Get a Great Workout Without Spending Any Money

With everything going on in the world this year, many people struggle to make ends meet. With a large portion of our society on unemployment, we are cutting expenses where we can.

Gym memberships and workout equipment are luxuries that can wait when the rent is due

I’ve also noticed that workout equipment is on backorder even if you have the means to purchase it. It seems all the gym rats snatched up all the equipment when the pandemic hit.

Yes, people are struggling, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t get your exercise in by using a little bit of willpower and creativity, even on a tight budget.

That said, I’ve compiled a list of 10 great exercises you can do to get a great workout without spending any money.

Brisk walking

If you’re a beginner, brisk walking is what I would recommend to get started. It is free, puts much less stress on the body, and is effective. My wife and I do daily walks, which has been fantastic for our bodies. We try to walk 30-60 minutes daily, but you’ll have to find what works best for you.

Pull-ups / Chin-ups

Pull-ups are one of my all-time favorite exercises for the upper body. Pull-ups work the arms, shoulder, abdominal, and back muscles simultaneously. I also like that you can switch up your grips to get more emphasis on the bicep.

While you could purchase a pull-up bar on Amazon for about $20, that defeats the purpose of this article., A great way to do pull-ups is to go outside and find a place to do them

Many parks have pull-up bars, as well as other locations. Check out famous Fitness Youtuber Scooby’s video on all the places you can do Pull-ups.

If you can’t do a full pull-up, Scooby has another great tutorial on how to get up to 8 full pull-ups. I couldn’t do Pull-ups for a long time, and I used it to get up to 8!

Push-ups

Push-ups are another great upper body exercise that I recommend that is entirely free. Like pull-ups, they work the arms, shoulders, and abdominals. But Push-ups are more for the chest muscles.

Like pull-ups, you can also switch up your grip to emphasize the tricep and different chest areas.
When I do push-ups, I like to rotate between shoulder width, wide d

You can do them from your knees if you can’t do a full push-up. If that is too challenging, start by standing up and doing them in front of a wall.

You can start inclining more as you get stronger until you can do them facing the ground.

Planks

Planks are an upper body exercise that focuses more on the core. Planks are great because they help your abdominal muscles and the muscle around your spine. You can also do side planks to work out the obliques.

Before I started doing planks, I thought it looked super easy and almost lazy. But let me tell you, that is quite challenging. Take my advice and slowly build up the time you’re holding the plank.

Squats

Squats are my favorite overall leg exercise. I used to do them with a lot of weight back in my 20s, but now I just use my body weight since I am not trying to gain any more size.

Bodyweight squats are the perfect exercise to tone your legs and give you a great workout. I also vary my leg width, which puts more emphasis on my inner thighs.

Lunges

Lunges are the second-best leg exercise. I like lunges because they give a really good stretch on your hip flexors.

Crunches

Crunches are great because they are such a small movement but work the abdominals muscles. Full sit-ups, in my opinion, are a waste of time and tend to hurt my back when I do them. You can add some variety to crunches by putting the knees down to one side, which works the obliques more.

Watch the following tutorial below on how to do crunches currently.

Leg raises

While crunches are at the top of the list for working abdominal muscles, leg raises are another very effective exercise for working the abdominal muscles. These are pretty challenging so remember to take it slowly if you’re a beginner.

Jumping jacks

I like jumping jacks because they are great for cardio and help the spine, hip, and shoulder mobility.

Burpees

If you’re not familiar, a burpee is an explosive movement when you start at a push-up, then jump up to a standing position, then do an explosive jump as high as you can, then coming down, you do a squat that turns into a pushup:

Sample Workout Routine

Do this workout three times a week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday)

• Push-ups 2 sets 10 reps
• Rest 1 minute between sets
• Pull-ups 2 sets 8 reps
• Rest 1 minute between sets
• Front Plank 2 sets hold 15 seconds
• Rest 1 minute between sets
• Left Side Plank 2 sets hold 15 seconds
• Rest 1 minute between sets
• Right Side Plank 2 sets hold 15 seconds
• Rest 1 minute between sets
• Squats 2 sets 10 reps
• Rest 1 minute between sets
• Lunges 2 sets 10 reps
• Rest 1 minute between sets
• Crunches 2 sets 20 reps
• Rest 1 minute between sets
• Leg raises 2 sets 10 reps
• Rest 1 minute between sets
• Jumping jacks 2 sets 10 reps
• Rest 1 minute between sets

Don’t forget about Nutrition

Remember that abs are made in the kitchen, not in the gym. Ensure you’re getting proper nutrition to help fuel these workouts and repair the body.

If you’re struggling financially, check out my recent article on healthy crockpot meals for families on a budget.