You don’t have to follow a heavily structured fitness regimen to create easy fitness activities that help you lose weight and improve your health. Some 10-minute workouts can help you build muscle and improve your heart health. You can use items around the house to help you create different workouts, and even build a cheap home gym for about $50.
Any activity that raises your heart rate, uses your muscles and includes some resistance can help you boost your fitness levels.
Whether you’re a beginner who wants to lose weight, a senior who wants to improve your bone density and flexibility or just someone who wants to maintain your heart, lung and muscle health, you can create easy fitness activities using a variety of activities at different levels of intensity.
Non-Impact Exercises
Non-impact exercise keeps both feet on the ground, pedals or other surface the entire time you’re exercising. Easy, non-impact exercise options include:
- Swimming
- Cycling
- Rowing
- Elliptical
- Cross-country skiing
- Water aerobics
- Gliding
- Resistance bands
- Dumbbells
- Yoga
- Pilates
- Home gym
- Stretching
Try simple circuit-training exercises that helps prevent boredom while improving your heart and muscles.
Low-Impact Exercises
Low-impact exercise keeps at least one foot on a surface the entire time you’re exercising. Some low-impact exercise options include:
- Walking
- Hiking
- Step Aerobics
- Skating
- Walking stairs
High-Impact Exercises
High-impact exercise occurs when both feet leave the ground at the same time. This causes your body’s weight to land on your feet, causing more impact on your knees, back and joints. High-impact activities include:
- Many aerobic workouts
- Jogging
- Running
- Sports (e.g., tennis, basketball, volleyball)
- Jump rope
- Jumping jacks
- Running stairs
Cheap, Easy Meals
Check out the Food Stamp Challenge website (you don’t need to be on SNAP) to find loads of inexpensive meals anyone can make. You can also read our article on healthy substitutes for ingredient and meal ideas that are tasty and healthy.