Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

Hey everybody!

I'm feeling a bit frustrated right now. My goals are to lose weight and build muscle. Weight loss is just diet, but I feel like I need a gym to build serious muscle. Bodyweight exercises don't seem to do much for me, but I am also horrified at the idea of giving a gym $25 of my money every month. I rent my place, so a home gym isn't an option either. Am I stuck, do I just have to spend the money? What are the cheapest gyms around?

$25 a month sounds really cheap for a gym actually. My 'gym' costs much more than that. But I justify the expenditure to myself because I think my health is worth something.

But I realize not everyone can afford it. And if you can't, I do think body weight exercises can be effective - but you need to be self motivated and know what you are doing.

Not sure what you were doing as far as body weight exercises but Zuzana Light or Bodyrock.tv, have some good workouts you can follow online. Calisthenics, parkour or street running might be fun to add to the mix. Try a few handstand pushups... you will be lifting some serious weight.

If you want to invest in a minimal amount of weights you could try p90x. Some have had success with it. Speaking for myself only, I would not be motivated to work out at home by myself so any investment in that regard would be a waste for me. But you have to know yourself to know whether it is worthwhile.

Then again, you can always fork out the money just for a 'trial' month and see if the gym works for you. You might actually love it there and if so you will reprioritize what it's worth.

Anyway, good luck.

I think you've got to prioritize your goals.
* When I was trying to lose weight - I upped the cardio (jogging 5ks around the neighborhood) and commuting on my bike.
* Focused on food intake: Bought a food scale & crunched the calories.
Lost approx 80lbs

After that:
I bought several dumbbells, Kbells & MedBall that can all be stashed under/behind the sofa.
---I have gym phobia (I can't stand them) but occasionally go to the one at my office when I don't have time to
work out at home.

Now Mantaining:
I've taught myself a great deal about nutrition. I'm constantly revamping my outlook on what food is, it's effect the human body & the planet

Zuzana is by far my fav to work out with in the privacy of my home
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ve06vEfk ... re=g-all-u

Picked up a copy of "Healthy Foods fact vs Fiction" at the library. It's got some great info
http://books.google.com/books/about/Hea ... cYxohCQfUC

Good luck

$25 a month is ridiculously cheap for a gym. Gyms in my area can easily be three times as much or more. If you are on a tight income I can understand not being happy with parting with the money, but realistically, that is an excellent deal.

This. You're going to have a hard time getting anywhere near the same range of equipment and exercises at home for even a fraction of that price, particularly if you don't have room or permission to set up a rack.

One more for "$25/month to have a gym membership and take care of yourself is cheap!"

Seriously, though, if you think about where EVERY dime of your money goes over the course of a month, most people can easily find $25 that they throw out on a quick lunch here and there, a coffee or Clif bar on their way to work every day, "essential" video games that they stay glued to all night, a hobby they sink tons of money into but don't ponder how much it eats up for finances, etc.

If you want what you say you want, $25/month to have a place that can help you reach your goals is actually pretty darned reasonable. You wouldn't say "I'd love to get my Masters in Organic Chemistry, but I feel bad about giving the university money every semester!" and just read what's available at the library instead in hopes you'd get the same results. Rather than looking at the gym as an expense to dread, consider it an investment in yourself for the future, particularly if that $25 is otherwise being spent on something that may be entertaining but is NOT helping you get closer to the end goal. Overall, $25/month is a small investment to make when it comes to fitness and being in better health!

Fair enough! I will head down and buy the dang membership.

maybe look into the ymca