Home exercises

A home workout is free and perfect if you'd rather stay indoors, you're short on time or if the weather's putting you off. Think about how you can use familiar objects around the house, such as the stairs, chairs, soup cans and water bottles to exercise with. "Devise a mini-circuit in your own home," says diet and fitness expert Laura Williams. "Use steps or a stair for step-ups, do tricep dips on the edge of the sofa and use the hallway or garden for shuttle runs. You can work every muscle group and really whittle away your waistline without leaving the house." Check out YouTube for video clips on getting fit at home. You could also borrow fitness DVDs (dancing, yoga or aerobics) and books from the library or swap workout material with workmates or friends. Also, browse iTunes where there are thousands of free applications such as training planners and podcasts?to help you stay in shape.

Skipping

If you've not used a skipping rope since your school playground days then now's your chance to rediscover how fun and beneficial skipping can be. An excellent way to keep fit, skipping can be done anywhere at any time. Just a few minutes' skipping training brings a whole range of health benefits, including heart and lung fitness, strong bones, balance and flexibility. The average person will burn up to 200 calories during 15 minutes of skipping. Skipping is a strenuous exercise, so start slowly. Try skipping for 20-30 seconds, marching on the spot for 30 seconds, and then repeat. As your fitness improves you can increase the time you skip for. Once you have perfected the basic move, you can make your workout more interesting by trying different jumps.

Trim trails

Trim trails (also known as fitness trails or activity trails) are made up of simple pieces of exercise equipment, such as parallel bars, leapfrog blocks, inclined press-ups and balance beams, dotted around parks, recreation areas or alongside cycle routes. The free equipment can be used to do various exercises, including step-ups, sit-ups, lunges and press ups, to develop balance, strength and co-ordination. "As with all new exercise routines, start slowly and stay within your comfort zone," says fitness trainer Joanna Hall. "Increase the intensity of the workout gradually as your fitness improves." Use the internet to learn how to do the exercises properly to get the most from them and avoid injury. Ask your local council if there's a trim trail in your area.

Green Gyms

Improve your health and the environment at the same time with the outdoor alternative to the gym. Work up a sweat digging, planting, lopping and path-clearing at one of 95 free Green Gyms around the country, run by the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV). Experienced leaders guide volunteers through a range of practical projects, giving you the opportunity to tackle physical jobs in the outdoors. This can?improve your strength and stamina, and boost your practical skills and confidence. There are sessions for all fitness levels and no previous gardening or conservation?experience is necessary. Watch a video on Green Gyms.

Outdoor gym

Research by the University of Essex shows that exercising outdoors boosts people's physical and mental health more than going to indoor gyms, even in winter. With this in mind, the National Trust has enlisted outdoor exercise specialists Eco Fitness to devise a free outdoor fitness programme you can follow whatever the weather. The 31-day plan has been designed to ease people into an outdoors regime where exercise is fun rather than a chore. No equipment is needed. Exercises in the challenge include power walking, tree press ups and spotty dogs (stepping backwards on the spot using?opposite arms and legs).

DIY boot camp

Military-style fitness classes are all the rage at the moment in parks up and down the country. There's no reason why you can't create your own boot-camp-style workout for free and without someone barking orders at you. Just plan your routine, mixing running with a series of exercises such as jumping jacks, squats, lunges, running stairs, push-ups, bench dips and squat thrusts. Do a bit of research online to make sure you're doing the exercises correctly before starting out. For extra motivation, try to enrol a friend to do the boot camp sessions with you.

Free equipment

People often give away fitness gear, such as weights, skipping ropes or exercise balls. They are the kind of things people buy with high hopes and then the equipment lies around gathering dust, ready for you to take it off their hands. Check community freebie sites such as Freegle, Freecycle and SnaffleUp and put out emails to say you're looking out for exercise equipment. Search regularly and you might get lucky. Another option is to swap your own unwanted exercise gear for some different sports equipment using websites like SwapShop and Swapz.

Park football

The idea of walking up to a group of strangers during a game of football and asking to join in may sound slightly unnerving but, provided you can work up the bottle, this is both an excellent way to get fit and to make friends. Choose a group of players of similar age and ability and who seem like they're just starting their game. If the game's already started, the goalkeeper is probably the best person to approach. More often than not, you'll be welcomed and it will open up the possibility of getting a regular game and a free workout.

Mall walking

Mall walking, which is brisk walking through large shopping centres, is a craze sweeping the US and catching on here. The walks, which are generally held in the morning, are free of charge and aimed at people who don't normally walk very much but who want to improve their fitness. Mall walking provides an excellent opportunity to exercise and socialise in a safe, secure, warm and dry environment. "A 30-minute brisk walk incorporating some stair climbing and lunges can burn around 200 calories," says health and fitness writer Peta Bee. Mall walking groups operate nationwide at shopping centres such as the Bullring in Birmingham, The Trafford Centre in Manchester and the White Rose in Leeds.

Contact your local authority

Your local leisure centre may well be offering initiatives such as free exercise classes or a free swim on certain days of the week to encourage people to get in shape. Many authorities also have outdoor gyms (which include much of the same equipment found in an indoor gym), basketball hoops, tennis courts and football pitches that you can use free of charge. You may also be entitled to free leisure services if you're under 16 or over 60 or if you receive benefits. Fitness expert Laura Williams says: "Contact your local authority to find out what's on offer and take full advantage of these facilities, which are funded by your taxes after all."

Free gym passes

If you want to give the gym a go or you're developing withdrawal symptoms after cancelling your membership, take advantage of the free one-day gym passes many chains offer. Be advised that the gym will probably try their best to get you to sign up for paid membership afterwards, but there's no obligation whatsoever for you to do so.

Do you have any free fitness tips? Share your ideas with our readers in the comments box below.

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