Monday's Retail Madness

GET FREE WORKOUT GEAR!

Looking to get some new workout clothes but not interested in shelling out the big bucks? Try trading in your credit card points for a gift card to Nike, Macy's or other retailer carrying athletic brands. By regularly using your credit card to make purchases you rack up points which you can then trade in for a variety of items, including gift cards to your favorite stores. So if you have been eyeing a new pair of running sneakers or body slimming yoga pants, don't feel guilty about splurging just use your points and nab great stuff for free!

FIT TIP: Being fit means being financially fit as well, make sure you are not overspending by using your credit card. Only spend what you can pay off with the money in your bank account!

Weekend Activity

Looking to try something new and fun this weekend? Check out ooh.com, a website that lists fun activities to try throughout the world! Check out sports and leisure activities in your area or use the website when you are planning a vacation. Yoga retreat in Hawaii anyone?

Friday's Food

THE FIVE BEST FOODS FOR YOU THAT DON'T BREAK THE BANK!

This Friday's Food offers you the best foods you can eat for your health and diet and best of all they're cheap! Who says eating healthy is too expensive?

1.) Black Beans- At only 1/2 a gram of fat and 90 calories per serving, these little beans still pack a punch with 7g of protein. Use them instead of chicken in tacos or burritos or add them to salads or rice dishes to make a hearty meal. At only $0.99 per can (one can has 3.5 servings) black beans will really be a bang for your buck!

2.) Plum Tomatoes- Cheaper than some of their cousins like beefsteak or vine, they still offer the same cancer fighting benefits (if you have been spending a lot of time in the sun, stock up on these tomatoes!). They also are a great source of Vitamins A and C and with only 15 calories and 0g of fat, you can eat a ton of them! Try dicing them and adding to salads or sandwiches or make a pasta sauce or pico de gallo with these great almost seedless variety.

3.) Bananas- One of the cheapest fruits you can buy at only $0.79 per lb, bananas are rich in potassium and are much more filing than other water-based fruits. Have one sliced in your morning cereal, smoothie or yogurt. Eat one before hitting the gym for an instant energy booster. Or try slicing one and dipping it in melted chocolate for instant fondue!

4.) Shrimp- One of the cheapest seafoods you can buy, shrimp is so versatile and low in fat. Its a great choice for a protein in your meals and it is so versatile you can add it to Italian pasta dishes, Asian stir-fries, or Mexican tacos. Try seasoning it with spices prior to cooking like oregano or chipotle chilli and the shrimp will add a punch of flavor to your dish.

5.) Eggs- Stay away from the organic, corn-fed or free range chicken and you can pick up a dozen eggs for about $2.00. Eggs last a long time in the fridge so no need to eat them up right away and with a dozen of them, you'll have plenty of egg options! Try hardboiling them for a quick breakfast or combine one egg with 2-3 egg whites and scramble them for a more laid back breakfast. Use the eggs in your sandwich instead of cold cuts (even low-fat cold cuts can still provide a ton of sodium so its good to take a break!) or mix it with mayo and make egg salad. Hardboiled eggs are also great in pasta salads (use a light vingaigrette instead of mayo). Best of all, eating all the protein in eggs will keep you full all day!

Readers, are there any healthy foods you eat that are low cost?

Sounds on Thursday

This week's Sounds on Thursday Is the album Teenage Dream by Katy Perry (right). If you like that bubble gum pop music that reminds you of summer in high school then this album is for you! Songs like album titleTeenage Dream and California Girls provide great motivation to get you through any cardio workout and the upbeat lyrics may even put a smile on your face!

The entire album available at Amazon for only $7.99!

Wednesday's Workout

Hey all you frugal fitness fanatics, lose 8 lbs for *free* this month at home!! Just log onto SELF Magazine's website and sign up for the 8 lb Slimdown. Signing up is free and SELF will guide you through your daily workouts including cardio and strength training. You also will get a meal guide and free videos demonstrating strength and cardio moves. All you need is a pair of dumbbells! Don't forget to log your eating habits and workouts into the food and workout log provided on the website. With all of this at your fingertips, you have no excuses for losing those pesky 8 lbs . . . FOR FREE!

FIT TIP: Want to take your workout to the gym? Don't worry, SELF has a plan for gym rats as well!

Friday's Food

If the warmer weather is prompting you to go for a picnic, try these smart ideas to stay frugal and fit on your picnic!

Crackers and Cheese- This old staple can be made more healthy by simply opting for light cheese and light crackers. A favorite of FitBritt's is the Laughing Cow Light Cheese. These individual cheese wedges are only 35 calories a wedge and 2 grams of fat. They also have lots of flavors like French Onion, Garlic and Herb, Blue Cheese and more! Visit the Laughing Cow's website for more information (and also some yummy recipes using their cheese). As for crackers, most brands offer a low-fat versions of your old favorites but two great options are Health Valley's Garden Herb crackers and Carr's Table Crackers which come in a variety of flavors and have few calories and are low in fat.

Fruit- This is always a great way to fill up on a picnic. Try seasonal fruit because it will be the cheapest and the best tasting. A few good options are berries such as raspberries, strawberries, blueberries and blackberries, chopped watermelon or pineapple, grapes, sliced apples, pears or peaches. Try combining them for a yummy fruit salad. Another great option is combining sliced strawberries with some fresh mint, a splash of lemon juice and a pinch of sugar for a sweet treat!

Lean Sandwiches- To best satisfy your appetite you should give yourself small portions of a lot of different tastes rather than a large serving of one dish. Making a number of different mini sandwiches for a group is a great way to do this. Try buying a baguette and making small slices or cut sandwich bread into smaller portions and then experiment away! Keep your meats to low-fat (like ham, turkey, chicken) and order low-sodium from the deli if you are watching your sodium intake. Then try interesting spreads like olive tapenade, hummus (try a flavor like roasted red pepper or jalapeno) or mashed avocado. Keep your spreads light, the purpose is to add flavor not calories. Then load on veggies like tomatoes, watercress or arugula or lettuce, sprouts, shredded carrots or cabbage, cucumber or peppers.

Dessert- Yes you can have dessert! A bar of dark chocolate split among friends is a heart healthy option. Or try angel food cake. You can pick up a pre-made cake at a local grocery and just add sliced strawberries and fat free whip cream! Meringue cookies are also a great and healthy dessert.

Fit Tip: Don't forget that a picnic is a great time to get active as well! Bring along a frisbee or a soccer ball or a football to toss around with friends or just take a stroll through your local part looking for a perfect place to park your picnic!

Sounds on Thursday

Taking a cue from our earlier post on National Dance Day, this week's dance anthem is Club Can't Handle Me by Flo Rida. This fun upbeat song is great for some hip hop dancing, visit our National Dance Day post to see the Tabitha and Napoleon choreographed hip hop video accessible for all dance levels. Or just turn it on and get your own groove on. Alternatively, the song is upbeat enough to pull you through any tough workout. Motivation for only $1.29 at iTunes.

Readers, FitBritt recently tried swimming laps for exercise. Do you listen to music when you swim? What player do you use?

Wednesday's Workout

If you are looking to shake up your workout routine without leaving your own home then check out Hulu! Hulu is a website that allows you to watch tv shows on your computer for *free!* Best of all, Hulu offers a ton of full-length fitness classes including power yoga, Denise Austin's series, SELF Magazine workout routines and much more. Check out all the free workout videos you can watch and you'll never be bored with your workout again!

Weekend Activity

Looking for something fun to do this weekend? Why not try breaking out some of those old backyard games you used to play as a kid. Games like badminton, croquet, bocce, frisbee or even just a game of catch or touch football offer great workouts while also allowing you to utilize these long summer days. Make it a party by inviting over a few friends to enjoy in the activities!

Looking to pick up some gear? Check out Sports Authority, Dick's Sporting Goods, Amazon or eBay for equipment

Friday's Foods

A great way to save money and also eat the best fruits and veggies is to buy food that is in season. If you are unsure of what is in season, check out Sustainable Table to find out what is available in season near you!

Corn is a great vegetable that is in season now but instead of topping your corn on the cob with butter, try squeezing a fresh lime for a burst of flavor!

Enjoy!

Sounds on Thursday

This week's workout tune is a dance anthem that is great for getting your groove on or for pumping up your cardio workout. Try Take it Off by Ke$sha, available on iTunes.

Groupon Update

Today's New York Groupon is $39 for 5 Women's Bootcamp Classes! Alternatively, you can sign up for three capoeira classes for just $22! Get moving NY!

Wednesday's Workout

This Wednesday try an outdoor hike to get in a good workout while spending time outdoors, absolutely for free!

Need a trail in your area? Visit Trails.com to find a trail in your area and map out your hiking plan. Don't forget to pack plenty of water and food if you plan to be hiking for more than two hours.

Wednesday's Workout

For all you pilates fans out there, this Wednesday's Workout is a pilates mat class! Pilates is a method of exercise created by Joseph Pilates, focusing on the core postural muscles. Pilates also incorporates breathing techniques and increases flexibility. Although pilates can incorporate equipment, basic pilates is done on a mat with no equipment. Try these traditional pilates exercises at home to strengthen your core and increase flexibility:

The Hundred: Start lying on the floor or a mat on your back. Pull abs up and in like you are trying to zip a pair of tight pants. Bend your knees and keeping your knees and legs together. Take your feet off the floor so you shins are now parallel to the floor and knees are directly over hips. Lift head, neck and shoulders off the mat and lift arms off the floor but keep them straight and by your side. Start pumping arms up and down in small pulses up and down while breathing in for five breaths. Continue pumping arms and breath out for five breaths. Repeat this exercise ten times.

Advanced Option- Extend legs out to a 45 degree angle and do the exercise with legs straight.

To see a video of the hundred click here.

The Plank: Start lying on your stomach on the mat. Put your hands underneath your shoulders and push yourself up into a pushup position. Pull abs in and up and hold. For a modification either drop onto your knees instead of having legs straight (as if doing a pushup on you knees) or instead of using straight arms, drop down onto your forearms but keep legs straight. Try to hold the plank for 30 seconds to one minute while keeping your body in a straight line.

To see a video of the plank click here.

Obliques: Start by lying on your back with legs straight. Lift your legs two inches off the floor. Lift head, neck and shoulders up off the floor with hands behind the head as if performing a crunch. Bend the right leg and bring the right knee in towards your chest while simultaneously bringing your left elbow to right knees. Then switch legs and bring left knee in while bringing right knee towards left knee. Keep switching legs until you have done 10-20 repetitions.

To see a video of the oblique exercise click here.

For a complete at-home pilates workout. Check out these three ten minute videos from Pilates on Fifth:

Pilates Workout 1

Pilates Workout 2

Pilates Workout 3

Trying doing all three for a great 30 minute workout!

Groupon Update

Hey all you New Yorkers. Today's Groupon for NYC is offering $15 for two-weeks of unlimited classes at YogaWorks or $49 for a whole month!! Great deal. Visit Groupon for more info and follow Frugal Fitness on Twitter to stay updated with the latest fitness related Groupons and deals!

Tuesday's Trim Down

Today's Trim Down Tip is to get outside this summer while there is still time left!! A great way to burn calories and get in a good workout is to try a new summer sport. Kayaking is one of FitBritt's all-time favorites and it is surprisingly inexpensive to rent a kayak by the hour or by the day. You can try a single or get a buddy and do a double kayak. For novices, you may want to find a tour program where an experienced leader shows you where to kayak. Those with a little more experience can get out on their own. Plus, if you are on vacation on the water, kayaking is a great way to see the sights without all the congestion.

For more information on kayaking visit KayakOnline. For information on kayak tours visit REI Outdoor School or simply try a Google search to find something in your area!

Sounds on Thursday

This week's Sound on Thursday is Hang On (Dave Aude Radio Mix) by Plumb. This is a great remix of the original and will definitely get you through a tough cardio session!

Wednesday's Workout

This Wednesday's Workout is a great way to burn calories, stay fit on the cheap and have fun! Tennis anyone?? Try playing an hour of tennis and you'll burn major calories. Best yet, most cities maintain tennis courts as part of the local park and recreation department so you will most likely have access for free or for a small fee. Check out your local high school to see if they have tennis courts or call the city park and rec and inquire about local tennis court availability. Another great option, try Cardio Tennis, a class that focuses more on running around and hitting balls than on technique. Its great for all levels and will definitely keep your heartrate up!

Tuesday's Trim Down

If you are vacationing this summer and worried about not having time (or frankly the motivation) to keep up with your workouts consider forgoing a rental car. If you have to rely on taxis or public transport to help you get around, you'll be much more likely to walk helping you burn off those calories consumed from special vacation treats! Bonus- you will be able to see more of the city!

Readers, where have you walked around on vacation?

National Dance Day

Fox's So You Think You Can Dance executive producer, Nigel Lithgow, has deemed July 31st National Dance Day. Its a day to get out and have a great time dancing! FitBritt recommends you celebrate National Dance Day! See our previous post for a playlist and ideas on gettin jiggy wit it! Also, check out the official dance day routine created by SYTYCD choreographer's Napoleon and Tabitha. Don't be afraid to rewind until you get the routine down pat. Before you know it you'll be sweating it up!

WHERE IS FITBRITT?

Well all your frugal fitness fanatics. You might be wondering what has happened to FitBritt lately. Don't worry, there are still plenty more frugal fitness tips yet to come. At the moment, FrugalFitness is on hiatus. Check back soon though for more tips!!

Fit Tip: Use the warmer months to motivate you to get outside and get active. There are plenty of free things to do in the summer that don't involve sitting! If you need ideas, see previous posts!

Friday's Food

This Friday's Food is a fantastic, colorful and healthy recipe: tuna with pineapple salsa and apple-craisin salad. This recipe is fancy enough for a dinner party but easy enough to make on a weeknight. Best of all you'll reach all of your fruit and veggie serving needs for the day!


Servings: 4

Tuna
Ingredients
2 large tuna steaks (you can cut these in half to create 4 portions- tuna can be expensive so try to buy it on sale!)
sesame seeds
1 pineapple
4-5 plum tomatoes
red onion
cilantro
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1/2 lime
1/2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

1. Season the tuna steaks with sesame seeds and place on the grill. Cook 3-4 minutes per side (for rarer tuna cook less, for more well done cook longer).
2. Chop the tomatoes into small pieces and place in a bowl.
3. Cut up pineapple into small chunks and place into bowl with tomatoes.
4. Add in chopped red onion, chopped cilantro, garlic, lime juice and olive oil. Stir to combine and place in refrigerator to cool.

Salad
Ingredients
Package of mixed greens
1 apple (any kind will work!), diced into cubes
1/2 cup of dried cranberries
1/2 cup of shredded carrots
low-fat feta
Dressing: 1 teaspoon olive oil and 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

1. Combine the veggies and fruit in a salad bowl.
2. Top with the feta cheese.
3. For the dressing whisk the olive oil and vinegar together until combined.

ENJOY!

Sounds on Thursday

This week's Sounds on Thursday is Bulletproof by La Roux. This is a great song for strength training. If you stay on the beat you will be extremely challenged by the number of repetitions you perform!

As always, availabe on iTunes.

Wednesday's Workout

This Wednesday's Workout is a great *freebie*! Most of us love going to the beach so now use the beach for your workout! The beach offers so many versatile options for staying in shape. Grab a pair of running shoes and hit the sand. Running in the soft sand creates a lot of resistance meaning more calories, more toning for your legs and more results. If you are looking for something a little more relaxed and fun- try beach volleyball, frisbee, paddle ball or football. Just make sure to run after the ball!

If the water is more your style, bring along a kickboard and try swimming laps back and forth parallel to the shore or grab a boogie board or surfboard and fight the waves.

Cost to you-nothing. Results-priceless!

Tuesday's Trim Down

While many of us do not have the money to spend on pricey personal trainers, we still want to feel like we are being pushed along in our fitness goals and be kept on track. Solution? Enlist a friend! Working out with a friend is a great way to keep you on track and prevent you from slacking off, especially on those days where you just don't feel like working out. Beyond staying motivated, keep yourself on track by maintaining a fitness/activity log and food journal. Self Magazine offers a *free* log on their website which allows you to track your activity, calories burned and time. The site also offers some common activities so you can get an idea of calories burned per activity. You can also keep your own food journal, including the servings of water you drink a day. Don't forget to award yourself stars for staying on track!

Visit Self.com and go to Self-Challenge to find the food diary and workout log.

Monday's Retail Madness

This Monday's Retail Madness is a great way to stay fit for a low price! Many of you may have joined Netflix to see the latest releases but you may not know that Netflix is also a great way to keep your exercise routine spiced up. Netflix has hundreds of workout videos to choose from and the best part is you'll never get bored of the same old video. Best of all, you can get a one month free trial now at Netflix. If you like it, join for just $8.99 per month.

Wednesday's Workout

This Wednesday's Workout is an inexpensive and fun way to stay fit. An exercise ball, also knosn as a stability ball, offers a home-exerciser a variety of ways to stay in shape. You can purchase a ball for less than $20! Check out amazon.com to find one for your home gym!

Here are some ideas to get you started:

Abs
Stability balls are known for providing a great work for abdominals. Try these exercises:

Basic Crunch- Sit on the ball with feet flat on the ground. Walk your feet forward until your upper back is supported on the ball and your torso is parallel to the ground. Keep your feet flat on the floor and your knees bent. Bring you hands behind your head and use your ab muscles to lift you upper torso away from the ball. Lower and repeat. See how many you can do for one minute!

Oblique Crunch- From the same position, this time when you lift your upper torso off the ball, turn your torso to one side to target the oblique muscles. Release and repeat alternating sides for one minute.

Plank- This advanced move works abs and chest. Sit on the floor on your knees with the ball in front of you. Drape your body over the ball so your hands touch the floor. Lift your shins up onto the ball and begin to walk your hands forward until your entire body is parallel with the floor and you are in a push-up position with your shins resting on the ball. Hold this position for one minute. To make it ever harder, bend you knees drawing the ball and your knees into your chest, then release back out again. Repeat 15 times.

Lower Body

Squats- Stand with your back to a wall. Place the ball behind your back so the ball supports your body against the wall. Make sure your feet are parallel with your toes pointing forward about hip distance apart. Bend your knees into a squat while the ball rolls down the wall and your back. Rise up and repeat 20 times. On the last rep, stay in the squat and hold for 10 second. Work up to a minute! Another variation on this move is to perform the squats in a plie position with your feet wider than shoulder width apart and your feet turned out to the side. This works your inner thighs.

Lunges- Stand with feet together, holding the ball at chest height. Step the right foot out in front and lower into a lunge while simultaneously pushing the ball forward. Push off the right foot and return to start. Repeat on the left. Try to do as many as you can for one minute.

Upper Body

Push-up- From the plank position (see above), this time bend your elbows into a push-up then press up. Repeat 20 times.

Lifts- From a standing position hold the ball in two hands in front of your chest. Lift the ball straight overhead squeezing the ball with your hands to tone your arms. Lower and repeat for one minute. To also work the lower body, add a squat each time you lift the ball overhead.

For more ideas on exercises with the ball, pick up a book (try these for pilates or core workouts) or a DVD (this Turbo Jam Dvd is a great total body workout) or check out a favorite fitness magazine. Or check out the gaiam store for more great options.

Fit Tip: Not all exercise balls are created equal. You want to ensure that the ball is the right size for you. The average size is 65 cm. However, smaller women may want to opt for a 55 cm ball. If you are very tall, go for a larger size.

Tuesday's Trim Down

In addition to following Frugal Fitness on Twitter try signing up for a few of FitBritt's other favorite tweeters and get *free* fitness advice and ideas! People like DavidKirsch (Heidi Klum's trainer), Jillian Michaels, Lululemon, ExerciseTv, Self Magazine and Shape Magazine offer great tips and inspiration! Plus you can hear other people's stories. Its like one big workout buddy. Don't forget to share your story!

Monday's Retail Madness

This (late) retail madness is another great Groupon opportunity for our Boston residents. Get a three week pass to Healthworks including three burn sessions for $60 (regularly $284). A 79% discount!!

Quick only 10 hours left. Visit www.groupon.com/boston

Weekend Activity

This weekend try a *free* and fun activity! Hit your local park with a frisbee, a football or a soccer ball and some friends. Have fun throwing or kicking around. Don't worry if you are not any good, you'll burn more calories chasing after a wayward ball/frisbee!

Don't forget to pack some healthy snacks like veggies with hummus, fruit, low-fat crackers (Healthy Valley Garden Herb are great!), cheese-if its not too hot (Laughing Cow Light are only 35 cals per wedge!) and something sweet like Jello pudding or gelatin. Of course bring plenty of water!

Fit Tip: Make sure the park allows recreational activities and spread out away from others to avoid hitting an unsuspecting bystander.

Friday's Food

FitBritt often receives questions about whether sports drinks are beneficial and worth the money. Sports drinks like Gatorade and Powerade can be helpful in replacing electrolytes, which are lost with heavy sweating after strenuous activity. However, most workouts do not rise to the activity level that would require you to replace electrolytes through a sport drink. Unless you doing an extremely physically demanding workout, a sports drink is not necessary. Furthermore, most sports drinks contain a lot of calories meaning you are drinking in all those calories you worked so hard to burn off! There are now zero calorie sports drinks on the market, like Powerade Zero- so if you do need a sports drink, consider choosing a zero calorie option.

The best bet? Water is *free* and the best way to hydrate!

Fit Tip: Room temperature or warmer water helps cool your system faster than cold water. And if you are concerned that your workout has been strenuous enough to cause electrolyte and nutrient loss, consider having water and a banana, a natural energy booster and much less expensive than a sports drink. Finally, cut down your water costs by investing in a stainless steel re-fillable water bottle (plastic ones can contain Bisphenol A or BPA which can have harmful side effects).

Sounds on Thursday

In a recent post FitBritt recommended gettin your groove on around your apartment and suggested a playlist of songs including Lady Gaga. Well for all you Lady Gaga fans out there check out Telephone the Kaskade extended remix. This is a great song to really get in some heart pumping cardio! Best yet its over 5 minutes meaning you can groove even longer!

As always available on iTunes.

Tweet

Check out Frugal Fitness on Twitter to find out what's happening in the world of fitness on the cheap! http://twitter.com/FrugalFitness

Wednesday's Workout

Our previous post on free yoga classes at lululemon is coming back! This summer Lululemon is offering free OUTDOOR yoga classes! Every Tuesday at 10am and Thursday at 6pm Lulu offers free one-hour outdoor classes in Bryant Park in NYC. Other locations also offer outdoor classes. Visit lululemon.com for more information. Get outside this summer!

Tuesday's Trim Down

This week's trim down is a great offshoot from our former post on cleaning the house. cLean Momma is a dvd offering tips on how to fit in exercise while cleaning! The dvd offers sneaky toning exercises you can do while cleaning the house such as plie squats while wiping down the counters, lunges while cleaning the mirrors and tricep dips while scrubbing the tub. The dvd is only $14.95 and available at cleanmommas.com. Visit the website to get a free sneak peek on some exercises you can do while cleaning! The website offers video clips as well as tips you can do at home. Pretty soon you'll have a clean house and a fit bod whether your a momma or not!

Sounds on Thursday

This week's sounds is Raindrops by Basement Jaxx. A good song for any type of cardio!

As always available on iTunes.

Wednesday's Workout

Lately on Frugal Fitness we have been talking about getting outside and running and running for your favorite charity. This Wednesday's Workout is a *free* training schedule to help you train for a race.

Beginners- Follow this program but subtract one mile from each workout and add in intervals of walking where necessary.

Advanced- Add in one extra mile to every run.

Week 1

• Mon- Run 2 miles
• Tues- Cross train (anything from swimming, biking, aerobics, elliptical)
• Wed- Run 3 miles
• Thurs- Strength train
• Fri- Rest
• Sat- Run 4 miles
• Sun- Run 2.5 miles

Week 2

• Mon- Run 3 miles
• Tues- Cross train
• Wed- Run 4 miles
• Thurs- Strength train
• Fri- Rest
• Sat- Run 5 miles
• Sun- Run 2.5 miles including a speed workout- Sprint for 30 second, recover for 1 minute. Repeat 5-8 times.

Week 3

• Mon- Run 4 miles
  
• Tues- Cross train
• Wed- Run 5 miles
• Thurs- Strength train
• Fri- Rest
• Sa- Run 6 miles
• Su- Run 3 miles including a speed workout- Sprint 1 min, recover for 1 min. Repeat 5-8 times.

Week 4

• Mon- Run 5 miles
• Tues- Cross train
• Wed- Run 6 miles
• Thurs- Strength train
• Fri- Rest
• Sa- Run 7 miles
• Su- Run 3.5 miles including the same speed workout from last week. Try to increase repetitions to 8-10 times.

Week 5-Race Week

• Mon- Rest
• Tues- Run 8 miles
• Wed- Cross train
• Thurs- Run 4 miles at an easy pace
• Fri- Rest
• Sa- RACE DAY! Good luck.

Tuesday's Trim Down

This week's Trim Down is a great frugal tool for those of you with iPhones, iPad or iTouch. Apple offers Apps (short for applications) for working out you can download to your iPhone. The Apps provide you with information and pictures you can use while working out. Best of all, these Apps are available for *free* or for a small fee.

Some of FitBritt's recommendations:

1.) Runkeeper (free)- Tracks your distance, pace and calories burned for running, walking, hiking etc.

2.) Lose It! (free)- Lets you set goals and keep track of your calories intake and exercise output. Great for losing weight.

3.) Body Fitness (free)- Ever get confused when FitBritt explains an exercise- use Body Fitness to show you how to perform exercises like V-sits, crunches, lunges, yoga moves and more. Also tracks workouts and weight.

4.) Weight Watchers (free)- Everyone can download this app to get information on recipes but those signed up for Weight Watchers can also track their point intake.

5.) Yoga Trainer Pro ($1.99)- Shows you how to perform yoga poses using pictures and lets you create yoga sequences.

6.) Fitness Builder ($9.99)- A comprehensive program providing you with workout ideas and programs, custom exercises, fitness trainers, images, videos, text and audio, capability to share workouts, ability to ask ask fitness questions and track your progress.

7.) Distance Meter Pro ($2.99)- A GPS distance tracker that can show you how far your trail is and how fast you are going.

For more information on these and other apps visit: apple.com

Who knew your phone could help you workout??

Monday's Retail Madness

This Monday's Retail Madness is great deals by Reebok! Right now Reebok is offering 30% off your order plus free shipping with the code TAKE30 at checkout. Offer expires 5/31/10 and excludes some products.

In addition to this great promotion, Reebok also offers a Sign Up and Save program which gives you 15% off your first order when you join their email list.

Reebok also offers a deal of the week, promoting huge savings for you. This week's deal is 20% off all running shoes using the promo code RUNNING at checkout. There is also free shipping over $99! Offer valid from 5/21-5/27 and excludes some products.

Visit Reebok.com to find all these great deals!

Also, following a previous post about toning shoes, Reebok has come out with a new pair of shoes called RunTone, which offers toning for your calves, hamstrings and butt while running. Most toning shoes are for everyday walking but these shoes are designed for serious running. Check them out at Reebok. Reebok is also introducing a similar shoe designed for training and working out called TrainTone. Stay tuned for more info on the release.

Special Groupon Alert

Crunch Gym is offering $39 one month membership! Check out Groupon.com.

Weekend Activity

This weekend go out and try a new activity! Anything you haven't tried before like tennis (usually you can get free court space at local highschools), swimming (look for a community pool for low rates or try a day pass at the YMCA, which has reasonable rates), golfing (try a driving and putting range to keep fees on the low-end or try a public course during off-peak times--call your local course for details), sailing (see if your park and rec department offers a low-cost course), basketball, etc.

Friday's Food

This Friday's Food is a great recipe for staying healthy and also enjoying a favorite food of pretty much everyone: PIZZA! This recipe is loaded up on veggies and contains lower fat versions of some of the ingredients. By using flatbread or pitas you will make individual serving sizes, thereby controlling your portions. To make FitBritt's healthy pizza follow the recipe below.

Ingredients:

Whole Wheat Flatbread or Pita
Low-Fat Marinara Sauce
Fresh or Dried Herbs such as Basil, Oregano or Red Pepper Flakes
Garlic or Garlic Powder
Veggies Such As: Onions, Peppers, Mushrooms, Eggplant, Spinach
Part Skim Mozzarella Cheese

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit.
2. Take a flatbread and spread a thing layer of marinara sauce on it.
3. Add herbs and garlic if using.
4. Spread veggies on the pizza.
5. Top with cheese.
6. Bake for 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Special Update-Bicycling

Today is official Bike To Work Day! See our previous posts on Bikes in Buildings, Bike Paths, and the Bicycle Commuter Act to get more information on biking.

So get your bike out and get moving to work!

Sounds on Thursday

This week's Sounds on Thursday is Use Somebody by Kings of Leon. A great song for endurance workouts and strength training.

As always available on iTunes and Amazon.

Wednesday's Workout

A great way to save money and keep your workouts fresh is to get some new fitness dvds. This Wednesday's Workout is to hold a DVD swap! Get together some friends together and have them bring fitness dvds they are tired of and don't use anymore. Let everyone browse each others dvds and then swap for the ones they want.

Don't forget the healthy snacks!

Monday's Retail Madness

The thing FitBritt hates the most is when you decide to spulrge on something only to have it disappoint your expectations. One place this can happen often is with a personal trainer. This Monday's Retail Madness is focused on how to get the most out of your trainer.

1.) Shop Around- The first and most important thing for getting the most effective trainer is to find one that suits your needs. If you belong to a gym you will most definitely have a number of trainers at your disposal to choose from but you can also search elsewhere. A simple Google search can give you a directory for finding trainers in your area. Of course word of mouth is a really effective way for finding out about a trainer so don't be afraid to ask someone at your gym who you seeing working out with their trainer if they like that person. Ask around in your social or business circle of acquaintances if they have a trainer that they like.

2.) Figure Out Your Goals- Take a minute and write down the goals you wish to achieve from you training sessions. For example, maybe you want to lose 10 lbs, become more flexible, get flat abs, be able to run a 5K, break a plateau. Whatever your goals are write them all down.

3.) Find a Trainer Who Fits You- Most trainers have a speciality or focus area, for example weight loss or marathon training or endurance fitness. Some also have special certifications like boxing, pilates or yoga. Using your list of goals from above, try to match a trainer based on his or her speciality with your goals. Then once you have chosen a trainer, be clear with him or her about the goals you want to achieve. Show them the list and talk to them about the time frame in which you would like to achieve your goals. Your trainer can't help you train for that 5K in time if they don't know the race is in 6 weeks.

4.) Look for Deals- This may take a little bit more creativity but you can find good deals on personal training if you look around. Most gyms have an introductory special, for example, buy three sessions for $100. Ask at the desk about any of these offers. From our earlier post, check out Groupon which often has personal training packages that you can take advantage of and the discounts are great! Consider splitting the cost with someone else by training with a friend. Negotiate a rate. If you have a trainer you like, ask them if they would be willing to give you a discount if you paid up front or if you committed to a certain number of sessions.

5.) Keep the Trainer Focused on You- Don't let the trainer text or email during your session. The entire length of the session should be focused on you the entire time. The trainier can take care of other business on his or her own time.

6.) Communicate- Tell your trainer if you don't think the exercises you are doing are working, if you feel that you have not made enough progress, if you are sore or injured. Keep the trainer informed about everything, including your progress outside of the session including your own workouts and eating. By communicating with your trainer, you will have a greater likelihood for success and if things are not progressing, you'll have the chance to change before wasting a ton of money.

Friday's Food

This Friday's Food is a great *freebie*. Thinking up healthy menu plans can be difficult so its best to leave it to the professionals. Check out the Food Network on television for great recipes and demonstrations. But beware, not all of the popular chefs are dedicated to healthy eating. Try to stick to some that incorporate a lot of fruit and vegetables and keep things like butter, frying, bacon and cream to a minimum. Some of FitBritt's favs are Giada at Home, 5 Ingredient Fix, and Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger.

Sounds on Thursday

In honor of some of FitBritt's own accomplishments today, the recommended sound for this Thursday is Celebration by Kool and the Gang. An old song but it always gets you moving!

Wednesday's Workout

This Wednesday's Workout is completely free and focused on stretching. Stretching is an important part of staying fit and avoiding injury but many people overlook stretching. Here are a few stretches to try after a workout or maybe just after a long day when you want to unwind.

1.) Runner's lunge- Start with right leg in front with right knee bent and step the left leg back with the heel lifted off the floor and leg straight. Drop your hands down to the floor and hold this lunge position for 30 seconds. Switch sides and repeat.

2.) Butterfly Stretch- From a seated position bring the soles of the feet together in front of you so knees are pointing out to the side. Try to press the knees to the floor while keeping your back straight. You can use your elbows to help you. Hold for 30 seconds.

3.) Hamstring stretch- Lie on your back and bring the right foot straight up in the air. Keep the left foot flat on the floor with your left knee bent or for a more advanced option, straighten the left leg. Grab hold of the right leg that is in the air either at the calf, ankle or foot and draw the right leg in towards you shoulder. Keep your right leg straight and do not go to the point where the leg hurts. Hold for 20 seconds. Switch sides and repeat.

4.) Straddles- Sit on the floor and bring your legs out wide into a straddle position. Lean over to the right and hold for 15 seconds. Repeat to the left and in the center.

5.) Back stretch- Lying on the floor with legs straight out in front of you, grab the right knee and hug it into your chest. Allow the knee to drop over to the left side until the knee is touching on the ground. Extend your arms out to the side and if you can turn and look to the right side. Hold for 30 seconds. Switch sides and repeat.

6.) Hip Flexor Stretch- From a runner's lunge position with the left leg straight behind, drop the left knee to the ground. If you can bring your hands up and place them on the right front knee. Lean forward into the right knee but do not let your right knee go past your toes. You should feel this in your left hip flexor. Hold 30 seconds and repeat on the other side.

7.) Quad Stretch- From the hip flexor position, bend the back knee and catch the back foot in your hand. Pull your foot in towards your butt and hold it there feeling a stretch along the quad. Switch and repeat.W

Tuesday's Trim Down

This Tuesday's Trim Down builds on yesterday's concept of a home gym. Another fun piece of equipment to add to your home gym repetoire is a hula hoop. Hula hoops are a fantastic way to burn calories, tone your abs and have a little fun. You can also buy a weighted hula hoop to add extra resistance for a more difficult workout. Check out amazon.com for options. Remember when hula hooping that the motion is back to front with the hips, not side to side or a circle. Keeping a steady back to front motion will help you keep the hula hoop going. A great advantage to using a hula hoop versus traditional ab exercises is the fact that the hula hoop forces you to work your entire core, including obliques and back muscles, and it forces you to keep you stomach muscles pulled in, instead of pushed out, which can happen with ab curls.

For a little bit of fun, try this hula hoop 10 minute workout from Exercisetv.tv

Monday's Retail Madness

One of the major goals of Frugal Fitness is to provide advice on staying fit without spending a lot of money. One way to do this is to cut out costly gym memberships but you may still require equipment to get in a good workout. Therefore, this Monday’s Retail Madness is focused on creating a home gym.

To create a home gym, start with the basics. It is not necessary to have a designated space for a gym if you don’t have room in your house or apartment. The most important thing when it comes to space is being able to shift around some furniture to create enough room when you need it. Keep in mind that if you have to move too many pieces of furniture you will be less likely to stick to a workout on the premise that it takes too much preparation. Try to pick a space that requires only minimal furniture movement but still offers maximum space benefits for your needs. A common place is an office space or in the living room. Also, keep in mind that you want your equipment to be easy to put away and take out so it is accessible without causing clutter. A good idea is to store it in a closet close by or buy a woven basket to store things like weights so it is functional but will still fit in with the décor of the room.

Here are a few ideas for starting your home gym:

1.) Weights- A good idea is to buy a few different sets so that you have a heavy, medium and light set on hand. For instance, a woman may want to consider 3 lbs, 5 lbs and 8 lbs. A man might like 8 lbs, 10 lbs and 15 lbs. Check out the Shape Store or Sports Authority for options. Weights-$50.

2.) Mat- A good mat is essentially for yoga, pilates, stretching or just performing some strength moves on the floor. Try gaiam.com for some great non-stick yoga mats. Mat-$15

3.) Jump Rope- This is a great way to get cardio in without spending a lot of money. See our previous post. Jump Rope-$20

4.) Stability Ball- This is especially great for ab workouts but can also be used for general toning exercises and stretching. Check amazon.com- $15

5.) Clock or watch with a second hand stop- This is necessary to determine how long you have been working out for and to time yourself for interval training.

Thus you can put together a basic gym for about $100. Now that is frugal!

Here are some other extras that you may consider when building your home gym.

1.) Boxing gloves- Boxing is a great cardiovascular and strength workout. Boxing gloves are usually around $30. You can invest in a pair of focus pads if you have a partner who wants to work out with you. Or go big and get a punching bag.

2.) Exercise DVDs- These are great if you love classes at the gym. See our old posts on ExerciseTv and Yogatoday.com for free videos. Otherwise check out collagevideo.com for tons of options and sales!

3.) Resistance Tubing- This is great for strength training or adding resistance to pilates workouts to simulate pilates machines. For strength workouts look for resistance tubing with handles. For pilates and stretching, try a theraband which comes in a rectangular shape made from rubber with no handles.

4.) Medicine Balls- These are great and inexpensive for adding resistance to cardio workouts (Check out Steve Marcesa’s Workout Rock Hard Body Extreme on Exercisetv on demand or online for good ideas) or for replacing weights. Medicine balls are inexpensive and a good addition to any home gym.

5.) Books and magazines- These can help you get ideas for routines and workouts to prevent boredom.

6.) A Step- A step can be useful for doing a cardio workout without requiring too much extra space. Look for step aerobics dvds or just trying running up and down on the step. It is also a good substitute for a weight bench and can be used for numerous strength exercises.

To splurge or not to splurge? If you have the space and can afford an exercise machine like a treadmill, elliptical or stationary bike this could be a great investment. Home exercise machines can save you money in the long-term by cutting down on driving or public transportation costs, saving time and improving motivation and the overall cost of the equipment will pay off compared to the cost of a gym. Pick a piece of equipment that you think has enough variety and can hold your interest. Visit a sports store or local equipment retailer and ask a lot of questions, get demonstrations and make sure you are completely comfortable with the equipment before purchasing it. Also, find out about payment plans and discounts to ease the financial burden. Avoid purchasing this type of equipment online or via an infomercial because you could end up with an impaired piece of equipment that could threaten your safety and find yourself without maintenance support from the manufacturer. Make sure you are aware of the guarantee for the equipment in order to get the most longevity.

Weekend Activity

This Weekend's Activity comes from a suggestion by a reader a while back. Most of us know that sitting around playing video games is not good for our health, however, Ninetendo Wii can be a fun video game that also burns calories. Most Wii games are done standing and require the player to use his or her own body motions to play a game. The basic Wii consul is around $200 and games can range from $20-$60. However, FitBritt recommends looking on eBay for a Wii at a lower price. Follow the tips from an earlier post on buying on eBay.

A good investment is the Wii Fit Plus. This comes with a balance board upon which you stand and play games involving balance, strength and coordination. The Wii Fit Plus allows players to burn calories with cardio moves (the step aerobics, run and hula hoop are the best), invoke calmness through a yoga practice, build strength with toning exercises and have fun playing games that involve all types of skills. The Wii Fit Plus is especially good for building core strength as most of the exercises require you to maintain balance while performing moves.

Fit Tip: Instead of going out to dinner, make some (healthy) snacks and stay home to play Wii. Set up a competition by choosing a few activities and creating a prize for whomever achieves the greatest number of high scores for each activity.

Friday's Food

This Friday's Food is somewhat related to last week's post on growing your own vegetable garden. Another good option for getting fresh fruit is to pick your own. Since some fruits can be difficult to grow in your backyard, visiting a local farm or orchard is a chance to get freshly grown fruit and to save some money over the market price by going directly to the source. It's also a great activity to get outside and move around!

Depending upon the season and the geographical area you can get fruits like strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, apples, peaches, cherries, pumpkins, etc. For information on farms available in your area, the seasons to pick certain fruits, canning, freezing or making jam with the fruit you pick and other tips, visit PickYourOwn.org.

Readers, do you have any experience picking your own fruit?

Sounds on Thursday

This week's Sounds on Thursday is from a great artist, Alicia Keys. Her song, Wait Till You See Me Smile is an uplifting song that can be used for light to moderate cardio (walking, biking) or a pilates workout.

Wednesday's Workout

This Wednesday's Workout is another *free* workout. A fun way to stay in shape is kickboxing. You can do your own workout by trying these shadowboxing moves in your own home.

1.) Jabs- Stand with feet a little wider than shoulder width apart and knees bent. Bring hands up to chin height and keep hands in tight fists. Throw a punch forward with the right arm and then immediately retract and repeat to the left.

2.) Hooks- Staying in the same position, this when you throw your punch keeping your elbows at a 90 degree angle.

3.) Uppercuts- From the same standing position, bring you arms down to stomach height. This time throw your punches upwards and away from your body.

Try to do 50 punches of each. Then try putting the moves altogether.

Tuesday's Trim Down

This Tuesday's Trim Down is based on a hotly debated issue, which is the government's involvement in helping create a healthy population. While most of us support efforts aimed at helping people make healthier choices, the question is where to draw the line. When do we want the government to help out and when do we want it to butt out? Some examples of recent government initiatives include: requiring food chains to list calorie values for food and drinks (e.g. Starbucks, Chiptole, Au Bon Pain, etc), taxing sodas, asking food manufacturers to reduce the salt content of their foods (e.g. Campbell Soup, Heinz, Kraft), and taking the trans fat out of peanut butter.

Readers, what do you think about these and other initiatives? Do you support them? Do you think it is too paternalistic? Would you prefer more initiatives aimed at lowering the cost of healthy foods or increasing access to exercise? What is your suggestion for helping create a healthier population?

Special Update-Bicycling

In relation to some of Frugal Fitness's recent postings on biking to work and the benefits of biking, a recent law passed in New York City called the Bicycle Access to Office Buildings Law requires commercial office buildings with a freight elevator to allow bicycle access into their buildings.

To gain bike access employers (building tenants) must file a request with the building owner. Individual employees cannot file requests. The employers must be able to store the bikes safely in their own office space. Office buildings that provide alternate bike parking may apply for an exception to the law.

For more Frugal Fitness Special Updates, visit us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/FrugalFitness

Monday's Retail Madness

This Monday's Retail Madness is a fantastic find. Frugal Fitness has talked about the benefits of bringing your own lunch to work before and now it is even easier with these super cool lunch bags from Built (pictured left: Lunch Purse). These bags are insulated to keep the contents cool for up to four hours without the use of ice packs or refrigeration. They are easy to wash and contain inner pockets for easy storage. FitBritt likes her lunch purse because it fits easily over her shoulder like a purse, which is great when carrying other bags or needing hands free for coffee, cell phone, iPod, train ticket, etc. Also, FitBritt tends to pack her lunch the night before, pop the entire lunch box in the fridge and grab n' go in the morning.

Built offers a range of styles and colors to suit everyone's taste. Prices range from $20-$45 for lunch totes, not including shipping and handling. Built also has other products such as laptop cases, camera cases and more.

Readers how do you bring your lunch to work?

Weekend Activity

Although you may not find this to be a lot of fun, with spring here many of us are interested in doing some spring cleaning. This can sometimes be tedious work but a great way to get through it is to think about how many calories you are burning by getting off the couch and moving around the house. You can burn well over 100 calories an hour depending upon your height, weight, age and activity. Some really great calories burners include vacuuming, window washing, dusting, and of course in reference to Friday's post, gardening. In addition to burning calories, just think about all the lifting and squatting you are doing to get things clean. You may even get a whole toning workout in from a spring clean. You may want to even try putting on Thursday's playlist and see if you can combine spring cleaning with some of Wednesday's Workout to bring in the fun factor to your cleaning efforts.

Happy Cleaning!

Friday's Food

The problem with healthy eating is that it can often be expensive, especially when you want to load up on fresh vegetables. Even after springing for a bountiful of produce, many of us then watch our hard earned cash go down the drain as the food spoils before you can eat it. FitBritt's solution is to grow your own vegetables and fresh herbs. Growing your own vegetable garden saves you a ton of money, ensures freshness and allows you to pick only what you need to avoid spoilage.

If you have a nice big backyard, find a spot that is exposed to plenty of sun and create a plot by digging up the soil and getting rid of any large rocks. Then add store-bought potting soil to the ground in order to promote growth. Worried about predators eating your vegetables? You can construct a fence around the garden to keep animals out but remember some animals, like rabbits are good at digging so make sure the fence extends at least a foot under the ground. Another option is to use chicken wire over individual plants.

Is your problem no space for a garden? You can still grow your own vegetables by using containers and placing them on a balcony or patio or windowsill. For those of you really cramped for space, look for community gardens. Many cities have plots of land available for citizens to use for the purpose of gardening. Check you city's webpage for further information.

Now the question is what to grow. Fresh herbs can cost as much as $2 for a bunch and most often its not possible to get through the entire bunch before it goes bad. Popular herbs to grow are basil, parsley, mint, thyme and cilantro. A good tip here is to find a plant either at a local nursery or even your grocery store and then transplant the plant into your soil. Besides growing herbs, some great fresh veggies include tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, radishes and peppers. Just make sure that what you plant will grow in your region and at the time of year when you plan to plant them.

For more information on growing a vegetable and herb garden check out these useful websites or ask an expert at your local gardening store or nursery:

WikiHow: How to Grow Your Own Vegetables

My Great Home This site has some good information on growing vegetables in a small space

How Stuff Works- Growing Your Own Vegetables

Fit Tip: Gardening is also a great activity to burn calories. So not only are you getting healthy food but you are also saving money and getting some mild exercise!

Sounds on Thursday

So given yesterday's posting FitBritt thinks its only fair to offer an extra special Sounds on Thursday and provide a playlist suitable for busting out some dance moves. As always, songs are available on iTunes or, as FitBritt recently found out, also available on Amazon for $0.99 compared to $1.29 for most songs on iTunes.

Bust-A-Move Playlist
1.) Canned Heat by Jamiroquai- A good warm-up song because of its fun upbeat tempo.

2.) Boom Boom Pow by the Black Eyed Peas- This was recently suggested by a Frugal Fitness follower and is a great song for some hip hop type moves.

3.) Feedback by Janet Jackson

4.) Anything by Lady Gaga espeically Telephone, Bad Romance and of course, Just Dance

5.) Womanizer by Britney Spears- This has a good beat although FitBritt would like to take this opportunity to make a clear distinction between head shaving Britney Spears and Frugally Fit FitBritt- not at all the same person.

6.) Krazy by PitBull feat. Lil' Jon- Just get crazy!

7.) Get Me Bodied Extended Mix by Beyonce- Check out the middle of the song and see if you can emulate the words of the song. I.e. "Drop down almost to the floor"; "Pose for the camera"; "Do an old-school dance"; "Shake your derriere"; "Do the scissor leg, touch your heel, touch your toe"; "Do the Naomi Campbell walk" You get the picture.

8.) Love Generation by Bob Sinclair- If this song doesn't make you happy and want to dance then what will?

9.) Put Your Hands Up For Detroit by Freddie Le Grand

10.) Don't Feel Like Dancing by the Scissor Sisters

11.) And if you are trying to channel Dancing With the Stars and you are interested in some Latin flavor try out a few of these: Conga by Gloria Estefan, Maghalenha by Sergio Mendes, Let's Get Loud by Jennifer Lopez

Wednesday's Workout

This Wednesday's Workout is a lot of fun and completely *free*. FitBritt suggests putting on a great playlist of music consisting of all of your favorite upbeat songs and dancing around the house. Its like that hip hop class at the gym you always wanted to take but didn't have the courage, only now no one is watching you so you have no excuse! So you think you can't dance? No problem! Just move to the music. The important thing is to keep going to burn some calories. Try to keep it up for at least a half hour.

Looking for more structure? There are plenty of exercise dvds offering to teach you dance steps. One of FitBritt's favorites is Julianne Hough's (from Dancing With the Stars) Cardio Ballroom. Another option is to check out YouTube for some dance videos and see if there are any moves you can pick up. Or just watch MTV or VHI for an afternoon (that is when they actually play music) and see if you can get some ideas from some of you favorite celebrity singers.

Tuesday's Trim Down

This Tuesday's Trim Down is another *free* workout. Most of us know iTunes as a source for downloading music for our iPods, but what you may not realize is that iTunes also offers Podcasts. Podcasts are digital files that can come in audio or video form and are available in episode format. There are Podcasts for a range of subjects including the news, market information, arts and crafts, language learning and much more. Most importantly for our purposes, there are a wide variety of Podcasts on Health and Fitness. You can find a Podcast for almost any type of sport or fitness interest. Some great examples are Elsie's Yoga Class and Dave Farmer's Power Yoga, both of which offer free full-length yoga classes through audio instruction. Or a personal favorite of FitBritt's is the Pilates on 5th video Podcast, which offers instruction on Pilates moves and has 10 min and 30 min Pilates classes. IndoorCylcingPodcast offers an audio indoor cycling class including music and instruction, which is a great substitute for an indoor cycling class. And for all you runners, there are a multitude of Podcasts providing coaching on everything from how to run a 5K to tackling a marathon or triathalon.

In addition to fitness instruction, there are Podcasts on nutrition, such as Vegetarian Food For Thought and Dishing Up Nutrition, which offer information and suggestions on eating healthy. You can also find Podcasts for workout music mixes or motivational speaking.

Once you have found a Podcast (or two) that you like, you can choose to watch or listen to the individual episode streaming online or you can subscribe to the Podcast and have the episodes automatically downloaded to your iTunes library daily. And of course, the best part is that all of this information and instruction is *free!*

Readers, any Podcasts you enjoy?

In addition to

Monday's Retail Madness

This Monday’s Retail Madness is an absolute gem for those interested in frugal fitness. And in fact it was suggested by one of Frugal Fitness’s own followers. The website Groupon offers discounts for popular services in cities throughout the U.S. What this means for Frugal Fitness followers is that you can get great discounts on things like personal training packages with local gyms, fitness or dance class packages, rounds of golf, rockclimbing or tennis lessons and many other active pursuits. Some deals offer as much as half off the original price or more!

The way it works is simple: a business chooses to participate with Groupon and offers one of its services for a discounted price, if enough people choose to sign up for the service then the deal is on and your credit card will be charged. Unfortunately, if there is not enough interest, the deal is off and you cannot take advantage of the savings but your credit card will not be charged.

Groupon offers one deal every day, so it is worth it to sign up and have the deal emailed to you directly to avoid having to constantly check back on the website. For more information about how Groupon works, check out the sites FAQs.

Fit Tip: Groupon has offers for non-fitness related services and products such as spa treatments, dinners out, tickets, etc. So this site is great to use for all kinds of different activities and merchandise. Just make sure all these discounts don’t tempt you away from your fitness goals and do take advantage of the great fitness offers available!

Weekend Activity

Given our recent posting on the Bicycle Commuter Act and biking to work, this weekend's activity is biking, of course. Most of us loved to ride our bikes when we were kids, but riding a bike as an adult can be really fun and is great exercise. If you live in a city, check out the bike paths available and map out a ride. Most cities, such as Boston, New York, Los Angeles and Philadelphia, have websites to show you local bike paths. If you live outside of the city, visit a state park and try trail biking or just bike around the neighborhood.

If you don't own a bike, you can rent one from a local bike shop. And of course, a frugal fitness bonus, renting a bike is very inexpensive, but make sure you either buy your own helmet or rent one as well.

Fit Tip: Before you take off view these bicycle safety tips from be-safe.org.

Friday's Food

Using the internet is a great resource for finding tips of staying healthy without spending a lot of money (ahem, not to toot Frugal Fitness’s own horn). Recently FitBritt came across this gem from Cooking Light. It’s called Feed 4 for $10. It is an excellent resource for putting together inexpensive meals. It even breaks down the cost per meal. Although the recipes assume that you already have some things in your pantry like spices, so this must be taken into account when considering the meals.

Fit Tip- If you are cooking for two instead of four, just halve all of the amounts in the recipe to make two portions. If you are cooking for one, make two portions and save the leftovers for lunch or dinner the next night.

Sounds on Thursday

This Thursday we're going back a bit, the sound is Kashmir by Led Zeppelin. This 8 minute song will keep you pumping at a steady pace so its good for high resistance work such as a standing or seated climb on a stationary or spin bike, high resistance on the elliptical, or a large incline on the treadmill. Alternatively, it offers a good pace for weight lifting.

As always, available at iTunes for $1.29.

Wednesday's Workout

Last Wednesday's Workout focused on staying fit while at work. One of FitBritt’s suggestion was to ride a bike to work and/or talk to your employer about incorporating healthy activities for the office. Well, following up on last Wednesday’s report is some exciting information to incentivize both a bike commute and employer assistance. We have all heard of the Emergency Stabilization Act as basically being the bailout for American financial institutions. However, buried in this large piece of legislation is a gem to fitness fanatics, the Bicycle Commuter Act., which has been enacted in the US Tax Code. The Act allows an employer to reimburse an employee as part of a transportation fringe benefit, up to $20 a month for costs relating to commuting by bicycle. Qualified costs include purchasing a bike, bike improvements, repair and storage. The employee must qualify as a commuter by bike meaning that he or she regularly uses the bicycle for a substantial portion of travel been his or her residence and place of employment. Additionally, the employee cannot receive any other type of transportation benefit, so this cannot be combined with other forms of transportation benefits such as public transit or parking subsidies.

If you are interested in becoming a bike commuter or you already are one, you should talk to your employer about utilizing this benefit. To find copies of the laws, click on the above links. For further information, check out the League of American Bicyclist's website or check your local congress representative's website to see if they provide any details.

Tuesday's Trim Down

This Tuesday’s Trim Down is a very inexpensive way to stay fit throughout the year and its so simple it comes straight to your mailbox (snail mail that is). Besides subscribing to a fitness blog (ahem), subscribing to fitness magazines is a great way to get new ideas for keeping fit. Most magazine subscriptions are around $14, which means you are spending about $1.16 per month on pages and pages of fitness tips and ideas. That’s much cheaper than a pricey gym membership. Plus, a subscription saves you an incredible amount of money over the newsstand price, which is usually around $4 per issue or $48 a year. Most fitness magazines feature an article each month on strength training or cardiovascular activities such as walking, biking, etc. The benefit to these articles is that they have pictures and commentary to explain how to do the moves, which can be helpful if you are new to exercise and need a little guidance on how to perform common exercise moves. Additionally, the magazines also offer tips on gear or equipment that you may find useful. A few good examples of fitness magazines for women are Shape, Self, and Fitness. For men, try Men’s Health or Men’s Fitness Magazine. If you have a specific area of interest such as running, yoga or pilates, try looking for a specific magazine such as Runner’s World, Yoga Journal or Pilates Style Magazine.

Fit Tip: If you are not interested in the content of the magazines but don’t want to commit to a subscription, check out the magazines websites. A lot of information that is contained in the print issue is available online, including some features not available in print like videos of exercise moves.

Monday's Retail Madness

Nothing is better for sore, tight, overworked muscles than a great massage. However, this fit frugalista cannot justify spending $100+ on a massage every time a muscle aches. Enter the frugal fitness solution: a foam roller. This device is a great tool for stretching out and massaging tired and sore muscles. The roller creates the same movement as the techniques used by massage therapists in giving a sports massage, which helps release muscles that have become tight or sore due to overuse, injury or lack of stretching.

Gaiam offers both half and full rollers on its website with prices ranging from $9.99-$29.99.

Here are a few exercises for stretching and massaging your muscles:

1.) Back-Lie down on the roller lengthwise so you head, kneck, shoulders and back are on the roller. Keep knees bent with feet flat on the floor. Gently rock yourself from side to side allowing the roller to massage your back.

2.) Upper Back- Lie cross wise on the foam roller so only your shoulders and upper back are on the roller. Hands behind the ears, as if you were doing situps on a stability ball. Feet are on the ground with knees bent. Slowly roll back and forward targeting the roller on the upper back.

3.) Glutes- Sit on the roller with hands on the ground behind you and feet on the floor in front of you. Begin rolling slowly forward and backwards to release glute muscles.

4.) Hamstrings- In the same position as above, move the foam roller down so it sits on the back of the legs now. Roll the roller up and down the hamstrings slowly.

5.) Calves- Continue with the same exercise as above but move the roller down to target the calves. Keep the buttocks off the floor to place a little bit more pressure on the muscles resulting in a deeper massage.

6.) IT Band- This is a really great massage/stretching technique for walkers and runners who will naturally have tighter IT bands. Lie on your side with the foam roller under your hip and legs stacked. One hand should be on the floor. Take the top leg and place your foot in front of the other leg that is still on the floor and straight.(as if you were doing inner thigh leg lifts). Slowly roll the foam roller from your hip down towards your knee.

Fit Tip: Gently roll the foam roller over areas of your muscles that feel tight and stop on an area where you feel a lot of tightness. Hold until the muscle relaxes and continue to roll. Make sure you use the roller on the muscles and not on your bones or joints.

If you want more ideas for massage and stretching with the foam roller, check out the book, Foam Roller Techniques for Massage, Stretches and Improved Flexibility by Michael Fredericson, available at Amazon or the DVD The Foam Roller Workout & Massage with Michaela Sirbu also available at Amazon.

Weekend Activity

This weekend to get active try rockclimbing. Rockclimbing is a great activity that can be done indoors or outdoors and has appeal to people of all fitness levels and ages. It has fantastic benefits for strength, especially in the core, and flexibility. It is also a great tool to overcome a fear of heights and to introduce some excitement into your life!

A great way to learn to rockclimb is to enroll in a course, which will provide all of the equipment as well as instruction. Visit indoorclimbing.com to find a local gym near you and find out about their beginner's classes. If you would like to learn outdoors, many organizations offer either day or weekend courses to teach you to climb outside. REI's Outdoor School , Eastern Mountain Sports , and Outward Bound all offer climbing courses for a reasonable price.

Friday's Food

A great way to get healthy food is to visit a local farmer's market. Farmer's markets offer tons of fresh produce that have sometimes been harvested within the last 24 hours. They also offer other products like dairy, meats and seafoods. Shopping at a farmer's market supports the local community and it can be enjoyable to shop outside. Check your local newspaper or city's website to see if you can find a listing for farmer's markets in your area.

Another good option is to join a CSA, which is a subscription with a local farm to receive a box of fruits and vegetables available from the farm. This is a great way to boost your fruit and vegetable intake. Visit localharvest.org to find out if there is a program in your area.

Sounds on Thursday

Today's tune is another remix (which we are a big fan of at Frugal Fitness), Seal's Waiting for You remix is a great pump up tune that can be used for pretty much any form of cardio. Also check his other remixes at iTunes.

Wednesday's Workout

This Wednesday's Workout is based on a recent reader question:

Do you know a good workout routine for people who may be stuck in an office all day with little opportunity to get up from their chair and move around?

What a great question! Here is FitBritt's suggestions for fitting in a workout while stuck at the office.

When you are stuck in an office all day long you can start to feel very sedentary and what is worse is that you sometimes don’t feel like you have any energy after work to workout. The best thing to do is to try and burn as many extra calories you can in a day even while you are at the office. Remember, to lose weight you need to burn more calories than you consume. Here are a few tips:

1.) Start the day off right by walking or biking to work. If it is feasible and you live close enough, you can walk or bike to work. No need to go at full intensity if you are unable to shower afterwards, a leisurely walk or ride will be sufficient. If you are really motivated, walk or ride home as well.

2.) Not everyone lives close enough to walk or ride to work so if you don’t, try to take the stairs instead of the elevator in your building.

3.) Keep moving once you get to work. Instead of calling or emailing a colleague, walk to their desk to speak with them (this may also be helpful in building a better rapport with your colleagues). If you can take breaks during the day, do so away from your computer. Walk outside and take a quick stroll around the block.

4.) Try to get some exercise at lunch. If you work close by to your gym this is an excellent time to go for a workout. You will feel energized for the remainder of the day if you can get in a midday workout. If you don’t work close to your gym or you don’t have a gym membership, try to go out for a run in a local park. If your building does not provide showers and change rooms then skip the run and try a walk instead. Even just 20-30 minutes of walking at a moderate pace will up your calorie burn and help keep you metabolism going. Plus, it may help you clear you heard for the remainder of the day.

5.) Bring a jump rope to workout and hit the playground at lunch. A jump rope is cheap and portable. See our previous blog on jump rope workouts by clicking here.

6.) If you buy your lunch, don’t get delivery, get up from your desk and go get it.

7.) Workout while sitting down. No, this is not a crazy infomercial. Replace your desk chair with a stability ball. Sitting on a stability ball forces you to engage your core muscles and requires you to maintain good posture in order to stay balanced on the ball. Sitting on a stability ball instead of a desk chair will help you whittle your middle!

8.) If you have an office in which you can close the door or a cubicle that is secluded, try to get in a short workout. Do it at lunch or work through lunch and take some time in the afternoon. Just do it when you have a block of time to spare. You can easily fit in a free yoga workout using yogatoday.com (see yesterday’s blog). You can also bring in your own dvd, such as a pilates or weights dvd and play it on your computer with the sound on low (or just use the visual cues). Otherwise, bring in some dumbbells and keep them at your desk. When you get the time, try doing these exercises: bicep curls, tricep kickbacks, squats and lunges holding the weights, row (bend forward at the wait and allow arms to be straight in front of you with palms facing your body, bend your elbows and draw the weights in towards your chest, lower and repeat), deadlifts (standing and holding weights in front of you with hands at thighs and palms facing in, dip forward at the waist keep legs straight with only a slight bend in the knee, keep the back straight and lower down until palms are at about knee level, squeeze glutes to lift back up and repeat), overhead raises (arms out to the side with elbows bent creating a goal post shape, lift weights overhead and straighten arms, bend elbows to lower back down, repeat), weighted ab curls (place one weight in the center of your chest and perform curls). If you have swapped your chair for a stability ball, don’t be afraid to do some exercises on the stability ball as well.

9.) If you don’t want to try a full workout using dumbbells, try using the equipment you have. If you have not swapped your desk chair, do some squats with the chair. Stand up from you chair and bend your knees to lower down as if you were going to sit back down but about an inch away from the seat, squeeze your glutes and rise back up. Repeat. Try some tricep dips (this works well if you don’t have wheels on your chair, if you do consider anchoring the chair by placing some books against the wheel to act as a stopper). Sit on the chair and place hands down on either side of your hips. Move you butt off the chair but keep your hands where they are. Your feet should be flat on the floor and your knees should be bent. Bend elbows to lower your body closer to the floor. Straighten your arums and repeat. Also do some exercises that do not require equipment like crunches and pushups.

10.) If you can’t get a workout done during the day, don’t rush off at the end of the day. Take advantage of your building’s staircase and do a stair workout. Click here to see our previous blog on stair workouts. Just bring some clothes with you to change into and hit the stairs after work. The best part? There is no need to worry about showering and changing since you are just heading home.

Finally, a good way to get fit at the office is to get others involved. Find a buddy who wants to workout with you at lunch or talk to your boss and see if you can organize an office-wide fitness regime. For example, set up a competition or a race that will motivate everyone to train. Or see if you can get a fitness instructor to come in one day a week to the office at lunch or immediately following work. If enough people are interested and willing to chip in a few bucks, you may be able to get a local personal trainer to come in and lead the group through some exercises. Since employers are now required to provide healthcare to employees, they are interested in keeping costs down by having healthy employees. Therefore, they should be willing to listen to your suggestions and assist you in setting up healthy activities that will benefit everyone.

Readers, do you have any comments or suggestions on staying fit at work or getting your employer to assist you in creating a more fit office?

Tuesday's Tone Up

This Tuesday's Tone Up is another great way to enjoy *free* yoga! Yogatoday.com offers streaming video of free yoga classes on a weekly basis. The classes are one hour in length and can be watched on your computer in full-screen mode just like a dvd. Each class usually has a focus, which is a great way to help you learn new yoga moves. For example, last week's free class introduced headstands and shoulder stands as part of the one hour class. This week's free class focuses on sun salutations. Other classes might focus on core strength, stretching your hamstrings, alleviating knee, neck or back pain or even on yoga for a specific purpose like sports or jet lag. The classes are also broken down by level from beginner to guru (advanced), so these classes are suitable for everyone! Another great bonus is that most classes have reviews by other users so you can find out if the class is right for you or what other people thought of the class before selecting the class.

Yogatoday has three instructors; Sarah Kline, Adi Amar, and Neesha Zollinger. Each instructor has her own style and type of practice. The types of yoga featured are usually Anusara, Ashtanga, Hatha Blend, Kundalini or Vinyasa. (For more information on any of these types of yoga click on the links provided.)

If you decide that you like one of the classes you have watched, you can own the class by purchasing it for $3.99. This means the class will be saved to your computer and you can watch it anytime. Or, if you prefer to have access to the entire library of yoga classes, you can join for $9.99 a month for unlimited access or use Yogatoday's special promotion of 25% off and join for one full year for $89.99. This is a particularly great way to get used to practicing yoga if you are too nervous to go to a live class since you can do it in the privacy of your own home. Another bonus? You can take it with you wherever you go! So get your downward dog on today!

Monday's Retail Madness

Here's the dilemma: you want great fitting/good quality workout clothes/equipment but you don't want to pay a lot of money. Solution- eBay! Finding clothes and equipment on eBay is simple and you can get great stuff at a minimum cost. For instance, a recent eBay search for "nike" revealed a great pair of Nike sneakers for only $20.50! Here are a few tips for shopping on ebay:

1.) Remember eBay is a bidding process, which means that during the bidding period (listed with the item) others can attempt to bid higher on the item. This of course means that when you place a bid on an item you will not necessarily get to purchase the item. Sometimes the seller is willing to forgo the bidding process and will list a "Buy It Now" price, which means you can just click on the item and purchase it as you would normally do with an online retailer. Otherwise, if you want to win an item you have to think about strategy. Normally you will be requested to put in the highest bid you are willing to pay for an item. You have to consider what other people might be willing to pay and then try to outbid them. Each time you place a bid, the price of the item goes up incrementally by a dollar but at the end of the bidding process, the person with the highest maximum bid wins the item. Readers, do you have any tips and stragies for how to win an item on ebay without paying too much?

2.) An important consideration when purchasing equipment or clothing on eBay is quality. There are a couple of ways to ensure quality. First, most items are accompanied by a photograph, which gives an indication of the quality and condition of the product. Second, most products also given an indication of the condition of the product, e.g., used, never-been-worn, like-new, etc. But because the seller is inputting these descriptions, its important to ensure that the seller is reputable. eBay offers seller info which provides feedback on the seller by percentage. A seller with 100% positive feedback has a great reputation based on the reviews from purchasers. Additionally, a potential purchaser can read feedback left by previous purchasers from this seller. Finally, the seller's contact details are usually provided so it is possible to contact the seller if you have any questions or require further information about the product.

3.) Find out the return policy. Find out if the seller accepts returns if you are dissatisfied with the item.

4.) Have a PayPal Account. Most sellers only accept payment through PayPal so it is necessary to set up a PayPal Account. The good news? Its easy and free!

5.) Check out eBay Buyer Protection. This program will cover the cost of the item and shipping if the item does not arrive or the item is not as described. A few caveats: first, the item has to qualify for this protection so its important to find this out before making the purchase. Second, a buyer must go through a process of contacting the seller first to resolve the issue, then contacting eBay and finally after a seven day period of trying to resolve the problem, eBay will determine if it will cover the item based on the items qualifications.

So if you are looking for some new things for spring... Happy Bidding!

Weekend Activity

After a long week by the time the weekend rolls around, working out may be the last thing you want to do. However, a great way to stay motivated and have a lot of fun while getting a good workout is to join a sports team! Adult sports teams have gained in popularity recently because of the competitive fun they offer, as well as a chance to meet new people (which is great if you have recently moved to a new city or even if you are just looking to branch out your social circle). Common sports offered are soccer, softball, touch football, basketball and kickball. Worried about your lack of experience? Don't worry, most leagues have beginner teams and even if they don't, many will have teams where beginners are welcome. This is a great opportunity to explore a new sport or pick up an old high school sport.

If you are concerned about the time commitment, don't be. The leagues are meant for busy working adults and therefore do not hold practices but instead meet only on the weekends for friendly games. Many leagues are co-ed although there are also usually men's teams and women's teams available. There is, of course, a registration fee; however, the fees are usually not very high and are meant only to cover court or field registration and umpires. An even greater benefit? Often times portions of the registration fees are donated to charity making this option not only great for frugal fitness but also for doing something good.

To find out information about your local sports teams, visit your city government's website and search for their parks and recreation section, which will often have information on local sports leagues. Otherwise, try a Google search!