Top 5 Most Awesome Gym Alternatives
The gym: you either love it or hate it.
Breaking a sweat on the daily is essential for overall wellness, but maybe hitting the gym is not exactly at the top of your favourite things to do. Whether you'd rather avoid the gym like the plague, or you're just looking at keeping your workouts fresh; here are our top 5 fitness and workout alternatives!
BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU
BJJ is a martial art and combat sport system that focuses on grappling with particular emphasis on ground fighting. You can learn new, more detailed and more refined moves and combinations indefinitely.
Every BJJ class involves some drilling of new techniques, and then about 30 minutes of full sparring, so it's a fantastic form of cardio exercise. It will work wonders for your flexibility, core strength and conditioning.
GEOCACHING
Sometimes all it takes to get moving is a purpose and a destination. Geocaching can be a fun alternative way to get some fitness into your day. Geocaching is a scavenger hunt in which people hide "caches" that are then found by other people via GPS coordinates. These waterproof containers can be small enough to hide in a fence post or large enough to be found under a fallen tree. Each cache has a log to be signed and dated by the finder.
Geocaches located in hilly regions can require a bit of hiking, which is an excellent workout for your calves, thighs, and glutes. Look for caches that indicate a more challenging terrain and get some exercise while having fun at the same time!
SWIMMING
Swimming burns calories without causing damage to your joints, and you don't need an Olympic-sized pool to swim laps. Many neighbourhoods offer a community or public pool access for a small entry fee. Also, many community centres provide underwater or deep water aerobics classes. If public pools aren't your thing, there is always the beach!
JOIN A SPORTS TEAM
Most Australian cities have local amateur sports teams you can join for a modest fee, and thanks to Google you can find anything from AFL to ultimate frisbee. A lot of these clubs allow anyone to sign up, and you play an average of one game per week through the regular season. You may need to purchase your own equipment, but you'll have a great time, meet new people and get fit all at once! If you can’t commit to a league, head to the local park or court with your mates and play a game of footy or basketball there.
INVEST IN A HOME GYM
If you love all the benefits of a good workout session, but can't stand the membership fees, travel time and lack of privacy a gym provides, then investing in a home gym might be for you!
If you have a home gym, you can take the time to set up all of your equipment, just the way you like it. You don't have to worry about anyone else moving your dumbbells or barbells around, messing with the settings on your weight machines, or adjusting the seat height and position of your exercise bike. Everything is set up just the way you like it, making it easier for you to start working out – without wasting time making minor adjustments on each piece of equipment you use.
THE TAKEAWAY
There are tons of other ways to work on your fitness for those of you who aren't gym rats. We hope this list provides you with some fresh new ideas to workout! These gym alternatives are great to get moving and to live a healthier, happier life, and at the end of the day, it doesn't matter how you do that. It just matters that you move, so get out there!
