The diet and fitness industry is booming. Stores are filled with cookbooks, exercise equipment and even special clothing to cater to fitness buffs. Whether you are looking to lose a few pounds or increase your bench press, getting in shape does not have to cost a fortune. In fact, there are several resources available to help you get fit for free. First, getting in shape can be as simple as moving more. Simply step out your door and run or walk your way to fitness. Walking or running with your pet helps keep both it and you in shape as well as providing bonding time for the two of you. Exercise can be shared with not only your pets, but your children as well. Play with your children. Backyard sports activities such as softball or swimming are great calorie burners. Sometimes, however, we want more traditional forms of exercise. The internet can be a great resource for exercise routines. Those interested in strength training can check out stronglifts.com, bodybuilding.com and muscleandstrength.com for free routines and advice. If you want to strength train but don't have weights, nerdfitness.com has routines that utilize body weight rather than outside equipment. If you are more interested in cardio conditioning, the befit channel on youtube provides a wide variety of free videos of cardio routines. Zuzanna Light's website, zuzkalight.com has free routines that are short but very intense. Although Zuzka now focuses on her Zgym which charges a fee, her older routines are still available for free online. Now matter how many routines are available, you still have to be motivated enough to work out. Online fitness communities such as sparkpeople.com and myfitnesspal.com allow users to find friends with similar interests to help motivate and encourage them. These sites often have groups for users with similar interests or challenges. Groups can focus on certain exercise interests such as running or yoga, or on certain diet interests such as vegan or low carb. Online resources are not limited to exercise, however. The fitness communities provide help with food and nutrition as well by providing information, advice, and recipes. Skinnytaste.com is a website filled with low calorie recipes as well as recipes that cater to special eating interests such as low carb and gluten free. Getting fit does not have to cost a fortune. In fact, you can get fit for free with online resources. However, bear in mind that although the websites mentioned are free, using them may cause you to incur charges for internet usage. If your data plan is limited, you may risk going over on your usage by watching exercise videos. Source
