I dont have money to go to a gym - advice?

Hey all - Im new here. My name is Beth. After having my 2nd child - I need help loosing weight! But I dont have the money to afford a gym membership. Eating right is easy to do, but excersizing is where Im having problems. what do you guys do? i ride horses, but I dont think that really helps to loose weight - any advice?  Thanks everyone!!!

~Beth

 a friend to chat with too would help out as well :)

Hi Beth!  I'm all about finding low or no cost ways of exercising.  Running and walking outside are free.  I'm lucky to live in a town with lots of parks and greenways, so I can mix up my running terrain.  We also have access to tennis and basketball courts.  My husband and I are terrible tennis players, but we do like to go out and hit some balls around.  Because we're so terrible, we end up spending most of our time chasing the ball (I start feeling like my dog...haha!) which can really get your heart rate up.
Riding the horse itself may not burn a lot of calories, but the maintenance you have to do lugging equipment around does!
We also have a channel on our digital cable that has fitness shows with a variety of aerobics and yoga choices.  I've recently found yoga and love it.  I've started taking over my TV for purposes other than bad sitcoms and cartoons.  :)
Good luck!  

I highly recommend getting a medicine ball or resistance bands.  You can find inexpensive medicine balls at used sporting goods stores.  There are numerous medicine ball routines on YouTube and on this site.

Walking/running is always a great workout.

I have heard that horse riding can be a really intense workout.  Plus just taking care of your horse can burn lots of cals.  I think eating right and staying pretty active will lead to the weight loss you desire.

Don't give up on the riding!  Any activity is better than no activity.

You don't need gyms or expensive excersize equipment to get in shape.  Our ancestors didn't have either of those things and between hunting, gathering, farming and walking everywhere they did pretty well keeping thin and toned.

The secret is to develop a routine of excersizing and stick with it.  Start with walking, biking or running (if you can) and do some light calesthenics like ab crunches, push-ups or pull-ups if you have a bar handy.  I have a friend who worked out his arms by filling two gallon jugs with water and suspending them from either end of a broom handle to do bicep curls.  Keep your schedule just like going to the gym and visit the library or bookstore or internet for more ideas about working out without spending cash.

And keep up the riding!  You'll have tighter, stronger thighs than any gym's expensive machinery can give you.  You'll have more fun too.

Good luck.

build your own equipment.   rosstrianing.com   right now im building a pull up stations (for about 20$) a squat set (cost me 10$ for a 200 pound squat set coz i made it myself).  Just dig around on that site youll find something.

Youtube.com has some really good pilates videos.  You can put 3-4 together for a good 1/2 hr workout.  It's easy and free.  I love them!

thanks everyone!  Im not giving up on riding - as I train horses for a living, as well as ride my own boy :)  i will check out all of your suggestions!  thanks again everyone!!!

 ~Beth

Try this website:  www.exercisetv.tv.

They have lots of workouts, from 2 minutes to 30 minutes, and you can "daisy chain" them into a workout.  If you have access to a computer at home, it's good because you can change up the exercises every day - and they tell you what each set of exercises is geared towards.

just a quick comment for ya and will try to comment more later.  I have a friend with horses and she gets a nice workout leading her horse around.  how about run with your horse, instead of riding?

Actually riding burns quite a few cals afaik... But I guess it depends on the speed you go :)

Try craigslist to find some exercising equipments for a reasonable price.

If you have a flight of stairs in your house, use them! Run them for 1 minute, rest a minute, and repeat for 15-20 minutes. Trust me, you'll feel it.

Target sells hand weights, inexpensive- also using an exercise ball helps a ton.  If you are into it, I use a great power yoga DVD called Iron Yoga- it cost $9.95, and really covers all the bases !
If you have stairs, try turning the last step as an aerobic work out- put on some tunes, and move to the music.

The XBX (Canadian Air Force) exercises are available free, online: http://www.gettingfitagain.com/ .  You can add weight training from this site, using cans and/or milk jugs filled with water.