

dot_com_vet · Post by **dot_com_vet** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 7:32 am

I found normal workout routines pretty boring too.
Alternatives I can think of that would be more enjoyable than working for peanuts: Ride bike/walk to work. Walk dogs for a shelter. Help out an older neighbor with manual labor tasks.
Or do something like lawn care, focus on smaller lawns, charge $25/hour.

riparian · Post by **riparian** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 8:28 am

I had good luck with ads that said "no job too big or too dirty," when that was my hustle. I wouldn't underprice yourself tho, people will think there's something wrong.
If there's a sawmill near you I'd try to get a job peeling logs. Normal shifts are <4hrs cause it's hard hard work.

mikeBOS · Post by **mikeBOS** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 12:41 pm

UPS hires people to work 4 hour shifts throughout the day moving packages/loading trucks. That could be a good workout, but I don't think they pay very well.

ADD · Post by **ADD** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 1:10 pm

Why shoot for manual labour which would be low paid and inconsistent?
I personal train two people outside of working hours. I do my work out alongside them and they don't mind at all. I charge them $50 per session (1 hour).

jennypenny · Post by **jennypenny** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 1:50 pm

I'd rather put the energy into something for myself--heavy gardening or taking care of livestock. I wouldn't enjoy exercising if I was on the clock for someone else.

jzt83 · Post by **jzt83** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 1:59 pm

Get involved with physically demanding sports such as rock climbing or surfing. I suppose you could also get paid to teach others how to do these types of sports.

palmera · Post by **palmera** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 5:36 pm

I used to teach striptease dance classes to housewives a few years ago. I should get back into that, but rich suburban housewives are even more of a handful than a class of kindergardeners.
Theoretically, working out at lunch or going for a long walk during the 9-5 is essentially getting paid to work, but I'm also too lazy for that. We'll see.

beav80 · Post by **beav80** » Wed Jan 25, 2012 5:29 pm

I second the trainer option, though it takes interest/research/qualifications.
Simpler, why not start a waling group or use other things to be active like small meetings, phone conversations, carrying groceries home from the store, or get paid to walk dogs/shovel driveways, etc.

JohnnyH · Post by **JohnnyH** » Wed Jan 25, 2012 9:22 pm

My FT employer gives me 45 mins off a week to workout assuming I workout 45 mins on my own time (which can be lunch).
39 hrs/yr, pretty cool of them... I used to just leave a little early when I rode my bike to work. Unfortunately, a lot of... clearly unfit... people are abusing it, so it's likely to shrink or vanish entirely.