How to Start Pre Holiday Workout Plan on a Budget

As the holidays grow closer, shopping season is ready to the ground running, and that means more spending and buying, with little margin for error as far as your budget goes, as you do your very best to stretch every dollar.

Often lost in the chaos of November and December, “Black Friday,” “Cyber Monday” and all the other pre-holiday sales you’ll want to partake in is the penchant for the masses to gain weight as the push toward the shopping season in full tilt, with only a partial or complete loss of focus on eating well and exercise.

Simply put, you’ll put shopping and spending money ahead of joining a gym or partaking in a health and fitness plan, mostly due to one glaring reason this time of year.

Money.

Consider what the average person spends on holiday shopping and outlook for 2018 and the season of spending.

Statistics are showing that retail sales could increase as much as 4.3 to 4.8 percent versus 2017, with nearly 720 billion spent, and that’s even ahead by 3.9 percent for the last five years; the 2016 to 2017 saw a 5.3 percent increase as well, with gaming stores and department stores account for 30 and 27 percent, respectively in 2017.^[1]

If you’re sitting there, arguably shaking your head and saying the inevitable “it won’t happen to me” line, then consider the statistic of weight gain as it stands with November and December, almost like clockwork, each year.

The average person gains approximately 7 to 10 pounds over the course of November and December, with the median being around 5 pounds.^[2]

Obviously, food and overeating are the main culprits in addition to the massive neglect the gym receives during this time period (November and December), although memberships and participation is up in September and October.

Food is a main driver of weight gain, but also you can’t underscore the time factor as well. Shopping, holiday planning and making lists and checking them twice don’t really include sit-ups, pushups and cardio, to say the least.

The average person consumes between 3,000 and 4,5000 calories just at Thanksgiving alone, not to mention the Christmas dinners that ensue as well, holiday parties and all those baggy sweaters covering up those extra pounds.^[3]

Christmas dinner, believe it or not, actually is worse with 6,000 calories consumed on just Christmas Day alone.^[4]

The combination of eating too much and poor choices, not to mention the volume of food, sweets, cookies and snacks, is too much for the average exerciser to handle, particular again since participation in a workout plan almost ceases.

The reason behind that, again, is most gym memberships get canceled or forgotten about because money often is a sticking point in November and December as you look for ways to save money, so that you can buy more gifts and avoid debt, credit cards or anything of that ilk.

Of course the gym and membership in general isn’t a flattering statistic as a stand alone, regardless of price.

A staggering 80 percent of the population who have a gym membership say they rarely use it, while also working against the general public is only about 14 percent of the population belongs to gym as it stands, a relatively low number at about 14 million people in America.^[5]

If you’re short on cash during the holidays, you might think about canceling your membership and saving anywhere from $40 to $100 per month for the next two months, because every little bit helps.

And as far as joining a gym in November, as an example, well that isn’t on the mind of anyone for the same reasons: who’s going to spend the money now, especially with enrollment fees, annual maintenance fees and other costs associated with joining and maintaining a membership.

But dumping your membership or cutting out exercise altogether isn’t a smart idea, even if you believe the money to be a point of frustration.

One of the better aspects of exercising is reducing stress, and holiday depression is a part of the hustle and bustle that goes into finances, shopping and the season in general.

Holiday stress as it relates to money affects 53 percent of the population, and 38 percent say their stress increases due to the holidays and 56 percent feel more stress at working during the holiday season as well.^[6]

So as much as money is a factor in eliminating a gym membership or not embarking on a costly fitness plan, you can’t ignore the benefits of exercise during this hectic time period.

And working out, eating right and exercising, even when you’re about to embark on spending more money during a 60-day window that you may spend all year on gifts, don’t have to be expensive or take away from all you have planned during the holidays.

This isn’t a call to action to spend whatever you want and try to take walks in the frigid December air, but instead about being prudent with holiday spending and finding cheaper, more frugal ways to continue to exercise, reduce stress and keep holiday weight off for good.

Here’s a few ways to do that:

Find a club that isn’t going to cost you a fortune

This seems like an obvious answer, but consider the average gym membership costs about $58 per month, and if your brilliant idea is to save that per month for the next two (or more) months to help pay for gifts and save money afterward, you’ll be eliminating when all you really need to do is replace.^[7]

Plenty of good standing, clean and worthwhile gyms are available at a reduced cost, so you don’t have to get rid of what you’re enjoying.

Three gyms stand out and are worthwhile options if you’re trying to save money over the holidays, headlined by Planet Fitness and also including Gold’s Gym.

The skinny on these heavy hitters at a reduced rate include a $10 Planet Fitness membership or as little as $19.99 per month if you want to include the extras (massage, tanning, etc.) and most of the time having a minimal start-up cost (like $5 to $20); Gold’s Gym with no commitment to a year-long contract and a $29.99 base membership and no more than $39.99 (the second option is better with a $50 enrollment fee).^[8]

The chain clubs offer spaciousness and cost that are going to endear themselves to your wallet but also you won’t feel as though you’re skimping out on a gym that isn’t going to give you much in the way of variety or equipment.

Look no further than your TV for motivation

If you’re already engrained in your television, you should know it is for more than the Thanksgiving Day parade and a 24 hour marathon of “A Christmas Story.” It can help you lose weight; odd, right?

But consider the options you have when it comes to exercise being free from the privacy of your own home, with services that ofter fitness on demand programming or linking up to You Tube on your smart TV and buzzing through free workout videos at your pace and convenience.

A quick scan on You Tube shows that you can pretty much workout with anything in your house and minus the expense of adding workout equipment, too.

You Tube, for example, has a 10 minute TV Couch Workout (yes, you read that correctly) that you can do quickly and easily with, yes, your couch.^[9]

One avenue you might want to consider is Amazon Prime, which most know as a means to get free two-day delivery. But the $10.99 price tag also includes access to at home workout videos that are as little as 8 minutes and no more than 30, but also have ones that are a little more intense that go between 60 and 70, so perfect for any and all fitness levels on a budget.^[10]

Everything from an 8-minute abs workout to a high intensity interval training workout that only lasts 15 minutes are available and at a cost that is about what a Planet Fitness membership costs but also able to do it at home while you’re baking holiday cookies or wrapping gifts.

Again, time and money are the two leading causes of why most people quit working out, and the holidays take up both, so the video on demand or streaming options eliminate those built in “excuses.”

If you join a gym, do so close to your home

So this really doesn’t pertain to money but more about the convenience the gym can offer you if you choose wisely.

Two things to consider: join a gym close to home or work and make sure if it is the latter, you pass by it on the way home (don’t have to go out of your way, because you won’t). The second point is make sure you’re not joining somewhere that is too close to a mall or retail strip that is super busy during the holidays.

Sure, no one will be in the gym, but the parking lot and traffic is going to make this a point of frustration, and thus you’ll stop going, quit or keep paying for something you aren’t using.

Remember only about 50 percent of those who belong to a gym go, and the holidays make things busier and less likely that you’ll go, too.^[11]

That is why you’ll want to join somewhere that takes price into consideration, certainly, but also proximity to a location that you’re at all the time and getting to and from isn’t going to be a huge hurdle to climb.

Sneak in exercise everywhere, get creative if you absolutely decide to quit gym

So your mind is made up; you’re quitting the gym.

No worries, you’re not even interested in online exercise, streaming and want to workout and not pay one cent.

Got you covered.

Get creative with how you exercise or burn calories. Ever think of simply taking the stairs for the next two months while you’re at the mall or maybe even parking farther away at the lot in that same mall or department store. Parking five minutes away from the mall and walking briskly (4 miles per hour) means you’ll burn 50 calories round trip to and from the car.^[12]

Sure, it might be cold but remember you quit, everything, right?

Ironically, those who make the decision to cast away their gym membership due to cost or stop working out because they’re so busy are defeating the purpose of what exercise accomplishes: keep weight off, feel better and reduce stress, all three major components of the holiday season.

You don’t have to spend $500 a month on memberships, training and nutrition just to stay ahead of the holiday weight gain curve and save money in the process.

The positives centering on exercise in 2018 is that memberships can be less expensive than they were 10 or 20 years ago, and the influx of personal training being done via video on demand in your home as part of a cable package are two bigger drivers that should keep you fully engaged in exercise even if the holidays are taking up a big part of your time.

You’ll reap plenty of reward if you stay on the exercise and diet path, and that is more than just keeping off a double digit set of unwanted pounds.

You’ll breeze through the holidays, making time for yourself, your health and without necessarily breaking the bank or your buying budget in the process.