My Top Go-To's for Free (Or Almost Free) Fitness!

First and foremost, always remember to talk to your doctor before beginning a workout regimen.

So, Here we are. 2016 is coming, it is literally right. around. the. corner.

You are set on starting a workout, on getting those extra few pounds off. Or you are making a complete lifestyle change and are ready to really take it to the next level.

No matter where you are on your healthy living journey, fitness is important. We all know at least some level of activity is necessary to counteract a sedentary lifestyle (I for one, sit at a computer most of the day at work. Desk job = sedentary).

If you are anything like me, you don't feel like you have time to go to the gym.  Or you just don't want to pay for gym membership fees, when you have everything you need to work out at home.

I have compiled a list of my favorite free and almost free, at-home exercise companion websites or apps.

NOTE: I will be updating this blog post as I add new information to it. Please stay tuned in the Facebook group for updates.

• LIVESTRONG 8-Week STRONGER Challenge

Image: LIVESTRONG.com 

 The LIVESTRONG website is a wonderful resource that I stumbled onto a while back when searching for HIIT (high intensity interval training) workouts. The STRONGER challenge is great in that if you sign up, you get everything you need to become "stronger" in 8 weeks. Once you sign up, you choose a start date and you are emailed a grocery list and meal plans. You have this really awesome community that you can engage with. But, if you are happy with your food choices, or are on a physician-mandated diet, and only want to do the workouts, you don't have to sign up for anything. You can just follow along with the workouts on the schedule. It is that simple, and though I haven't completed the challenge, I have done some of the workouts and they are a lot of fun.

Link: LIVESTRONG 8-Week STRONGER Challenge

• Tribesports

Image: community.tribesports.com

Tribesports is a really fun community that helps you keep track of workouts, log workouts in real time, and also communicate with like-minded people. There are "tribes" that you can join, for example one of the top tribes is called "get fit without joining a gym", and it has almost 32,000 members. You can find workouts and as you do each move, it is logged for you. This website/community is really awesome for people who need the extra motivation and accountability being a part of a big community can offer. Tribesports is 100% free. 

Link: Tribesports Community

• Free Trainers

Image: freetrainers.com

Free trainers is probably the next best thing to having an actual trainer. It is 100% free, and you have access to so many resources to help you along on your journey.  You can create customizable workouts and add them to your calendar. This was the program I was on when I started this journey. I lost over 25 lbs in the span of two months combining this program, and 30 minutes of treadmill walking, every day. 

This program has links for each exercise that will take you to a detailed explanation showing how to properly perform it. You can learn about each muscle group, and you can also find information about nutrition. I would probably recommend this program above all others, for those who are just getting started. The simplicity of it, and the workouts, is what I love about this program. 

Link: Free Trainers website

• Fitness Blender

This next fitness resource is actually a channel on YouTube. They have literally hundreds and hundreds of workouts that you can do at home and millions of followers on YouTube. Most of their workouts are equipment free, so you wouldn't need to buy anything to do them. I was kind of hooked on their workouts for a while, because they are actually fun and there are so many of them that it is hard to get bored. They even have insane thousand calorie workouts, but I highly recommend beginners not try those.
Link: Fitness Blender YouTube Channel

*I'm also going to include a link to all the beginners and low-impact workouts that they have on their channel.
Link: Beginners and Low-Impact Workouts (Fitness blender)

New Year, New You!

There is never a bad time to decide that you want to start living healthy.  But is there a *best* time??  

We are coming up on January 1,2016, and the time for New Year's resolutions is upon us. The thing about New Year's resolutions is they are destined for failure, right?  Wrong!  They don't have to be!  The only thing that can cause you to fail is you.  

I can tell you from experience that the only reason I'm not further along than I am is because of me. I started this blog a while ago, and always slack off with it.  Something always happens and my fitness routine falls by the wayside. 

Thankfully, the one thing I've managed to stick to (for the most part) is my diet.  And I don't mean "diet" like,  I'm on a diet.  I mean diet, like, what I eat regularly.  It is probably the only reason I haven't gained back everything I've lost yet.  

But this is going to be MY YEAR.  This is also going to be YOUR YEAR.  We can do this together! 

We are going to create recipe pages, as well as a page with some of the best free fitness websites out there!  Stay tuned!