Fitness without the gym?

I don't do gyms.  I prefer to exercise in (what I consider) funner ways.  I like swimming, walking, biking, dancing, and equipmentless workout videos.

I know I'm not getting a well-considered workout, but I really can't make myself go.

Does anyone else avoid the gym, like me?  Even if you don't, what active things do you like to do outside of those walls?

triathlon

I've become a gym rat but it took a while and before that, my favorite forms of exercise were hiking, I took a belly dancing class, and did soem DVD workouts at home I really liked - pilates especially.

I go to the gym twice a week and I use my home weights twice a week.  Outside activities are:

Walk two miles a day, every work day.

Trail run on weekends most of the year (some days too windy/cold or too much snow).

Biking on some nice weekends.

Hiking, when we can get a long weekend vacation away somewhere.  (The state and county parks and forest preserves around here are too flat to call hiking.  I run or bike them.)

I use my eliptical at home, as well as a variety of work out videos, hand weights, my hula hoop and jump rope indoors, while the weather is poor.  I also walk, run as the ground dries, and will start biking again this spring.  My drill Sgt. Dieter (*ahem* my dog) also encourages exceptionally long hikes in nice weather ;)

I had a one year membershiop to the gym, and hated every minute of it... being stuck inside, watching someone else's stupid shows while I was trying to work out, and getting laughed at (literally, not being paranoid here) during classes.  Totally turned me off of the gym scene.

kind of ironic: fourty years ago, the only people who went to a "gym" were basketball players and boxers.  we've done such a good job of automating and simplifying our lives with technology and machines that we now feel obligated to squeeze exercise into our budget and schedule.

of course fitness is possible without a gym.  if that weren't true, we'd be extinct ;)

Yes, years ago a person got exercise or died- right now I walk, hike when I can, garden with hand tools like a hoe and a shovel, wash floors and all the other fun house cleaning stuff.  I guess I shouldn't have said right now cause most of these activities will happen after I get over my trying to use a treadmill. I've got to learn better body mechanics or I'll be a Human Pretzel the rest of my life.  No, you don't need a gym.  Spring a dog from the local Pound and walk/run it.  It will be good for the both of you.

pgeorgian has a great point!

Don't let anyone tell you that you can't get a well-rounded workout outside the gym, or that exercise you do outside a gym doesn't count -- IMO, exercise should be fun.  Besides, you're more likely to stick to what you enjoy :D

In the past, my exercise routine included biking 30 miles a day, cleaning seven horses' stalls, and grooming, working with, and riding the horses.  At the time, I was the fittest person I knew (health problems and me being stupid intervened between then and now), and I looked great.  Between the biking, stall-cleaning, horse-grooming, and riding, I managed to get a good cardio workout and the equivalent of a full-body strength training program.  A lot of physically-demanding jobs actually make great exercise programs :D

Dancing at clubs is also a great work out, if you actually spend your time on the dance floor working up a sweat.  I used to go twice a week, for roughly four to five hours at a stretch, though I don't anymore, since I moved to a town that doesn't really seem to do the dancing thing (our clubs seem geared more towards drinking and schmoozing, neither of which are my thing).

I've also done Tae Kwon Do, modern dance (in high school, at my arts magnet), running, hiking, swimming ... I just don't groove on the unstructured gym thing.  I get bored too easily, and I'm bad at planning.  Classes keep me focused and give me goals to work towards.

These days, I ride my bike everywhere and do Muay Thai.  I'll probably wind up working out at the gym where I train, but only because I want to increase my striking power and endurance.  I would never bother if I didn't have specific goals related to my class, LOL.  I also wouldn't bother if I had class every day, but right now, my work schedule prevents that.  Once my work schedule straightens out, I'm going to shoot for doing MT classes every day -- first because the more you practice, the faster you learn; second because that way I won't have to bother with boring workouts outside of class :D  I'll still bike everywhere, though.

Oh, yeah -- seconding poetnw as well!

Dogs are great friends and tend to bring mandatory exercise along with them.  If you want to meet new people, dogs also make great ambassadors.

There are many things you can do. 

I remember someone say that you can use 2 litre bottles as weights.

You can go through walks and bike ride (I live right next to a hiking path which makes it lovely).

You can do lunges, squats, sit-ups, push-ups, etc.

Buy workout videos.

Print yoga positions off the internet.

Use your staircase as a stair-stepper. 

Well, I joined a commercial gym for the first time in ... oh, 13 years last fall, and that was mostly because I was given the membership.

 A gym is a convenience for when I want to play around with equipment like cable stations and Olympic lifting platforms, but for basic fitness all you need is determination and a willingness to improvise. A set of adjustable dumbbells can be convenient, but a shopping bag full of soda bottles or a backpack full of textbooks is also heavy and liftable.

 Or small children, if you've got any available - playing jungle gym to a couple borrowed children is a great workout ;)

I have never gone to a gym, I wouldn't be able to... I hate people and I'd feel all self-conscious. I also don't like being outside because it's not safe here. So... I just do my elliptical trainer and some Wii Fit. It's probably not ideal but it's better than nothing, I think. ;)

Original Post by wesmckean:

triathlon

LOL.  Owned.

@poetnw & kokorozashi-- Getting a dog is a really great suggestion, but I live with someone who is allergic in a tiny, tiny apartment.  Eventually!

@pgeorgian-- The whole idea of workout machines is my biggest problem with the gym.  I feel like I'm wasting my time interacting with a machine when I could be walking with a friend, surrounded by the beautiful mountains.  And I'm glad we're not extinct!  Good job, human race.  :)

@melkor-- Or playing on a jungle gym with a couple of borrowed children would probably be a great workout, too.

Thanks, everyone, for your insights!

i used to work inside a huge super-gym, and I worked out a total of twice. hehe. I got the job so I could give my ex-boyfriend free smoothies and get rides to work, as he was a gym addict. I never liked it, the atmosphere is sticky. I was friends with the trainers and they gave me the hardest time ever for not working out, but at that time in my past I was keeping fit dancing all night and walking to bus stops all day.

Now is another story, I had a desk job for a few years and had to quit to save my body from balooning any more from inactivity. Now I walk dogs for a living and work at a busy restaurant running around evenings. That is honestly 75% or more of my physical activity, plus walks with my two dogs and bike rides by the shore with my current boyfriend. Needless to say I'm not going to hella raves and dancing for hours on end anymore, but I go see my friends' sets a few times a month in San Francisco or at house parties and try to get some good dancing in. I try to dance at home with my faves blasting when I'm home alone, much to the amusement of my sarcastic dogs.

i have this idea that working out at the gym is like walking/running endlessly on a little strip of paper inside a giant box, and i cant figure out why i would spend money to do that when i know i wont show up, as i think its walking/running endlessly on a little strip of paper in a giant box. 

so i walk one day a week with a partner, which really helps, and we have competitions with our times week to week, so its fun. 

i walk in my hilly neighborhood and do intervals by zig zagging up and down steep inclines. 

i run the many many stairs that are a few blocks up the hill from me. well, run would be a misnomer, but they are stairs and good for cardio vascular health. no doubt about that today! i go as fast as i can and keep a solid pace. its a pretty good hill. 

i do the C25k pod cast, although i've been on week one for a month, but im ok with that. i can get through more of the intervals this week than last. i want to get runs in two days a week, then three, then maybe i'll find im working through the higher weeks of the program, but for now, week one keeps me busy. 

i garden.

i clean my buddies house because otherwise i cant stand to be there, its a pit. i work in his yard too. he's disabled, so that makes it seem less weird somehow. really, im neurotic and he gets a clean house and nice yard. i get calories burned and an outlet for my neurosis. 

i move the furniture around my house. i try to break a sweat when i clean. 

i dance like a crazy woman in my living room. 

i do fitnessy type exercises on my living room floor and i run in place with the kitchen timer set. well, that started because i thought that if i was going to pay to run on a little paper strip inside a concrete box, i might as well start at home for free. now, instead of paying for the strip of paper in a box, i run outside, thanks to finding CC and the C25k program.

its been good. noticed this past week, im now fantasizing about owning a bicycle and riding! hmmm. i might get fit yet! and i suspect i will do it without a gym membership. i shouldn't have to pay money to live in and love my body. i should just be able to prioritize my health and keep myself moving. should would could, can do! CAN DO!

Cycling.

Original Post by bubbles556

i dance like a crazy woman in my living room. 

i do fitnessy type exercises on my living room floor and i run in place with the kitchen timer set. well, that started because i thought that if i was going to pay to run on a little paper strip inside a concrete box, i might as well start at home for free. now, instead of paying for the strip of paper in a box, i run outside, thanks to finding CC and the C25k program.

 I dance like a crazy woman, too. I'm so glad I'm not alone because I keep thinking if anyone ever catches me I'll die from mortification. Of course, if I'm dead from mortification I guess I don't ever have to count another calorie....

I feel the same about gyms. Well, I would like to use the weights if other people didn't sweat and grunt all over things, but treadmills look a lot to me like that wheel we put hamsters on. I'm not a rodent, so I think I'll get out of the cage and walk outside on those (rare this year) days it is above 20.

THe gym is not for everyone, who says that you can only be fit if you go to the gym? If your life is constantly active, then awesome, great for you. If you however need the structure of the gym and maybe even a personal trainer to keep you motivated, then by all means use the gym. Fitness is about being active on a regular basis and if activity is a part of your life naturally, then keep at it and don't think you have to jump on the gym bandwagon to be fit.