Exercise at home
Invest in some simple gym equipment, such as dumbbells and resistance bands, and you can do pretty decent exercise sessions at home. There are a range of offerings online providing on-demand access to a library of workouts.
For example, GRNDHOUSE, set up by five London-based instructors, includes upper and lower body sessions you can do in your living room. To subscribe costs £25 a month, or £16 a month if you sign up for the year. You can take a free trial first to decide whether you like it.
If you want something more tailored, a lot of personal trainers offer online coaching packages, where they set you workouts to do and then have catchups with you regularly to track your progress. These can be tailored to your specific goals and mean you are kept accountable by someone. They also offer meal plans and can help you track your macronutrients, or macros – how much protein, carbohydrate and fat you get from every meal. Getting an online coach can cost anywhere between £100 and £160 a month but it will vary depending on what is on offer and the trainer’s experience.
Nik Naidoo, a co-founder and trainer at GRNDHOUSE, says online coaching is a great way to “develop well-rounded lifestyles”.
He says: “Many people focus on the one hour in the gym but it’s about learning about the other 23 hours outside of it, and this is the value a coach brings. The price bracket, like anything, varies depending on the offer (group coaching, 1-2-1, and also what is included). Do your research and make sure you can trust, and gel with, the coach.”
Buy multifunctional equipment
If you are buying items for a home gym, make sure you choose equipment you can use for a variety of different exercises. For example, dumbbells can be used for deadlifts, bent-over rows and push presses. A resistance band set with multiple resistance levels can provide a full-body workout.
Dumbbells and barbells are “simple” and “accessible”, Naidoo says. “You can do basic-strength work and also create some mean conditioning workouts with both bits of equipment.”
View image in fullscreenDumbbells can be used for a variety of exercises. Photograph: Grace Cary/Getty Images
But don’t forget you can always start by just using your own body. “I’d say the best place to start is your body weight, and it costs nothing,” Naidoo says. “People underestimate the power of body weight training with all the latest trends.”
Find secondhand kit on marketplaces
As well as equipment, you can get secondhand leggings and sports bras from apps such as Depop and Vinted. It’s not only good for your wallet but also good for the planet. For example, Lululemon Align leggings are typically selling for half-price on Depop – recently one seller was offering a practically unworn pair for £45 when they retail for £108.
Other top brands that can be found on secondhand sites include Nike, and the athleisure brand Adanola.
If you are feeling inspired, you could even set up your own swap shop locally with neighbours on your street via WhatsApp, as it is always a good way of getting rid of unwanted items and finding new gems.
Gym equipment can also be found cheaply via garage sales, online marketplaces and local fitness stores that sell used equipment. You can find anything and everything, from treadmills to static bikes and beyond.
The personal trainer and athlete Aileen McCann says she would shop at wholesalers for new gym equipment. “Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree are also good calls, as a lot of people may have bought kit over lockdown and now have gone back to gym routines,” she says.
Use your environment
As cliched as it sounds: the world is your gym. You can always go for a run in a park for free. One great event to try is parkrun, which hosts a free weekly 5km run on Saturday mornings at lots of parks in the UK and beyond. There is also a 2km junior parkrun for children aged four to 14 on Sunday mornings.
Many parks have outdoor gyms and, often, each piece of equipment has instructions on it to guide you
If you want to start with walking, the Ramblers has details of hundreds of free routes across the country, and also hosts free wellbeing walks. Visit its website, put in your postcode, and it will provide details of local walks.
Another thing to try out is a local park gym. These typically include various basic equipment such as pull-up bars.
Many parks have outdoor gyms and, often, each piece of equipment has instructions on it to guide you.
If you live or work in south London, for example, then check out Brixton Street Gym. This isn’t a completely outdoor gym because there are also indoor spaces where people can work out, but it is low-cost. Memberships are capped at £20 a month, with classes priced from £3 to £8. Anyone under 18 or experiencing financial difficulty can drop in for free. It has a strong community feel.
Cheaper gym memberships
McCann says commercial gyms such as the Gym Group, PureGym, easyGym and Buzz Gym are the cheapest options. PureGym, for example, costs as little as £16 a month, with no contract. Buzz Gym is similarly reasonable, with monthly prices from £18.99.
View image in fullscreenCommercial gyms can offer deals for under £20 a month. Photograph: Paula Solloway/Alamy
Vitality, a UK-based company specialising in private medical insurance, offers 50% off gym membership to its policyholders. Health insurance with Vitality starts from £1.25 a day, varying depending on your age and other factors.
The insurer also offers up to 40% off devices, such as Garmin watches and trackers, that monitor physical activity. Katie Tryon, the director of health strategy for Vitality, says: “We basically pay you for them [the kit or device] if you use them … so if you engage with lots of activity, which includes walking as well, we will pay for the Apple watch, for example.”
