Do You Want To Get Serious About Fitness? You don’t need a gym. This article is addressed to the people who struggle, who don’t go as much as they think they should, who aren’t as fit as they’d like.

Some people go to the gym all the time. Good for them. This article is addressed to the people who struggle, who don’t go as much as they think they should, who aren’t as fit as they’d like.

Going to the gym is hard. You have to pack a gym bag. You have to go there. You have to change when you get there. You have to change and get home. All that and you’re paying every month for a membership.

The thing is, you don’t need a gym to get in good shape.

At-home fitness for the winners

There’s a reason you hear so much about interval training.

Short, intense periods of exercise are highly effective in boosting health, possibly more effective than long sessions of exercise. All you really need to get in shape is a short, well-designed workout routine.

The most famous is the 7-minute workout routine  All you do is 30 seconds of each of these exercises, with 10-second breaks: Jumping jacks; wall sits; push-ups; crunches; step-up (on chair); squats; triceps dips (on chair); planks; high knees / running in place; lunges; push-ups and rotations; side planks. If you aren’t sure how the different exercises are carried out, don’t worry they are very simple movements. Go on youtube and write the exercise you are in doubt about – a 100 video’s will appear and show you the correct movement.

Not feeling that? The four-minute Tabata workout and a 12-minute workout, that alternates high-effort bursts with easy jogs have also been shown to be extremely effective. There are others popping up every day. Creative types might even invent their own.

You can do it anywhere.

What else can you do?

Simply running for five-to-ten minutes every day has been shown to give a major boost to your health. If running isn’t your style, five minutes of jumping rope, vigorously riding a bike, or really any activity that causes you to break a sweat will make a difference.

Me? I live near the beach. Why on earth would I run in a gym basement on a treadmill when I can run on the beach? Because I am one of the gym fanatic’s we hate. haha..;) I use the treadmill before I work out with weights in the gym, but that doesn’t mean you have to do it, there are endless alternatives, you don’t have to run inside on a boring treadmill.

Other ways I’ll look to get exercise include self-guided stretching, I am a HUGE fan of Yoga – I always end my workouts with some good long yoga stretches, riding a bike, taking the stairs when possible, signing up for the office sports team, and kicking a soccer ball in the park. When I am a good girl, I join one yoga class a week, it is conditioner for my body soul and mind. I’m also looking forward to doing more with a kettle bell, I used it a lot when I took the PT education in London. My teachers in london were Kettle bell fans.

Interval training, running, kettle bell, yoga, bike, stairs, sports — who needs a gym membership when you have all of that? (Competitive athletes, fitness junkies, body builders, and various people who for some reason find it convenient to go to the gym I am one of them. But you can get amazing workouts without the gym especially now, when its summer use the beach and parks – or anywhere. On my last trip to Las Vegas I did yoga on the airplane in the hallway, I am a little nuts – but sitting down for so many hours made me restless so I did some static yoga poses that got my blood flowing)

Not having a gym membership has other advantages. It gives you the flexibility to take the occasional class wherever you want. Try that boxing studio near work, make Saturday a yoga day, take a dance class. I can imagine It’s easier when you don’t have gym guilt holding you back.

Another great tip is to force yourself to get a bigger interest in health and fitness, by reading some basic facts you will get more motivation and curiosity, and try out some workout routines and healthy foods.