Transcript: No Gym, No Equipment, No Money | The Guide to Free Fitness That Actually Works
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Ashley introduces the episode's premise: that gym memberships, boutique classes, and fancy equipment are not necessary for fitness, and that your body doesn't know the difference between an expensive gym and your living room.
What's up you guys? Famous Ashley Grant here. Welcome to More Movement Please, the podcast where I hope to inspire you to move your body more by sharing my story and occasionally the stories of others. Let's get into it. Today, I want to talk about money. That's one of my favorite subjects in the whole world, but it's specifically in the lens of fitness. That's how I want to talk about it. So let's talk about the myth that you need to spend a lot of money to be fit. Gym memberships and boutique fitness classes and personal trainers and fancy equipment and CrossFit. Yes, all these things can be helpful in your fitness journey, but are they necessary?
Absolutely not. So today what we're doing is we're breaking down how to move your body on a budget. I'm talking free or very low cost ways that you can stay active. No gym required. Because here's the truth. Your body doesn't know the difference between an expensive gym or your living room. It doesn't care if you're doing squats with a barbell or with your own body weight. Movement is movement, and you can get an incredible, incredible workout without spending a dime. So let me start with the most obvious one, walking.
Ashley makes the case for walking as the ultimate free workout, citing its cardiovascular and mood benefits, and shares a story of a woman who started her fitness journey by walking laps inside her own home for 30 minutes a day.
This is like the ultimate free workout, right? It's completely free, and you can do it anywhere, and it's one of the best things you can do for your health. Seriously. The research on walking, it's incredible. It improves your cardiovascular health. It helps with weight management. It boosts your mood, reduces stress. The list goes on. You don't need special shoes, though I will say a decent pair of sneakers will help. You don't need a gym. You just need to put one foot in front of the other. Walk around your neighborhood, walk to the store instead of driving, walk during your lunch break. Hell, you can walk while listening to podcasts, you know, like this one. Or if you prefer, listen to music or audiobooks. Walking is free fitness and it absolutely counts as exercise.
I know of a girl that started her fitness journey in her living room and she literally just walked from her front door. to her bedroom, to her kitchen, and then went all the way around to all those places again. And she did it over and over for about 30 minutes a day. And it was such a simple thing to do, but it's how she started her fitness journey and began losing weight. Next up is YouTube. It's one of my favorite, favorite, favorite things to use when I can't get to the gym. Think of it as like a free personal trainer. It has thousands, like literally thousands of free workout videos.
Ashley describes using YouTube as a go-to when she can't get to the gym, highlighting thousands of free workout videos across yoga, Pilates, dance fitness, and strength training, many requiring zero equipment.
I'm talking everything from yoga to Pilates to dance fitness to high intensity training to strength training, stretching, you name it. And I'll actually share some of my favorite YouTube workout playlists in the show notes of this episode. There's just some amazing creators out there. They're offering the most professional quality workouts and they're all doing it for free. And some of my favorite ones don't require any equipment at all. These include stretch classes and standing Pilates and even beginner dance fitness. You can follow along in your living room with no equipment.
I want to make that very clear. You don't even need any equipment. If you do want to add some resistance, sure, you can use household items, but we'll get to that in a minute. Next is body weight exercises. Your body acts as the equipment. You don't need weights or machines or whatever to get stronger. Your own body weight provides plenty of resistance. Think push -ups and squats and lunges and planks, burpees, mountain climbers, jumping jacks. All of these are incredibly effective exercises that require zero equipment. You can build muscle, burn calories, and improve your fitness using nothing but your body. If a regular push -up's too hard, do it against the wall or on your knees. That's how I started. If squats feel challenging, hold onto a chair for balance.
Ashley covers bodyweight moves like push-ups, squats, and planks as legitimate zero-cost strength training, then walks through creative household substitutes for gym equipment — water bottles, canned goods, backpacks, towels, chairs, and walls.
You can modify everything you're doing as needed. But just know that bodyweight exercises, they're legitimate and they're effective. Now let's talk about household items as gym equipment. I've seen so many videos of this and it's so fun just to watch people and see how they work out with different things because you don't need dumbbells. You can get creative. Think water bottles or milk jugs that are filled with water or sand if you want more weight. Canned goods can be your lightweights or a backpack that's filled with books for weighted exercises, towels for sliding exercises or resistance work, or stairs for cardio and strength training. You can even use chairs for tricep dips or step -ups or support during exercises. And one of my favorites is just using the wall for wall sits or wall push -ups. Seriously, look around your house and I bet you, you have things that could act as your makeshift gym right there. Finally, there's free
apps and resources. There are so many fitness apps. In fact, one of the ones that I was using early on, I'll leave in the show notes as well. It was just a simple dumbbell workout program that I found on, I think it was Google Play. And I only have threes and fives in my apartment, but hey, they got the job done. So it worked for me. There are so many free different things that you can find online. Apps for things like couch to 5k running programs, seven minute workout routines, yoga and stretching, HIIT workouts and body weight strength training. And don't forget about resources like fitness blogs and podcasts. Hello, subscribe to mine and social media. Follow fitness creators who share free workout ideas and their motivation. You know what? I actually just remembered another one.
Ashley runs through free fitness apps, outdoor options like hiking and playground use, and community resources including libraries, the YMCA's financial aid program, park departments, churches, running clubs, and social media fitness challenges.
Outdoor activities. Nature is like your free gym. And honestly, it's often more enjoyable than being indoors anyway. Hiking, running, biking. Well, you know, if you have a bike. Swimming at public beaches or pools or playing at the playground with your kids, doing yoga in the park. All free or very low costs. Many cities even have outdoor fitness equipment in parks. Check and see if your community has a fitness trail or outdoor gym equipment that you can use.
The main thing I want you to do is start looking into what your community offers for free or cheap. Believe it or not, many libraries offer free fitness classes or even passes to local gyms. Community centers will often have low -cost fitness programs. For example, at the YMCA, the local YMCA here in Richmond, Kentucky, they have an amazing financial aid program for people who can't afford regular gym memberships. There's also park and recreation departments that run affordable fitness classes, and some churches and community organizations also offer free exercise groups. and running clubs, those are usually free to join. There's a bunch of them on Facebook.
Just do a quick search for your city, plus the words free fitness or community fitness programs, and I bet you'd be surprised to see what comes up. And while you're online... Check out some free workout challenges. You wouldn't believe how many are on social media. You will find so many free fitness challenges. I've seen challenges from 30 -day plank challenges to squats to walking challenges. All of these give you structure and community support with no cost. And if you can't find one that you like, create your own with friends and family. Accountability doesn't have to cost you money. But if you do have a small budget to work with, here's where I'd suggest spending it. And I'll leave some links in the show notes for a couple of the things that I'm about to discuss. First one is a yoga mat. You can actually find one of these for as little as $10 to $20. And they make floor exercises so much more comfortable. Resistance bands, they're
Ashley suggests a short list of low-cost gear worth buying if budget allows — a yoga mat ($10–$20), resistance bands ($10–$15), a jump rope (under $10), and decent sneakers — while noting that even these are optional since people work out barefoot with a towel.
super affordable. Think $10 to $15. They're incredibly versatile and they're great for strength training. And one that I am not as big of a fan of, but some people really love is a jump rope. You can get one of these for less than 10 bucks and they're great for cardio workouts. And there's some awesome videos on YouTube for that as well. And of course, good sneakers. If you can afford it, I really recommend you get some decent shoes to protect your feet and your joints. I won't leave a link for those because there's so many different types of sneakers that I would end up just basically leaving 11 billion links, but you get my point.
Make sure you invest in some good sneakers. And honestly, even these are, are completely optional. I've seen people who work out barefoot and they use a towel instead of a yoga mat. So the point is, whatever you can have access to, use it. Because here's what I really want you to understand. Expensive doesn't mean better. Some of the most fit, healthy people I know don't even have gym memberships. They move their body consistently using free and low -cost methods. And the fitness industry, they want you to believe that you need all the things, right? The memberships, the equipment, the gear, the supplements, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But what you actually need is consistency, effort, and the willingness to move your body.
And you can do that completely for free. In the show notes, I'll also leave a link to a free workout plan that you can start. It's so simple and the total cost is $0. And the next time that you think, I can't afford to work out, I want you to remember this episode. You can afford to work out. You absolutely can. Because movement, it doesn't require money. It just requires commitment. Onwards and upwards, my friends. Have you worked out today?